You might want to watch this video. If you dare. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/n5l8lpai26mpdIU.html

I liked the concrete guy. Nothing more satisfying than to have random people admiring your work and getting more work out of it in the process.

The Gentleman who was working with concrete did an amazing job smoothing everything out.

Been pouring concrete for 50 years and I will guarantee that concrete will crack.

As an ex concrete inspector, glad you talked about slump. You can have 7000 psi and tons of rebar, but if it is full of water, it doesn’t matter. If it’s soupy, it gonna crack. Good point about the slope too My question is no expansion joint between sidewalk and foundation? Not generally a great idea because expansion joints are so cheap. It will crack there, and around an aluminum gutter, no joint?

Your finish guy is awesome....I could tell right away by how he was finishing off the top and sides with his trowels. I live in the pacific northwest, and our pours always find a way to crack crack because of our rainfall which, hence, creates a lot of ground water that permeates a lot of pours. The better guys out here know how to do it right, but they are REALLY expensive. However, you guys don't have to worry about that....I like how you pay attention to the most minute details and really care about your work and your reputation with clients. It's nice to see someone that is not just in it for the money. More concrete work for you!!

To prevent cracking and increase strength keep a lawn sprinkler on during the hot times of the day. Me personally I left the water on for two days after it cured and turned them off at night it’s been 10 years and not a single crack on my patio in the backyard

As a 20+ year concrete guy, they did a nice job on the finish and control joints (other then I would have jointed the step down) I may have put a lateral rebar at the step also but it would be as you said, a little overkill. nice walkway and a good contractor.

"not going to crack" that's the funniest shit I've heard this week.

A lot depends on where you live in the USA and the type of use the concrete will have depending if it's a sidewalk or driveway. In some parts of California the soil has a lot of clay were over time concrete will eventually crack (even with rebar and base) because of the clay your base has to be compacted and deep. As for always using rebar I've gone back and seen sidewalks I did 35 years ago with no rebar and they are still in great shape but then again that could be because of California's weather. One small trick we did was spray a light coating of diesel fuel on the concrete forms to make it easier to take them off and clean.

Maybe a more accurate title should be "How to Pour Concrete that will crack where you want it to crack". Good video and thanks for posting.

Lol will never crack! That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard. 🤣 poured just about every thing you can, pads, side walks road panels, pre cast walls, foundations all of it. From IMI to kwik bond everything cracks just give it time and pressure.

As an engineer with over 30 years experience I will tell you the concrete will crack. Rebar actually doesn't take any load until the concrete cracks and is actually over kill in pours less than 8" in depth. Limit your slump to 4" maximum and do not pin your concrete to the foundation if you live in an area that experiences significant frost in the winter time. Pinning concrete to a foundation will actually cause cracking in areas that the ground freezes. Any contractor that tells you it will never crack, get it in writing along with a warranty.

Your skills show! That's why neighbors ask you to fix their issues. My brother in law has far too many people on a waiting list after doing quality work for a neighbor. But that's an easy way to build a name for yourself if you're new!

if you live in a part of the country that experiences freeze thaw cycles, pinning a "floating" sidewalk or slab of any kind to a foundation that extends below the frost line isn't a good idea, the ground under the sidewalk will heave in the winter and now it can't move independently of the foundation on one side, it will hinge up with the rebar in the foundation. If you had another foundation under the outer edge of the sidewalk you'd be fine. the reason the original sidewalk sunk against the house is that the original back-fill around that foundation hadn't settled yet before they poured it.

I hand mixed (electric mixer) a 150' x 8' driveway 40 years ago and it has still not cracked, I put no steel reinforcing in it. Every driveway in every house I have lived in since has cracked, all have been reinforced with steel. An old guy told me my driveway did not need steel as it was on a solid base that would not move, he stated that it is the amount the concrete is worked and the way it is cured that decides whether it will crack or not. He was 100% correct, I have never had any concrete I have mixed myself crack or any concrete that I have had delivered crack because I have had control over how long it was in the truck for and also the curing.

Definitely shop around and see their past work if possible. Concrete is not an easy mistake to fix after its set up

That was a satisfying video to watch. As someone who has lived in newer houses and mid century houses, it makes me happy to see someone fixing problems the right way in newer developments. Nothing is worse than a bandaid. Well war is. War is worse but that’s an extreme jump.

One thing you can be sure of all concrete cracks, the reason for the score joints is to weaken the slab in that area so the crack will be in that weakened plane when it shrinks. 99% of the time it's the case but I've seen a crack form 2 inches away from the score joint it sucks but that's the nature of concrete.

