• The slab is 9’ x  9’ for a total of 81sf
• The grid pattern forms look great and make this an easy one person project
• Sakrete’s Crack Resistant Mix requires no extra reinforcement
• This is a very low-cost, high-durability, beautiful hardscape project

This project allowed me to easily convert an unused and kind-of ugly portion of my backyard into my new favorite outdoor spot.

Large Slabs Usually Mean Extra People, Equipment, and Expense
The thing with larger slabs is that they usually require the entire amount of required concrete at one time. If you don’t pour the whole thing at once, you get cold joints. Cold joints happen when concrete poured into a slab is allowed to partially or completely dry before more concrete is added. Cold joints usually don’t look good at all.
In order to get all the needed concrete ready to pour at once, people often call for a concrete delivery from a ready-mix company. Unfortunately, a slab this size only requires about one cubic yard of concrete. Ready mix concrete trucks (the big concrete trucks that deliver concrete and spin) usually have a three yard minimum order. So that won’t work for a slab this size.
In this situation people often go for “U-Cart” type concrete where you go to a provider who rents you a trailer with a yard of mixed and ready-to-pour concrete in it. The problem with that is that you need to be able to get the trailer pretty close to the work area, or you’re going to need to wheelbarrow the concrete a long distance. Wheelbarrowing wet concrete isn’t fun. I promise.
The other issue with pouring one yard of concrete at one time is the manpower. In order to place and finish that amount of concrete before it starts to set-up, it usually means extra people are required.
I wanted to do my project by myself, without any heavy equipment or trailers to return, and I didn’t want to be rushed.
The Grid Form System

The solution to my problem was the grid shaped forms you see in the photos.
This simple “tic-tac-toe” pattern form made of pressure treated 2×4’s provided me with a number of solutions.

• An improved look – I love the grid pattern and the way the slab looks like large tiles.
• Easy Placing and Finishing – Doing a good job on a 3’x3’ section of concrete is much easier than doing a good job on a 9’x9’ section of concrete, especially for a novice.
• Timing flexibility – I could do one square a day if I wanted to. There is no need to pour the whole slab at once. I did my project over a period of two days.

Creating the grid was easy and only took a couple of hours, eight 10’ long pressure treated 2×4’s, and a handful of coated deck screws.
My area was already sufficiently level, but you would easily be able to level your form with some fill dirt as needed.
A Few Embedded Screws Will Help Long Term
There is a chance that EVENTUALLY (many years from now) the screws holding the forms together could rust through, so in order to keep the perimeter forms from ever falling away, I placed a few screws inside the forms to connect them to the concrete. These aren’t meant as reinforcement, it’s just a little insurance to keep the wood from falling away from the edge.

Sakrete Crack Resistant Concrete
I chose the Sakrete Crack Resistant Concrete Mix after having been so pleased with it on a driveway repair I did last year. This is the perfect concrete for a slab like mine because I wanted to be able to just pour the concrete in without the need for steel wire reinforcement. For a garden type slab like this I just needed a great, easy to mix concrete that would be less likely to develop cracks. This product fit the bill perfectly. It was easy to finish and will stay looking great for many years to come.
I needed about 5 bags per square… 9×5 = 45
45 Eighty pound bags… no problem. I went and picked it up so loading and unloading the truck (two trips) was a chore! Save yourself the trouble and just have your retailer deliver it!

Mixing is Easy
I did all my mixing in a wheelbarrow right in the slab area. This way, after the concrete was mixed I could just dump the wheelbarrow.

1. Dump a bag or two into the wheelbarrow, the less concrete you mix at once the easier it is to mix-up, but the more times you have to repeat the process. You can decide what’s comfortable for you.
2. Add water per the mix ratio shown on the bag. Extra water can be easier to mix, but it weakens the concrete. In my case I wasn’t too worried about the concrete being at the full specified 4000 psi, so I added a little bit of extra water.
3. Mix it up well, then pour it in the square.

Each 3’x3’ square takes about 5 bags.
Finishing the Concrete
One thing about being a general contractor is that the skills you develop are often exactly that… general. I’m generally able to finish concrete. I understand all the steps and the general principles. But I do not think I’d do well finishing a 9’x9’ slab by myself.

