Well, it's been a while since I posted something of my own, so here goes... About a week and a half ago, I was sittin here with a pocket full of cash from Uncle Sam, in need of a truck to work with...I spied something not really worthy of putting up on here except the engine it came with, a 250 inline with offy intake, 450 holley, headers.....wish i had THIS engine in the corvecayne a few years back and I wouldn't have sold it... now to the point of my post, The same guy I bought the truck from also had a DeVilbiss semi downdraft booth, complete with EVERYTHING, even a new baldor motor for the exhaust fan, this thing was 15' x 45', used to be at a place that painted peterbilts and stuff....$800.....you know the rest...I have a place to put it up...even dis***embled, hauling it is going to ****. oh well, 'twill be worth it... I haven't got estimates on putting down a slab in a while, the last time I did this, it was for a friend who was building his shop with old Turkey house trusses...we laid it out, put up the boards, and had probably 250 bucks in the floor for his 20x40 shop....1997 prices... a lot of things happen, I dont have all the stuff in my ol' noggin that used to be there for various reasons, does anyone have a rough estimate for per foot price of a decent slab worthy of being a floor in a bodyshop/paintbooth? I can't seem to find any sites on the net that have any sort of figures...darn search engines are getting tougher for this ol' mountain boy to use...
Figure your square footage. Length x width, divide that by 75. That gives you the yardage for a 4 inch thick slab. I am paying a guy .40 cents a square yard to do the finish work only. I build the forms and do the grade work etc. If they do it, it'll run about .60 a ft. I have heard as much as 2.00 ft. Depends on your contractor.
The last slab I poured was 16,000 sq. ft. It cost me $91,000. This had foundations and was 6" thick, so it was way more than you need.However, formed,prepped, poured and a decent sealer put on it I bet it will run you close to $3500.
I just did a 12 X 24 slab or my hot tub, formed and finished with friends. Cost just under $400 for 6 1/2 yards.
A good friend of mine does cement work and lays block. He was telling me that cement is going up in cost big time. The CHINESE are buying into big companies and shipping the dry mix overseas just like all the steel. He said that in Iowa City they are limited to delivery of 500 yards a day for the locals. Lot much for the way that town is growing. Alot less than demand.
I do appreciate the information, very helpful, thanks I found an old mixer that a friend is going to loan me, he says I can buy all the stuff I need to mix it myself and save a bundle....I hope he's right... the chinese are buying it all up though? That would account for the news I got today of the increase in price...jesus! Now what would they want with our steel and concrete???
They want everything they do to be american quality, when will they learn... Its not the materials as much as the craftsmen.
I paid 73.00 a yard about 6 months ago when Poured my garage floor. You will go insane if your planning to pour your floor with a small mixer. I'm no expert, but I'd break you job into two or three steps. If you have to put a foundation do that first. Then pour 1/2 the floor then later pour the other 1/2. That is what my buddy done when he built his 28x45. I found forming the walls to be a major *****. I bought a decent lazer level with a swivel base. Took me about 3 hours to get it "close enough for me".
My dad owns a concrete company. I think he is going at $3.50 a sq ft. That is for all prep work and a broom finish floor. Concrete is sky rocketing in price because of the Chinese dam project. They don't have the limestone to make dry mix on their own. Also a contractor has to pay for all the other overhead stuff. It's safe to say the my dad can't afford to redo our driveway and he owns the company. I'd say your best bet for a finished floor is to bribe your buddies. If you can find an out of work finisher or one that has Saturday off, you'll be golden.
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