Hopefully most of the cracks are inside the control cuts, but it will also likely crack by the step and around the curve. Fiber would have reduced the cracking, but still not eliminate it. Anchoring the slab to the house will also contribute to the amount of cracking, but you did not have much choice there.

Some really nice concrete work💪🏼👍🏻. Liked that they curved the sidewalk, & bull nosed the edges....also liked how that guy took care in the job & really made it “pop” compared to what was there. Looks 200% better, now that it’s done. Also impressed he brushed the sides😊 My entire neighborhood had the sidewalks redone few months ago, & was done....just to get it done. No grading of any kind, or care at all. At least the sidewalks are fixed now, but when it rains....get pooling & ponds everywhere. Contemplating whether to repair the sidewalk next to driveway, as it fell, just like at this house. It’s down about 2-3 in; but so far, driveway is just fine. Thanks for the vid, enjoyed watching this. Can be hard to find a good concrete guy/contractor at times; especially for small projects..... Looking forward to the next job in this house repair/remodel series. Have a good one✌🏼

I've poured a lot of concrete and I've learned from my experience. 1-Do it right the first time. 2- The sub-grade, sub-base and base are as important as the slab. 3- Adding fiber is cheap and well worth the money 4 - Rebar is better than wire 5- More rebar is better. You are absolutely correct on 4000lb concrete and the correct slump. I've seen basements poured where the mix runs from one end of the form to the other. The wetter the weaker. Last, concrete takes approximately 28 days to cure. Keep it wet and keep off of it as long as possible.

Good info. I would have mentioned that its important to make sure water pitches away from the house. It seemed that your sidewalk had a downhill slope and was level side to side, so that should be good.

I believe you will have cracks in the pour everywhere you fastened to the foundation. The freeze of winter will lift the concrete but not the foundation because it is poured down to below frost line this will break up your concrete. Your video is an excellent example of a job that will need to be redone in the future. I worked on a concrete repair crew. We fixed and are kept in business by people not knowing what they are doing with concrete. A big thank you.

The concrete finisher guy sure did a superb job. The walkway upgrade looks very nice Handyman ; )

Where I come from, (Nebraska), sidewalks move up and down with the seasons---frost heave. So I believe best practice there is not to rebar the sidewalk to the house foundation. Instead, typically a foam or fiberboard expansion joint is placed against the foundation so the sidewalk can move and so it doesn't adhere to the foundation.

Pretty Profesional WORK.... done by this 2 man team... quality WORKMANSHIP!!!!!

Handyman does nice work but I'd have placed an expansion joint along the entire home foundation, And I've had added one at the near corner where the walk turns. And below the porch step.

Guys it’s not a crack... it’s a “random-expansion-joint”.

Every concrete contractor knows one thing for absolute certain: concrete can and will crack and as a matter of fact concrete finishers actually induce cracking in the concrete at a specific place. Whenever you see lines in the concrete sidewalks (usually 3-4-5' apart made by the finisher they are weakening the concrete at that exact location so the concrete will crack at that place inside the line and present a pleasant visual crack vs. a crack without direction and wandering. The foundation of anything is most important and concrete is no different. Soil variations will contribute to the finished product and compaction of the soil and aggregate base is critical. Steel Reinforcement, expansion and control joints will aide to prevent cracking but invariably concrete can still fail, fail, yes but still be serviceable. A little unknown fact discovered by the Romans: configuration is the one constant that will cause a natural concrete product to crack more often than not. A concrete pad 20' long x 5 ft wide is 100 sq.ft. In this configuration the concrete more than likely will develop multiple cracks if not reinforced. However another pad 100 sq ft concrete area with the configuration being (10' x 10' --100 sq ft) will most likely hold its position in regards to cracking with all things being equal. Concrete are cut in configurations of square as close as possible: if the side walk is 3 ft wide the blocks are normally made 3' long/4 ft the same and so on and so on. The closer you can cut your joints to square the less chance of cracking because concrete expands and contracts the same in all directions. If all the direction of stress are the exactly same...........Again...concrete will and can crack no matter what you try do to prevent it but if you incorporate all the known factors that can cause the failure your chances of success rise dramatically.

I never thought watching concrete being put down could be so hypnotic. Amazing job.

A little trick to remove green mould, dirt, moss etc of concrete rather than using a pressure washer is washing powder. Decent biological washing powder. Sprinkle a load on the area, leave for a few hours, sprinkle some water or if it rains. Depending on how bad the area is, use a yard brush to scrub the area. Concrete comes up brand new, smells great & is better for pets.