But 3’x3’… that I can handle! The beauty of this project is that the squares can be finished one at a time using simple tools. Here’s all I needed:

• steel tooth garden rake (not shown in photo)
• a 16” trowel
• a concrete edger
• A straight board for leveling off the concrete
• A flat shovel
• Water

Follow these simple steps to finish the concrete:

1. Use the rake to spread and roughly level the concrete.
2. Use the board to level off the concrete and get a trowel ready surface.
3. Use the trowel to smooth off the top of the surface as it begins to dry.
4. Use the edger tool to create a nice edge along the perimeter of each square.

This video shows these steps:

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sakrete. The opinions and text are all mine.

Let’s call it RO-DIY: Return on Do-it-Yourself

If your skills are nascent start with something small that still packs a dollar-for-dollar punch.
Here are three projects you can do this weekend while dancing about how you make money moves.

Painting

You can teach yourself to paint. It isn’t an appendectomy. That’s not to say that a true professional painter doesn’t have valuable knowledge and skill. They do. If anyone appreciates the skill of a real painter, it’s me.
But professionals are busy painting entire homes, inside and out. They are doing the big jobs for contractors and the whole house jobs that run well into the five-figures. They’re not beating down your door to paint your bathroom one week and your bedroom three weeks later. That’s DIY territory and it can actually be fun if you let it!
YouTube is your friend. You can watch a few videos on painting and get enough information to at least get a good start. And trust me, your skills will grow. As your skills grow, so will your vision and before long you’ll be confident and on-a-roll(er). And when it comes to increasing the value of your home, nothing much compares to the ROI of a fresh coat of paint.

Fixtures

One of the lesser known tricks of the house flippers out there is “replace all the fixtures”. Very little can be done as easily that makes as big of an impact on resale value. No muss, no fuss. Big results.
The fixtures to start with are door hardware, cabinet hardware, lighting fixtures and sink faucets. But you don’t have to stop there. If you look around your home you’ll be surprised how many of the finishing touches are simply “bolted on”. Cabinetry, shutters, shelving and more are the kinds of items that you just remove and replace.
While it might not seem like much, the ROI is impressive and the confidence boost to your DIY skills will propel you onward and upward!

Outdoor Projects

Basic woodworking skills are the cornerstone of a long and happy life as a DIYer. Yet so many would-be weekend carpenters never get started because they don’t want to mess up something important, like the front door, or the kitchen cabinets.
My suggestion is to start outside. Pick an outdoor item that needs repair, such as a wooden gate or a section of rotten trim. Learning is so much easier when you don’t have to think about design. Just replace the damaged piece you see in front of you. Get the same size board, cut it the same length, and screw it in place. Simple.
If you’re already past that level, outside is still a great place to level-up. What about building something like a trellis, or maybe an arched top wooden gate like I did? When you hone your skills outdoors you have the leeway to allow some imperfections in your work. It’s very liberating and there is no better place for growing your skillset.
As a bonus, when it comes to RO-DIY everyone knows that curb appeal is where it’s at!
No matter what, just don’t believe “you’re not wired that way” or “you don’t have a DIY bone in your body”. That’s just a lack of confidence talking. Try. Learn. Grow.
Your home, your spouse, and your wallet will thank you.

What About You?

I’m curious? What DIY Project have you done that felt like it was money in the bank to you? Either it saved you money or it made you money on resale?
~ RG

Have You Ever Seen a “Teardown Neighborhood”?

I gotta say… I really am NOT a fan of that trend. And I don’t see how it makes sense. I think the only way it CAN make sense is if one completely dismisses the potential of a BRILLIANT REMODEL!
And why would one do something like that? Amazing remodels happen every day.
In any case, I wrote about the topic over at RealEstate.com if you’d like to check it out.
I’ve been writing quite a bit over there lately, here is my author page if you’re interested!
I’d love your thoughts in the comments… what do you think about teardowns?
~ RG

1. It helps you think your work through and provides a roadmap for your year.
2. A calendar can relieve the mental pressure that is created by trying to hold SO MUCH information in your head or in scattered places.
3. A calendar makes you accountable to yourself and others to help avoid procrastination!
4. A calendar like this, with links to other information, can help you plan your annual home improvement budget so you know what you’ll spend.
5. A calendar gives you bargaining power at when an unexpected “extra” expense comes up. You can look at the calendar and clearly see what work might need to push into next year in order to afford the extra item.

This video shows how to use the popular web and mobile app Trello in order to create that annual remodeling calendar and how powerful it can be in helping you keep track of your fixer-upper plan!

