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  1. Member Walkabout7781's Avatar
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    Renton, WA
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    #21
    The driveways in my neighborhood are concrete, about 40 years old, and are slowly being replaced. Most are or were exposed aggregate, which SUCKS, and I would not recommend it. Also have noticed that most concrete drives, sidewalks and patios have not cracked where they were supposed to, and just crack randomly.

    A couple of newly replaced driveways down the street I've noticed have brick inlays in bands, which I suspect would tend to fix that problem. Can anybody provide an opinion about doing that? My neighbor is going to replace his driveway soon, after having to cut into it to fix his waterline, and he's planning to do something like that.

  2. Member
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    #22
    I have 6 inches in driveway 7 inches in aprons

  3. Scraps
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    #23
    Quote Originally Posted by jigman51 View Post
    I need to save this. I live at the bottom of a hill and water runs into my yard all the time. The city planner stopped by the other day and said the city is going to fix it and I said OK. I had a concrete guy say he could fix it for $2400 about 10 years ago. Now my taxes will be paying off.
    if the road out front is asphalt, they could maybe put a little speed bump at the end of your driveway. I've seen that done, then the water diverts off the sides of your driveway instead of up the driveway.
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  4. Member
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    Feb 2006
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    #24
    Proper sub-grade preparation is the key. Undercut sub-grade at least 4" and compact 4" of crusher-run limestone. If driveway will only see light traffic (cars, pickups etc) 4" is fine. If you anticipate heavier truck traffic like dump trucks or heavy delivery vehicles etc use 2x6 edge forms. I've run loaded mixer trucks over properly constructed 5-1/2" slabs with no issues.

    Space your control joints to for square sections - avoid rectangular sections. If driveway is 12' wide space joints at 12' OC. Joints need to be at least 3/4" deep. Be sure contractor uses a cure & seal spray on the fresh concrete.
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  5. Member
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    Iowa Falls
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    #25
    Quote Originally Posted by ericm View Post
    Proper sub-grade preparation is the key. Undercut sub-grade at least 4" and compact 4" of crusher-run limestone. If driveway will only see light traffic (cars, pickups etc) 4" is fine. If you anticipate heavier truck traffic like dump trucks or heavy delivery vehicles etc use 2x6 edge forms. I've run loaded mixer trucks over properly constructed 5-1/2" slabs with no issues.

    Space your control joints to for square sections - avoid rectangular sections. If driveway is 12' wide space joints at 12' OC. Joints need to be at least 3/4" deep. Be sure contractor uses a cure & seal spray on the fresh concrete.
    Good advice especcially emphisizing the importance of the subbase. I didnt touch on that much as if its a gravel drive now...I would assume solid and most likely would need dug out with a mini hoe.
    2009 Z8 -2013 250 PRO XS-Dual 10' Power Pole Blades-Humminbird 1198,1197,998-MG 109-

  6. Member
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    Iowa Falls
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    #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Walkabout7781 View Post
    The driveways in my neighborhood are concrete, about 40 years old, and are slowly being replaced. Most are or were exposed aggregate, which SUCKS, and I would not recommend it. Also have noticed that most concrete drives, sidewalks and patios have not cracked where they were supposed to, and just crack randomly.

    A couple of newly replaced driveways down the street I've noticed have brick inlays in bands, which I suspect would tend to fix that problem. Can anybody provide an opinion about doing that? My neighbor is going to replace his driveway soon, after having to cut into it to fix his waterline, and he's planning to do something like that.
    the brick bands you see very well may be stamped, colored concrete. As others have stated proper subgrade prep goes a long way in preventing concrete cracking (im unwanted places). There is a forula to follow for proper placing of control joints/saw cuts on a concrete slab. I wont get too technical here l, but some basics are as follows. My info is based on saw cutting at the proper time and not a "tooled joint".

    *saw cuts need to be a minimum of 1/4 of the depth of the thickness of the pad. 4" pad needs a 1" deep saw cut. I always go 1.25 to 1.5 imches.
    *(as ericm stated) always make cuts so your cakes (sections of cut comcrete) are as square as possible. Im not so concerned about rectangles as I am triangular shapes. Take the OP's layout, assuming it was 30' wide by 100' long. In a perfect world (at 4" thick) id cut it at the 50' mark (cutting the 30' cross sections first) and then i would cut each of them sections at the 30' mark. I would then cut all my cross sections at every 10'. Once all them are cut I'd cut my long 100' cuts. Id cut them on 10' too. So you'll have to cuts the long way making 3 10' wide cakes wide. All cakes would be 10'x10' thats a lot of cutting some may cut it once down the middle and less cuts cross ways...agian though what i stated would be the best way to (try and) avoid unwanted cracking.
    *inside and out side corners and other things will add a twist to to the cutting pattern.
    *a lot of contractors place concrete at a very wet slump, this is easier for them to work with but not the best practice. The more water in the mix the more comcrete will shrink and likely crack in unwanted places.
    Last edited by Jake Thomas; 02-18-2018 at 08:14 AM.
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  7. Member
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    Nov 2017
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    Chicago, Illinois
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    #27
    Get a 6.0 bag of cement per yard mix, max slump of 5 inches when placed. Couple bucks more for the added Portland but worth it. Guys buying concrete with cash around Chicago for sidejobs are paying $170/ CY, our price to buy it on large jobs is around $125, and the friends and family price is still over $100 just for the material.

    Also make sure they cut it straight. Nothing worse looking than crooked cuts. Only get one chance at cutting it right.