We have bridges here built in the 30’s under the WPA. The bridge rails and sidewalk have zero visible cracks that I can find, though I am sure there must be cracks under the many layers of asphalt laid down. You can see where there are gouges from being struck by vehicles, but no cracks. I have asked concrete guys what they were doing so much better back then. I was told the quality of ingredients was better, plus they had unlimited man power to have guys watering it for weeks to better cure. On jobs I worked on, poured concrete would begin cracking within a week, or days. I just can’t believe the craftsmanship.

Thumbs up for the concrete guy, he did a terrific job 👍 How do you handle the waste concrete in the states? Here in Germany they put it on the ground and insert a hook, so that it can be removed by a digger.

I have poured concrete since 1966 and don’t believe that I would ever say concrete wouldn’t crack . I always use mesh and rebar in my pours and sometimes use fiberglass reinforcement also....a lot of our pours were under Army Corp of Engineers that required a 3.5 to 4 inch slump which worked your ass off finishing before it set these jobs required slump test cylinders also some of the hud and shopping centers I worked on required slump test. And someone said boomers in a responses but concrete pouring is really a young person’s job after doing construction in part of 7 decades my body no longer is good for concrete work.

These guys did a brilliant job.

Always use fiber concrete with steel mesh on chairs. ALWAYS use a fiber expansion material when pouring against a solid surface.

That's a beautiful concrete job. That man has some great skills!

Pouring my own concrete driveway. You rock!‼

Thanks Handyman!. Also, please give a shout out to the guy, his name and business, who helped you with the project. He did a nice job.

That’s a pretty bold statement to make about a guarantee that the concrete won’t crack!!! Like one gal told me years ago,ice cream melts,concrete cracks.

When you cut expansion joints they need to be cut all the way down through the concrete till you cut through the underside of the concrete,thats the only way to stop concrete from cracking,individual concrete sections then you fill the gap with foam backing rod and sikaflex polyurethane sealer.

The contractor does excellent work🔥

That dude did a beautiful job. I have been around building trades for 50 years. I am impressed.

I NEVER told my customers that my concrete wouldn't crack. I told them it was guaranteed to crack but only in the control joints that I placed in order to get as square a pad as I could. If the pads are long and narrow, you will get cracks without a control joint to divide them up into square pads.

I hope that steel was raised higher in the concrete, preferably above middle. Not too far from the top. Didn't see it in the video. Personally, there are a few details I would have done differently. Something surrounding the drain, instead of concrete all the way to the pipe. This would provide easier access if needed to unclog, repair, replace... A small piece of larger diameter PVC pipe would work. Another change would be to add something between the foundation and the concrete. For multiple reasons. Also, seal it.

concrete is always going to crack but you control it with the control joints.The old concrete broke so easy because there was no rebar or any kind of reinforcement

I put mesh and rebar in my garage floor 18 years ago it still has not cracked. It will only crack where you put control joints. Thanks for this video it tells all you need to know.

Concrete guy knows his job, thumbs up bro! Have had debates a number of times re mix/cement ratio. Mixing yourself what's the issue with a stronger mix? Hardly a cost consideration, just do the job right.

Three absolutes in life....Death, Taxes and Concrete Cracks

There should have been some form of vibration during that pour to eliminate the voids in the finished product. A 4-5 inch slump is too much. A 1-2 inch slump with proper vibration would be better. After finishing the concrete, a sealing agent should have been sprayed on the surface to reduce the rate of moisture loss during the curing process. The more moisture in the concrete during the curing process lends toward a stronger finished product and a reduction in cracking.

You might get some issues at the corner of the house. We see that some times, smaller cracks due to the stress/forces from the house corner. We advise people to put a little extra rebar down to catch that. Or use fibers. It will add a little extra work with the finish, but it works really nice. I guess 3000 psi is what we in the EU call a Moderate concrete? Which should be just fine. The finish lokked real nice

3rd generation builder here and I'm super critical. I've seen the results of many types of repairs over 50 years. I like how your doing this job. Thumbs up.

Only things you can guarantee on a concrete job: 1. It’ll get hard 2. No one will steal it 3. IT WILL CRACK Edit: HEY BOOMERS, this is just the saying that all the hack concrete guys in my part of the country say everyday. I was making jokes!!

something about it seems so claustrophobic all jammed up against the side of the house like that. i'm a klutz and would be scraping myself bloody every time on something seemingly so narrow. wish the homeowner would've spread the whole thing out a little wider at the entrance and then equal to the width of the little porch. would've made a nice place to park your butt, surrounded by some plants & a few rock features...oh well, it's DEFINITELY better built now.

