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How To Calculate The Amount of Concrete You Need to
by Konkratar Seifener
http://www.realconcrete.com
Calculating how much concrete it takes to build your
patio is really easy.
Before you can calculate how much concrete you need, you
need to decide the size of the patio you want. I've found
that almost everyone needs to see something before they
really understand how big it is. So the first thing you
need to do is to mark the outline of the patio that you
want to build on your lawn.
The best way to layout the patio you want to add is to use
some white spray paint. All you need to do is to paint a
line that will represent the outside of your patio. You
don't have to be perfect, just put enough paint on the
grass where you can see the outline of your new patio.
Over the next couple of days, look at the outline to see
if that is the size patio you want. What do you like about
it? What don't you like? What would you like to change?
Now is the time to make any changes that you want because
it does not cost you anything to do it. Make the changes in
a different color paint.
Since you have determined the size and shape of your patio,
you can create an estimate and determine the amount of
concrete that you will need to complete your project.
Measure the outside of your patio and calculate the area.
For instance, if your patio is 20' x 25' the area is the
width x the length. So the area would be 500 SQ Feet. Now
decide on how thick you want your patio to be. Most patios
are 4" thick. Now you need to convert the thickness of the
patio into feet by dividing by 12. This would give you a
thickness of 0.3333 feet.
Now that you have everything in feet, you can calculate
the volume of the concrete that you need. Multiply the area
(500 Sq Ft) by the thickness (.3333f ft). The result is
166.666 cu feet.
Concrete is sold by the cubic yard, so you need to convert
your volume in cubic feet into cubic yards by dividing
the volume in cubic feet by 27. The equation looks like
this 166.66/27 = 6.17 cubic yards.
I recommend 4000# pea gravel concrete for your patio. It
is easy to work with and lets you get a nice finish on the
surface, plus you can get a washed gravel finish if you
would like.
Don't worry if you don't understand what I'm telling you.
All you need to do is to tell the concrete company what
you are using the concrete for and they will give you the
perfect mixture for your project and the weather
conditions. You only need to worry about the mix if you are
going to do the patio yourself.
If you don't have experience placing or finishing concrete
or you don't have access to someone that does, I don't
recommend you try to do a job this size by yourself.
Although 6 cubic yards of concrete doesn't sound that much,
its a lot to place and finish when you have to get it into
the backyard from the cement truck.
A reputable contractor will have a crew of 4-6 people to
place a project of this size, so don't think for a moment
that you can do it with your buddies and someone who has
seen concrete poured before. If you do decide to save a
little money by doing it yourself, you might just have
12,000 pounds of concrete that you need do break up and
haul away. (Each yard of concrete weighs around 3,500 lbs.)
Prices vary from region to region so you need to get a
quote from contractors in your area. Get a price from at
least 3 contractors and choose the middle price to make
sure you are getting a good job from a reputable
contractor.
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