  8. BBC Fantasy Fishing Organizer BasserJim's Avatar
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    Oct 2004
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    #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Jake Thomas View Post
    the brick bands you see very well may be stamped, colored concrete. As others have stated proper subgrade prep goes a long way in preventing concrete cracking (im unwanted places). There is a forula to follow for proper placing of control joints/saw cuts on a concrete slab. I wont get too technical here l, but some basics are as follows. My info is based on saw cutting at the proper time and not a "tooled joint".

    *saw cuts need to be a minimum of 1/4 of the depth of the thickness of the pad. 4" pad needs a 1" deep saw cut. I always go 1.25 to 1.5 imches.
    *(as ericm stated) always make cuts so your cakes (sections of cut comcrete) are as square as possible. Im not so concerned about rectangles as I am triangular shapes. Take the OP's layout, assuming it was 30' wide by 100' long. In a perfect world (at 4" thick) id cut it at the 50' mark (cutting the 30' cross sections first) and then i would cut each of them sections at the 30' mark. I would then cut all my cross sections at every 10'. Once all them are cut I'd cut my long 100' cuts. Id cut them on 10' too. So you'll have to cuts the long way making 3 10' wide cakes wide. All cakes would be 10'x10' thats a lot of cutting some may cut it once down the middle and less cuts cross ways...agian though what i stated would be the best way to (try and) avoid unwanted cracking.
    *inside and out side corners and other things will add a twist to to the cutting pattern.
    *a lot of contractors place concrete at a very wet slump, this is easier for them to work with but not the best practice. The more water in the mix the more comcrete will shrink and likely crack in unwanted places.
    How do you feel about squares oriented in a diamond pattern?

  9. Member
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    Jul 2014
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    Crossville, TN & Houston, TX
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    #29
    Don't make the mistake a guy near me did. He put in an asphalt driveway.

    Next month after, he was having it pulled back up. Seems the local HOA ONLY allowed concrete.

  10. Member
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    Chicago, Illinois
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    #30
    Triangles tend to crack. Try to avoid them except at flared ends.

  11. Member
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    Iowa Falls
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    #31
    Quote Originally Posted by BasserJim View Post
    How do you feel about squares oriented in a diamond pattern?
    Well bjim..if you are not being sarcastic, probablly my best looking job to date was a large area in front of main entrance to a school. I laid out the saw cut lines in "diamond" shaped squares 3'x3'. (A true diamond shape isnt square no matter how you turn it) since it was only 4" thick I went ahead and cut every line 1.25" deep.

    Had it been oh say 6" thick i would of cut it 1.75" deep on a 12' grid pattern and then cut the rest of the "decrotive cuts" in between at just 1/2" deep. Saves time and wear on blade.

    It leaves it up for debate on how the grid is layed out if the concrete is "cut properly" since everything is on a skew. That is the reason i chose to cut all of them at the school to proper depth. They drive on it with cars and trucks unloading things. Laid it 4 years ago. As of last summer there was no visible cracking.
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  12. Member CastingCall's Avatar
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    #32
    Quote Originally Posted by ericm View Post
    Proper sub-grade preparation is the key.
    This! Simply compacting crappy base material and throwing a layer of crushed limestone then pouring concrete can mean cracks and short lifespan. One of the best jobs I've seen here up north involved digging down, applying multiple layers of varying base materials, each compacted over a period of time. Wasn't a couple day "in and out" job, but the result was concrete that didn't break apart over decades of freeze/thaw in our MN climate.

  13. Member
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    #33
    Your concrete driveway is only as good as it's base. So many people want to skimp on the base preparation and then wonder why their concrete driveway or floor have failures. Any construction project is only as good as it's foundation, and that includes concrete driveways.

  14. Member Big dreams's Avatar
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    May 2012
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    Midland, Michigan
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    #34
    I had my approach done in 4". Be cautious, the contractor that was doing mine only did it at 3.5" and it has cracked two times already (less than 6 months each time). If I did it again, I would do a true 4" or maybe even 5".

  15. Member Sunkist's Avatar
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    #35
    Quote Originally Posted by Stoner View Post
    Length X Width X $5.00 was on my last quote.
    That would make mine $90,000. Hmm, Ranger or driveway?

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    #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Sunkist View Post
    That would make mine $90,000. Hmm, Ranger or driveway?
    Might want to check that math again

  17. Member Sunkist's Avatar
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    #37
    1,800' x 10' x $5

  18. Banned
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    #38
    Quote Originally Posted by Sunkist View Post
    1,800' x 10' x $5
    Ok might not want to do concrete then

  19. BBC Fantasy Fishing Organizer BasserJim's Avatar
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    #39
    Quote Originally Posted by Jake Thomas View Post
    Well bjim..if you are not being sarcastic, probablly my best looking job to date was a large area in front of main entrance to a school. I laid out the saw cut lines in "diamond" shaped squares 3'x3'. (A true diamond shape isnt square no matter how you turn it) since it was only 4" thick I went ahead and cut every line 1.25" deep.

    Had it been oh say 6" thick i would of cut it 1.75" deep on a 12' grid pattern and then cut the rest of the "decrotive cuts" in between at just 1/2" deep. Saves time and wear on blade.

    It leaves it up for debate on how the grid is layed out if the concrete is "cut properly" since everything is on a skew. That is the reason i chose to cut all of them at the school to proper depth. They drive on it with cars and trucks unloading things. Laid it 4 years ago. As of last summer there was no visible cracking.
    Wasn’t being sarcastic. Was trying to find pictures of the last one we scored that way.

    Couldn’t find any on my phone.



    I like squares.

  20. Member
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    Scottsville, Ky
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    #40
    Quote Originally Posted by pa.X19 View Post
    Might want to check that math again
    Would make mine 105K...I don't really want a concrete drive anymore

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