• Leaves and debris in your gutter collect dirt, which causes even more of a backup
• Once those backups get bad enough, downspouts get clogged
• Some leafy trees can cause downspouts to get packed solid with debris
• When gutters don’t drain they get heavy
• Heavy gutters can pull the gutter nails loose and the gutter can sag or fall off
• Water backing up in the gutter can cause roof leaks
• Even if the roof doesn’t leak, expensive wood rot is very common with clogged gutters

In short, clogged gutters can be a real bummer!
It’s Easy to Keep Gutters Maintained
The biggest reason for neglecting gutter issues is simply the fact that they are kind of “out-of-sight, out-of-mind”. Since we don’t usually see inside the gutters from ground level, we don’t think about it and it gets forgotten. Take the time to set-up a reminder on your calendar so you don’t forget. A couple times a year is enough for most homes. Maybe quarterly if you’ve got heavy tree coverage.
The good news… it’s easy!

In this project video, I used four simple tools from my local True Value Hardware, where the staff is so friendly and helpful it’s easy to find what you need. (It’s so nice to walk in and be greeted by someone who will take you to find what you need!)

• A garden hose
• A jet spray nozzle (called a sweeper nozzle)
• A narrow metal rake for reaching farther and cleaning debris out of the gutter
• An awesome fireman style spray nozzle to finish up with

It was a simple matter of cleaning out the gunk from the trees using the rake, then getting the clogged downspouts clear using the sweeper nozzle, and finally using the Fireman spray nozzle to rinse everything out one last time.

A few minutes work to save a bundle on potential problems down the road.
Be sure to check out the video above for a visual… you won’t believe just how clogged and nasty gutters can get!
Have you checked yours lately? Watch the short video to see both how bad it can get, and how easy it is to take care of!
~ Tim

Before and After

Step-by-Step Photos

• Did I want to set-up a huge covered work area with forms and workbenches?
• Did I want to pour my countertops upside down and then install them after removing them from the forms?
• Did I want to fill voids and polish the surfaces to get that slick granite-like glossy smooth finish?

Not so much, I decided. I really wanted to form and pour my counters in-place and trowel the top smooth and call it a day. Hopefully, literally, a day. I didn’t need slick smooth and I was happy to trade some imperfection for a faster process with fewer steps. I had a vision in my mind of exactly how I would do it.
But the call to tech support had me wondering. Would the counters made my way be acceptable to me? Would I feel proud of the finished product? Would I be happy with the surface and the look? I wanted them to last for many years of course!
What we needed was a test project! Something smaller to try first. Something that, if it didn’t work out, I could just start over the other tried-and-true way. No harm, no foul.

That’s how I started staring at the big plain boring wall in my office. And that’s how it all started.
Ingredient #1 – A Custom Wall Wrap of the Tampa Skyline

Lucky for me, one of my businesses prints and installs custom wallcoverings like wall wraps and wallpaper. So I only had to go into the next room to print my wrap!
A few hours later, it was installed and looking good! Even with my experience with wall wraps I was blown away by how much larger the wrap made the small space feel!
Ingredient #2 – A Poured and Finished In Place Sakrete 5000 Plus Countertop

I sat for a few minutes in the morning and sketched out a design. I didn’t really want to apply any large brackets to my newly wrapped wall and at about 12’ my top was far too long to only be supported on each end, so I needed legs. I had looked to no avail at IKEA for some furniture legs I might use, and I considered getting some 4×4 or larger posts for use as legs, but in the end decided on 2×10’s. I felt like they would blend well with the elements of the photo behind.

Important Safety Note: In my case the counter is firmly between two walls on each end, so I don’t have to worry about lateral motion of the heavy concrete top. If I did, those 2×10’s would have needed more lateral support, such as big X-bracing on the back side, or a shelf halfway down, or some big angle brackets coming up from each leg (picnic table style). It goes without saying that when you’re working with heavy materials support strength and stability is of utmost importance. The design I created here is for the very specific use shown. A perfectly level slab floor and walls on each end of the top are both requirements for the design we used.
Ingredient #3 – A Set of Bluetooth Speakers, a Couple of Plants for Color, and a Papasan Chair

The very next day I was in business! We removed the forms in the morning and very carefully moved the top into place. Perfecto!
Now I have a comfortable place in my office to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee while catching up on some reading or listening to a podcast on my new (Father’s Day Gift) bluetooth speakers!
I felt like the potted plants really added to the overall impact by adding some color and better framing the skyline image. Thanks to Donnie Gibson for that idea and for building this with me!
The Finished Product Was Perfect For Me!

