My concrete driveway has tons of holes and pock marks that fill with water every time it rains. It
looks terrible. How hard is it for me to put in a concrete driveway? I have a book of Home Repair
that tells about laying a good foundation and all that but is there anything else I need to know?

I live on Long Island and it is currently around 65 degrees. Winters are normally around the 30s or
40s with some colder days thrown in. Is there some special mixture I need to know about. Any
suggestions on what concrete to use? Any (constructive) help is appreciated.

Tony

If you mean put in a concrete driveway yourself, it's not trivial.
Plus you have to take out and dispose of the old one. How old is the
driveway that's in place now ?

My driveway is 60 years old and looks like the surface of a croissant,
having broken into about 20 pieces...


Tony wrote:
My concrete driveway has tons of holes and pock marks that fill with water every time it rains. It
looks terrible. How hard is it for me to put in a concrete driveway? I have a book of Home Repair
that tells about laying a good foundation and all that but is there anything else I need to know?

I live on Long Island and it is currently around 65 degrees. Winters are normally around the 30s or
40s with some colder days thrown in. Is there some special mixture I need to know about. Any
suggestions on what concrete to use? Any (constructive) help is appreciated.

Tony

wrote in message
ups.com...
If you mean put in a concrete driveway yourself, it's not trivial.
Plus you have to take out and dispose of the old one. How old is the
driveway that's in place now ?

My driveway is 60 years old and looks like the surface of a croissant,
having broken into about 20 pieces...


Tony wrote:
My concrete driveway has tons of holes and pock marks that fill with
water every time it rains. It
looks terrible. How hard is it for me to put in a concrete driveway? I
have a book of Home Repair
that tells about laying a good foundation and all that but is there
anything else I need to know?

I live on Long Island and it is currently around 65 degrees. Winters are
normally around the 30s or
40s with some colder days thrown in. Is there some special mixture I need
to know about. Any
suggestions on what concrete to use? Any (constructive) help is
appreciated.

If you have never laid or finished concrete before, forget about it. Don't
believe me? Start with a single sidewalk-square size slab as a test, say in
the back yard to hold a birdbath. See how tired you are at the end of it.
Then do the math, comparing the size of that square to the size of your
driveway. Even if you get premix, and do it half or a third at a time, once
that truck shows up, you are moving until the pour is done, and the drivers
are not known for being patient while you spread it out. A driveway is a
multi-man job, with people who have been working together for awhile in most
cases. And like the other guy said, what are you going to do with the old
driveway, even assuming you can break it up yourself?

Some jobs are just so much easier with the right tools (air-powered
jackhammer, bobcat, dump trucks, rotary finisher, etc) that is dumb to try
to do them yourselves. You will save little or no money, and you will not be
happy with the results. I might consider doing formed steps or a walkway as
a DIY, but any flatwork that takes multiple yards of concrete is time to
call the pros, IMHO.

aem sends...

"Tony" wrote in message
...
My concrete driveway has tons of holes and pock marks that fill with water
every time it rains. It
looks terrible. How hard is it for me to put in a concrete driveway? I
have a book of Home Repair
that tells about laying a good foundation and all that but is there
anything else I need to know?

I live on Long Island and it is currently around 65 degrees. Winters are
normally around the 30s or
40s with some colder days thrown in. Is there some special mixture I need
to know about. Any
suggestions on what concrete to use? Any (constructive) help is
appreciated.

Tony

Some people can jump right into a big job and it comes out great. I'm not
one of those people. I like to start with small projects and work my way up
to bigger ones. That way my learning mistakes are affecting small jobs that
are easily corrected.

I had a new concrete driveway installed, this spring. After watching my
basement get poured, then my garage pad, then my driveway, I came to see
working with concrete is as much an art as a skill and a science. Before
you pour a driveway, start with something small, like a step outside a door.
Then maybe do a short section of sidwalk or patio in your yard. You'll get
a little appreciation for how the work grows exponentially with the size of
the project.

To do a driveway you not only need the knowledge and the "touch", you need
to think on your feet. Unexpected changes in weather change how you work
with the concrete, and how long you have to work with it. You also need
special tools and equipment so you can "float" over the middle of the
driveway to smooth it without falling in. And if its a two car wide
driveway you won't be able to work the concrete alone.

S

In article ,
"mrsgator88" wrote:

To do a driveway you not only need the knowledge and the "touch", you need
to think on your feet. Unexpected changes in weather change how you work
with the concrete, and how long you have to work with it. You also need
special tools and equipment so you can "float" over the middle of the
driveway to smooth it without falling in. And if its a two car wide
driveway you won't be able to work the concrete alone.

Another big difference between a driveway and a foundation is that
the foundation gets covered up, while the driveway is part of the
visual 10 second first impression that people will get of your
house. A sub-par job on the driveway will make your house look
bad, and it will cost you money if you ever sell. Go with the
pros here, and experiment somewhere where it will not show.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 08:28:14 -0500, "John A. Weeks III" wrote:

In article ,
"mrsgator88" wrote:

To do a driveway you not only need the knowledge and the "touch", you need
to think on your feet. Unexpected changes in weather change how you work
with the concrete, and how long you have to work with it. You also need
special tools and equipment so you can "float" over the middle of the
driveway to smooth it without falling in. And if its a two car wide
driveway you won't be able to work the concrete alone.

Another big difference between a driveway and a foundation is that
the foundation gets covered up, while the driveway is part of the
visual 10 second first impression that people will get of your
house. A sub-par job on the driveway will make your house look
bad, and it will cost you money if you ever sell. Go with the
pros here, and experiment somewhere where it will not show.

-john-

I am not going to even attempt the concrete driveway after reading these responses. I am going to
hire someone to do it or maybe even go with BlackTop. Thanks all.