Jack... It sounds like you know how to build... So just do it your way... You don't need a bunch of folks that have more money than sense ... Lol
They could probably buy the pump truck rather than break a sweat ... Lol. They'll continue to call you an idiot for wanting to have the pride of accomplishment... Lol Good luck Jack.., it's been a laugh ..!!!

Hey Jack... Now you're building your whole house one sack at a time!!! Lol.. Have fun.. These guys are going to call the authorities on you if you don't use a pump truck!! Lol... Watch your back... Don't tell anyone what state you're in.... Lol

I mixed 10 tons of mortar in a 4 cubic foot mixer and carried it in pails to fill bond beams and vertical cores. That was in between stocking 50 tons of AAC block and mixing up 2 tons (dryweight) of thinset with a paddle on a drill. I'm back to my high school weight and I am 66 years old. Of course if you need the pumper truck in and out because you don't want to miss "Biggest Loser" on TV, well, that's a different story.

If you have rebar issues down the road it will the result of siding and flashing failures rather than cold joints. OTOH your laundry may stand for only 500 years rather than 1000.

Way to go Tod ....!!!

I did the math and I have to say it doesn't look good. I would need something like 170 bags of QuickCrete (60 lb) to do the job. Might as well bite the bullet and pay the barrel truck company and pumper.

Did you calculate the footing and stemwall, too?

No.  But did you calculate what is a guy supposed to do if he just wants to do a small project?    With concrete it's all or nothing.   Get out the big guns or don't do it at all.  

For example, I have a 10x12 I would love to do out of ICF's.   Only problem is that it is on the other side of the ranch.   Well that sucks because there's alot of setup involved with pouring concrete.   Even if I did find other projects like sidewalks and slabs and what not to take up 10 cubic yards in a barrel, I can't move the whole operation over to the other side of the ranch so easily.

Jack - you might consider a line-pump for very small jobs.

With concrete it's all or nothing

Yeah, but when you do it in concrete, it's the last word. :-)

I was pleasantly surprised to find that you can order short trucks (about a half load) for almost no premium over full loads.

Barrel: $75/cubic yard.
Short Load: $90/cubic yard.

Call them up.  Tell them the address.  Then you hear: no way, get lost.

Short load short distance (only in the city, not the ranch).   The barrel truck will do the drive to the ranch no problem.

Like I said the problem is you  have to have projects lined up and ready for 10 cubic yards.   I will look into line-pumps.   If a small project is on the other side of the ranch 500 feet away that's a problem.   From what I have seen the pumpers don't look like very portable operations.  But I could be wrong.

You can get deals on concrete by making friends with some of the truck guys and getting what they have leftover.
When they have 1-2 yds leftover on a pour, they're going to have to haul it back.

Some wheelbarrows (harder to obtain a pump quickly) and flexibility on short notice and you could probably get your
concrete fairly cheap.

I'm looking at building a house that is approx 3300sf (minus doors windows, etc.) 6" & 8" core. I too live in the middle of nowhere (nearest concrete plant is 30 miles).

Add in the wind (30mph gusts, 15 constant) and there is no way I can do this as a single pour (or even as two).On the other hand I can probably pour two or three a day for two or three days.

I figure I'll be building and pouring as I go.....

My biggest nightmare is the wall height. I'll be approx 14' above grade at the end - and the nearest pump trucks are 120 miles away. Needless to say, that means they aren't an option. Any ideas on getting the concrete up that high to go in the forms? Needs to be reliable and fairly cheap and easy (yeah, I know, mutually exclusive....)....

Posted By txcapri on 30 May 2013 04:29 AM
I'm looking at building a house that is approx 3300sf (minus doors windows, etc.) 6" & 8" core. I too live in the middle of nowhere (nearest concrete plant is 30 miles).

Add in the wind (30mph gusts, 15 constant) and there is no way I can do this as a single pour (or even as two).On the other hand I can probably pour two or three a day for two or three days.

I figure I'll be building and pouring as I go.....

My biggest nightmare is the wall height. I'll be approx 14' above grade at the end - and the nearest pump trucks are 120 miles away. Needless to say, that means they aren't an option. Any ideas on getting the concrete up that high to go in the forms? Needs to be reliable and fairly cheap and easy (yeah, I know, mutually exclusive....)....

a 30 meter boom pump

170 bags @ 60lb, I think that is a little underestimated. I get 267 SQ/FT of wall with one 3' door, and 80 sq/ft of floor(about 8 yards at 6"?) Using the quantity calculator on the quickrete website, I entered 347 sq/ft total this would account for footings and a 4" slab and 6" walls? Their calculator shows 386 60# bags or 289 80# bags for this square footage @6" thick... With half the wall above 4' high, that is going to be a LOT of heavy lifting to get this dense fluid up and into a foam ICF block. I am carefull but I could easilly see myself slipping and missing and doing damage to the ICF or just making a big mess getting from mixer to haulable buckets. I would probably pour the slab and footings, then hire a pump to fill the walls. I just don't have that much time on my hands, and what I do have has value.

Good luck with your project...

Posted By txcapri on 30 May 2013 04:29 AM
I'm looking at building a house that is approx 3300sf (minus doors windows, etc.) 6" & 8" core. I too live in the middle of nowhere (nearest concrete plant is 30 miles).

Add in the wind (30mph gusts, 15 constant) and there is no way I can do this as a single pour (or even as two).On the other hand I can probably pour two or three a day for two or three days.

Most concrete plants are 20+ miles away from building sites. Even here in the big city of Phoenix, the plants are 20+ miles away and with traffic, it can easily take the concrete truck over an hour to get to a site.

30 miles away is not that far. Driving on a highway that would only take 30 minutes to get there.

As far as wind gusts go. The ICF protects the concrete from wind, sun and is the perfect protection and curing environment for concrete. People building ICF homes in areas that are exposed to wind gusts and 30mph gusts are not that uncommon for most areas, especially in spring and fall weather. Here in Phx it's been windy the past 4-5 weeks and we get 15-30mph gusts almost everyday. They are constructing concrete bridges and highways as I type this and the winds or the 90F+ outdoor temps are not stopping them. Once the temps get to 100F-110F range, then they stop pouring concrete in the daytime and wait until either nighttime or they start the pour at 4AM.

I think you are over thinking this and I would call the concrete plant and I am sure they deliver to sites well over 30 miles away.