Pouring A Small Concrete Pad

A long lasting pad prevents the problem.

Pouring a small concrete pad.

A solid concrete pad is 4 inches thick rests on a bed of well tamped gravel and is reinforced with reinforcing wire mesh. By april wilkerson on october 18 2015 i am wanting to build a lean to right outside of my shop to store my dust collector in. In areas subject to freezing winters such slabs usually crack. Level screed the concrete in a back and forth sawing motion with a 2 4 cut plenty long enough to span the form.

A typical pad has a 4 inch layer of gravel underneath and about 4 inches of concrete on top. Pouring a small concrete slab. Pour the concrete in small sections spreading the concrete by moving the chute back and forth and by having the driver pull forward as you go. Back behind my shop there is already a small slab that is roughly 2 x 2 but it wasn t level and.

For larger pads a stronger reinforcement option is a lattice work of steel rebar. Once the truck has reached the end of a section spread the concrete out evenly and a touch higher than the form with a concrete placer rake. Many concrete patios and sidewalks are less than 2 inches thick and lack metal reinforcing. We go over all the necessary steps for your concrete slab to come out perfect.

When building a landing for deck stairs typical codes require the pad to extend beyond the steps about 36 inches behind the steps about 12 inches and on the sides of the steps about 6 inches. After reinforcing material is placed halfway through the concrete finish pouring to the top of the forms. In this video we show you how to pour your basic 16 x 12 concrete slab. Although the amount of concrete that s required is small a landing for a deck stairway or in this case a pad for a propane tank requires nearly the same forming and finishing techniques as a full size slab.