Honeycomb can be eliminated with a vibrator. Vibrators aren't generally used for home sidewalks. Honeycomb can be decreased and maybe eliminated by running a piece of re-bar down and up through the wet cement next to the form several times every 4 to 6 inches and by tapping the form with a hand hammer several times at the same 4 to 6 inch distance. Your finishers did a good job.

There are factors to consider with an irrigation system is the best way to go like where you live colder regions where you have to winterize I had a sprinkler system and it was a pain. There was still small areas of trapped water that caused freezing damage then there was unintentional damage so make sure that your yard warrants a sprinkler system. If you think that it does then next make sure that you use premium soil to plant you seed or sod in so that you’ll have the proper amount of drainage and your lawn will have the best chance to be healthy. Another thing that I see many people forget about is the downspouts from your roof gutter system. Now that your adding water to your existing drainage system it could disrupt the balance that was in place so the downspouts need to be properly routed which depends on what type of soil is under your topsoil. I had red clay so the downspouts had to run to the edge of my property where it didn’t effect the neighbors luckily I was on a corner lot so I was able to route seven downspouts off of the property without sending it to the neighbors. My present home is sandy soil with great drainage not near as much as a concern but I still plan to bury them because of other serious problems that unburied downspouts can cause leaky basements, soil erosion and others. I noticed the home that you’re working on has a steep grade so drainage and planting selection will will aid in getting the best result. If you do go with an irrigation system use premium pipe like CVPC or PVC it’s much more durable than the standard black pipe on rolls and your fittings can have more options and CPVC pipe and fittings are much more durable against freezing. I had seven zones irrigating two thirds of an acre that I was annually needing repairs not to mention the accidents with the snow blower and lawn mower. Where it’s warmer I’d put in a sprinkler system in but I wouldn’t use the standard pipe a probably have to do it myself. Best of luck with all of your projects.

There are only 2 kinds of concrete, concrete that’s cracked and concrete that will crack.

Just a recommendation if you're going to pour without much rebar or wire mesh (like a driveway) you could use a 1"+ aggregate it will make the concrete stronger it's just harder to finish

Fantastic concrete work. This yard just need good landscaping. First thing I would do is to build a wall. Second thing I would do is to fill up the area with dirt to the level of the walkway. Third thing I would do is plant grass and make the area into a nice level lawn.

Nice. I like. But if that house should Shift, like lots of homes here in TX, the house and the "side" walk will shift as 2 separate entities, and you'll see a nice GAP being created between your "side" walk and your Slab, and it will widen over time.

Thanks for the video.! Interesting to see the process.

That concrete looks amazing. I would have done it double width though!

It was money well spent, your time & effort in this was well worth the price. You can not put a price on peace of mind if your the home owner

Looks great man. But a tip is to make sure your dowrods are sitting on the base and not in the middle of the pad. Cause now when the slab goes through phases and shifts it can crack. Dowrods are mainly best for keeping the pad from sinking so when the rods sits on a good base it holds the slab up but with the rods in the middle now you only have 2" maybe 3" from the rod to the surface of the pad in return making I easier to crack. Now this depends on where your location is as well

Very nice. Just looking around. I do want to remark about sawed joints (as was NOT done): I see this had been a trend in the past decades (especially of driveways), but I hate them - they chip, and its because of stress concentration at a sharp edge; corners (at intersecting cuts) chip even worse. Rounded edges last MUCH longer - the life of the slab - and stress concentration (reduction of) is the reason why.

7:49 While you were there you could've pitched for the homeowner to install a retaining wall and fill it with soil to support that concrete. The rain will eventually wash the soil away and it will do more than just crack. It will slowly slide away.

Pulling the forms and finishing same day is the old way and you cant get that result any other way. Most people do it wrong. Great work!

I live in south Texas. I put mesh in all concrete. Poured a 40 × 40 slab 45 years ago had 4 people helping me almost killed me. No airplane float just a jitter bug. I was trained to drill holes at different angles. Not straight. Slab will pull away from house over time.

They did a great job !! Love to see craftsmanship!!

I'm no contractor, but why wouldn't you replace the bottom damaged siding BEFORE this pour?

I've had a long time concrete worker tell me that concrete cracks no exceptions the only thing you can do to minimize cracking is control cuts and expansion joints but eventually it will crack in other places too over time.

I would have used expansion joint foam between house and path, Plastic on the ground curled up against the house (that i cut off later) and mesh rio on top of that. He finished the cement off nicely though. It would have dried quick because the ground would have sucked all the moisture out.

You knew The Handyman was going to find some quality help.

That finished real nice. looks great!

