Pouring a Concrete Slab With Bagged Concrete By Yourself

When needing to pour a concrete slab durring a period of social distancing you sometimes have no choice but to do it yourself. In my case this meant hand mixing many bags of concrete, fiber reinforced concrete, which was tough but doable. The trick was to break the project up into sections, mixing and pouring only the concrete I could manage in a period of time.

Make sure to check out the other videos of this concrete patio construction project...

A benefit of pouring the concrete in this fashion is that the cold joints, where the two section of concrete join, serve in place of adding a concrete control joint.

[MrKistel]

Make sure to check out the other videos of this concrete patio construction project...

[bluej]

Your little girl is absolutely adorable.

[MrCnAZ]

Thanks for sharing your video. DIY concrete work is incredibly physical, especially when mixing by hand. Nice job! I recently did a small job (27 60lb bags, but I bought a cheap mixer from Harbor Freight for about $225). It really saved my back (I'm in my 50's so....yeah...). I am thinking about pouring a pad in my carport (13x30) this summer in sections. Thanks again for the video.

[mike]

Just finished an 8x11 4 inch thick pad.ALL BY MYSELF. I USED MESH, and rebar. I figured all that hard work- I want it to last! I split my pours just like you but I put a guard in between.

[bwnco]

Holy crap dude! mixing 5 bags by hand is alot of work...lol.... Good Job!

[Robert-lznv]

Just to see if I still had it in me...I'm 66 years old and I recently dug-out and built the form for our new 4" thick concrete slab at 10' x 12'. I then loaded 50 thus 80 lb. bags of concrete by myself at Lowes. I drove home, unloaded every bag next to the form, and I hand mixed all 80 bags (4000 lbs. = 2 tons). I poured it and tooled it out to completion...by myself.
I guess being a U.S. Marine of 22 years helped me with the 'minds-eye-set' of doing what has to be done, no matter what, and now I have to do it again after I install the expansion joint.

[Swiat]

A helpful tip is to run a sawzall without the blade against the forms to get the air bubbles out and get the concrete to settle all the way down to the edge. Makes for a much cleaner look. If using a sawzall isn’t feasible, tapping with a hammer repeatedly will do the same (but takes much longer).

[richardshermanjr]

I've done 3 or 4 slabs like this. I like to use a wheel barrow and mix 2 bags at a time. I like the way you dug deeper around the edge of the forms. If you didn't over time the dirt will settle and make a void between the concrete and the ground.

[seanfinn]

I would have done it exactly the same way but i would have used alot of swearing and alot of beer. oh yeah and i would have spread that project out over 5-6 months.

[zipperhead]

Wait a minute, Joe! You said you did it all by yourself! I saw that cute little girl helping ya right there at the end... just saying. (lol). Thanks for the vid!

[JhnnyBoy]

literally just watched the concrete to the right completely dry up and you're still going! Props!

[jenny-DD]

She's proud of you Joe- your a good man

[rogerwaynebailey]

I did the same for a small two car garage...it took about 120 eighty pound bags...never again...called a truck for the next slab...GREAT JOB to you sir!

[dennisveazey]

REAL MVP doing all that mixing and pouring on a one man crew! 👏👏💪💪🏆

[rickarts]

Thanks for these videos. Contractors in our area are charging an arm and a leg with absurd lead times. Think I'll just do it myself.

[janetleeharrison]

Job well done! Like your tiny helper at the end - cute kiddo. My back would be F-R-I-E-D! Take care of yours my friend. TFS!

[foodparadise]

Any man has the will to be self reliance earn my respect.

[goaheadmakeourdayscooterpe]

A big time saver would have been to have a bucket marked with the exact amount of water needed per bag. On first bag measure how much you need depending on size bag and how wet you want mix and then mark bucket for the exact amount of water for following bags instead of adding a little at a time. I did this years ago when I made concrete bench ends saves a lot of time.

[JungleJimABAB]

Thanks for posting your videos. They're very helpful and well made. This is what DIY videos should look like.

[maarez]

I'm fixing to do a 10x10 slab by myself and I think I'm gonna buy a concrete mixer. No way in hell im gonna mix by hand in this 105 degree south Texas heat