Remember going in I was kind of worried that my “short method” wouldn’t pan out. I worried needlessly! The end results were perfect for me. I’m a construction guy so I love a little bit of imperfection in the counter. I want it to be “obviously concrete”.
Sometimes that’s not the case. Sometimes the project calls for something much closer to perfect and concrete works great for those times too. I could still go back and smooth over a few of the open little spaces with portland cement to fill them, I could polish the surfaces to a perfectly smooth finish, and I could apply a high gloss sealer if I wanted a shine.
But I don’t want any of that! I love this counter exactly like it is and I’m now 1000% confident that this is the very same method I’ll use for my outdoor kitchen project coming up soon.
In fact, after working on three concrete projects in June alone and one a few months back, I’m feeling really pretty excited about the creative potential of concrete. I’m looking at my back deck, some sidewalks, kitchen counters, leveling the floor in my house for new tile… the possibilities are endless!
To see a step-by-step of how we built this particular counter, check out this post of detailed photos!
 
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sakrete. The opinions and text are all mine.

Mixing Bag Mix Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Mixing is pretty simple. Just dump the bag in a wheelbarrow and use a shovel to mix it with water. There’s information on the bag that shows how much water you need, but you don’t really have to stress over exact measurements… you can just add water until you get a good workable consistency. Use the shovel to be sure there’s no dry concrete mix left in the wheelbarrow and mix it up good, then dump it in the hole!

A couple of points to keep in mind…

• Especially for a driveway, you want the dirt underneath to be very well compacted to prevent settlement.
• Be sure to provide for enough thickness to create a strong slab… this is about 4″ thick
• If this was an interior patch you would want to put a vapor barrier like plastic sheeting

Smooth and Trowel Finish the Concrete

Use a trowel to finish the concrete as it dries. On a large repair in hot weather (it was over 90 degrees when this was being done) you would want to finish it somewhat as you go, then come back and keep working it as it dries. If you try to mix and pour it all before putting a finish on the concrete, you could end up with a surface that’s too dry and set to work with!

And Voila!… After that cures we’ll paint the entire carport and the repair as well with an epoxy floor paint and you’ll never know!

To see some of the bathroom project that made all this necessary, click here.
If you have any concrete repair stories or questions, let me know in the comments!
Happy Remodeling!
~ Tim

I Saw A Bathroom

People usually chalk up these visions to my line of work and it’s all good. But when I start seeing bathrooms in places with a total lack of plumbing, I get concerned looks. Such was the case on a recent project where one of the key design requirements was a new master bath. When I sat down to share my vision and started saying things like “the toilet would go here, over here we have room for a huge shower…” I was, expectedly, met with raised eyebrows.
But it happened… and here’s the short version of how:
Slab? What Slab?
In Florida where I live the majority of homes are “slab on grade” construction, which means that there is no crawlspace under the house. In houses with a crawlspace, adding drain lines for new plumbing isn’t such a big deal. Same thing on second floors. If there’s any sort of space available running a new drain/sewer line for the bathroom fixtures is easy. But with a slab the only way to get under it for new plumbing is to go through it…

Creating a Shower on an Existing Slab
Showers, like pretty much everything else in remodeling, can be done a number of ways.
Curbless Showers and Sunken Showers
Often on newer homes you’ll see showers that have very little slope from the primary floor, sometimes there’s nothing more than a cool linear drain and a barely perceptible slope in the floor where the shower is. Alternatively there’s the sunken shower, which is a step down below the primary slab floor.
Raised Shower With a Curb
Both of the previous types are far easier to do when the slab is being poured in new construction, and neither are very good options when building over top of a wood structure such as a frame house would have, or you’d have on the upper floors. In those cases and in cases like my project, where you’re putting a shower in what used to be a bedroom, you would generally build the shower floor up a few inches and then slope down to the drain. There’s a curb to step over on the way in or out of the shower.
It’s as Easy as 1-2-3
Converting what was just another room into a gorgeous marble clad “spa-at-home” shower involves a few steps.