2 more gallons! 😂 this guy is super knowledgeable!

Beautiful concrete work! That guy obviously knows his craft!

Love the curve, nicer than straight corners!

ALL concrete cracks, you just need to “tell it” WHERE to crack by jointing it or saw cutting it the next day.

Beautiful job! Although, concrete will always crack, regardless of rebar reinforcement; psi; mesh; etc.

i CAN BELIEVE YOUR A HANDY MAN! CONCRETE ALWAYS CRACKS, i WILL BET THE FARM ON THAT!

ALL concrete cracks. The best you can hope for is to control where the cracks occur. Also, you should have placed a fiberboard spacer between the foundation and the new pour.

When it comes to flat work you can't have enough help.

Nice, what I need. Practicing on moms house and uncles house. Going to get into finishing.

I was gonna leave a rage comment about Steel Floating a pathway that is meant to be used outside, then I saw them take out the Broom. and was like thank God!!! Great video man What a great type of home project this is.

Thats my trade, and by far one of the hardest trade ever lol

Oh no! That basement is going to retain so much water in time! Also the water that retains between the old Foundation and the new sidewalk will then expand in the winter and crack the entire sidewalk and cause havoc on the foundation, water always travels the path of least resistance and it will make its way into the Porous concrete causing major dams in the sidewalk, and cracks in your Foundation. I would have never taken this job on but if I did I would have tarred the side of the foundation, and ran weeping tile so that everything would drain properly, as to your pitch I don't recall you stating a proper pitch in your video!

Liked!!! That guy knew what he was doing. Looks great.

In CA we weren't allowed to put steel into concrete driveways and sidewalks. Instead the thickness of the concrete carried the load. The reason for no steel...well, anyone who tried to demo steel reinforced concrete can explain one reason. The other reason is it is almost impossible to do correctly. 3/8" rebar requires 1.5" of concrete minimum coverage. Most sidewalks use 2x4 forms so the thickness is 3.5". 1.5" concrete above + 3/8" rebar + 1.5" below = 3 3/8" so the rebar must all be perfectly centered to get the minimum coverage. As we see in the video no rebar stands are used (not that they along could perfectly center the rebar, and the bar "is just lifted when poured". Meaning the rebar is very likely to be almost touching earth in many places so the rebar will rust and blow out the concrete (hopefully just the bottom gets blown out). Then there's how rebar and concrete work together. If you place the rebar dead center it's not very effective. Rebar is normally place off center because what steel does is fight tension as concrete tries to bow the steel won't stretch which stops the bowing and the other side the concrete compresses which it can handle no problem. So in a slab (which a sidewalk is) the steel has to be in the upper third of the concrete. No way to do that in a 3.5" thick slab and still have the 1/5" min coverage. The risks were greater than benefits. Know it all know nothings of course steel = strong. I've seen guys wait until after the form inspection to add steel just before the pour. Morons.

An old flatwork guy I've worked with for years has a saying. "There's two types of concrete in this world; concrete that's cracked, and concrete that's gonna crack."

Classic mistake when pouring a pad next to a preexisting foundation, you need to rub a potato where the two meet otherwise the new mixture will turn into marshmallow.

That guy did a great job finishing the concrete..

concrete will crack, and you have to place control joints in it to try and force the crack to be in the joint when it happens. there are plenty of other methods as well, like using a shrink reducer or fibers in the mix, covering in plastic/burlap during the cure or even spraying a curing chemical on it before you float the concrete. Here in California where I work, we use #3-#4 Grade 60 rebar in a 12" -18" mesh pattern and a combo of Fiberboard/foam expansion joints and decorative saw cuts

If it wasn't for these videos, I wouldn't be as good as I am in pretty much any field. At work making fiber glass molds for theme parks as a contractor. Learning about concrete forming. XD

To get the driver to stay longer, just pay a local fitness model or your wife if she's hot enough to help screed.

The sub base will inevitably settle somewhat, so you will have the concrete slab suspended with no support by dowelling it into the foundation.

Next time you pour concrete and use your 2x4 try this little trick: after you change the oil on your truck - save it. Use a wide paint brush and after you installed the 2x4s paint the inside with oil really heavy. the boards just slip right off when the concrete is cured in a few days. Just a trick I learned from a professional while I worked for him.

Nice work. Cant wait to see the landscaping.

Please, please tell us how to make crack free concrete! Doweling to the adjacent slab or footing is standard practice.... I'm guessing you don't have a permit or inspections in your city if its "unusual" to dowel.

You can also save up a bunch of springs from old bic lighters and add them to the mix...(inflation fighting too!...)