Step One – You Need a Drain Line

Hot and cold water lines are the easy part. You can get water from anywhere and since it’s pressurized you don’t have to worry about corners, elevation changes, or much else… you just have to be able to get a pipe over there with water in it.
Drain lines aren’t as easy. Drains in houses generally operate on gravity. They say that one of the things you need to know to be a plumber is that “stuff” runs downhill. Indeed. For that to work out drain lines have to be installed such that they can slope according to your building code until they reach a point where either they tie-in with the existing sewer lines, or some sort of mechanical lift station or pump is utilized.
In the case of my project, that meant cutting out a trench in the slab, digging down into the soil, and running a new drain line for the shower. That line then tied in with the sink drain and the toilet and tub drains before exiting the house and making a long journey around the building to tie-in with the sewer line out front.
The drain line pops up in the floor where the shower drain will be and the slab is eventually  patched.

Step Two – You Need a Waterproof Shower Pan

Modern shower pans are usually high strength rubber liners that create a waterproof/watertight “tub” for lack of a better word that goes underneath everything at the bottom of your shower. The rubber pan goes up the wall framing (which had to be built, of course) and goes over a “curb” which is generally built up with a few 2×4’s.
Shower pans are important because the tile and grout isn’t totally waterproof. Some water will get through the tile and grout eventually. It’s always a good idea to maintain your grout and keep it sealed because you really don’t want water getting through it, but some will… and the pan is the last line of defense to make sure that water doesn’t get through and do damage to parts of the house which aren’t supposed to get wet.
I recommend having shower pans installed by a licensed plumber and then inspected by the local building department in order to be sure things are done correctly. That said, you can purchase shower pan material and install it yourself.

Step Three – You Need a “Mud Bed” to Slope Your Shower Floor

Since your shower floor is being built on top of a previously flat surface, there is no inherent slope. If you tile directly on the shower pan itself, the floor will be flat and could even slope a tiny bit in the wrong direction which would result in standing water… yuk!
To make sure the floor is sloped properly you can use what I’ve always referred to as a “mud bed”, but I’ve heard it called “Dry pack” and “Shower Bed”. To create our mud bed we used Sakrete Sand Mix Topping and Bedding Mix which is available at major home supply retailers everywhere. I’ve done a detailed how-to post on the process of installing a mud bed on a shower pan floor.

That post has some really helpful tips from a long time pro, but here are the broad strokes:

• Sakrete Sand Mix Topping and Bedding Mix is the product we use for this… it’s a high strength mixture that you only add water to. It is often referred to as “mortar mix” but it’s different than the mortar used to set block or brick. Sand and Bedding mix cures to about 5000 psi which is great for something like a shower bed.
• The mixture can be used in thicknesses from one-half up to two-inches, which is perfect for the slope of an average size shower.
• The material is mixed with water to a fairly dry consistency compared to what you would think of with concrete mix. The most common problem is people add too much water. The ideal consistency is similar to a snowball. You can pack it into a ball and hold it in your hand and it should maintain that shape on its own. If it’s too wet, getting the right slope is very difficult.
• The bed is installed directly on the shower pan and is built up to about 2” thick on the perimeter of the shower walls, then slopes evenly down to the shower drain where, in our case, we had over an inch of thickness remaining. Mud beds and ceramic tile should be installed following ANSI, TCNA and local building and plumbing code requirements so be sure to consult your local building department.
• It’s important to compact the material firmly with a large flat trowel or even a handheld tamper.
• Use a level or string lines to be sure you’ve incorporated an even slope.

Again… if you’re thinking of doing a shower bed project, make sure you take a look at the detailed how-to post.

It’s All Downhill From There

Once you’ve got that shower pan installed and the floor is sloped with a good mud bed, you’re ready to rock-and-roll. There’s nothing left but tile and finish details like a marble curb, a shower door, etc.
Simple, Not Always “Easy”
Have I oversimplified the process a bit? Of course… there are lots of steps I didn’t mention.. For example:

• Planning / Design / Drawings
• Framing
• Tile setting (Marble in this case)
• Etc., etc., etc.

The job of taking an existing space with no nearby plumbing and converting it into a bathroom is a big project, no doubt about it.
My goal with this post is mostly to open your eyes to the reality that it CAN be done. So if you’re kind of seeing things and you feel like you see a bathroom where there isn’t one, don’t dismiss it because it seems impossible.
It is possible.
~ Tim
 
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sakrete. The opinions and text are all mine.