Wish me luck

[dsyl1]

Started this weekend and here is my site so far... i am increasing the size of my "patio" and adding in the stand (oven to follow soon i hope). need to find some insboard or other insulation board. i live just outside of DC in Maryland..... any suggestions?... if not wish me luck, and i"ll post as progress allows

[Alter ego]

Good Luck with the weather!

It is so frustrating when you have dug a hole and prepared the ground and then the skies open up and fill your formwork with water.

[Neil2]

Put a bulkhead across the "Y" part and do it in two pours - a day apart.

If you do it in one pour you will have a crack there (I predict).

[Tscarborough]

I guarantee it. Personally, I would cut the wire at that point and pour them as independent slabs.

[Les]

You could cut joints after the pour to control the cracks. It is concrete - it WILL crack, on the upside, no one will steal it.

Les...

[fxpose]

If I were mixing concrete in a wheelbarrow or in a small mixer I'd do in 3 separate pours, 2 joints separating 3 slabs.

George

[sjmeff]

D - I also live in Maryland outside of DC. I bought my insulation board from Forno Bravo. I saw in another post that you were looking for firebrick. Did you find some? I called over a dozen local masonry suppliers and found that L.C. Smith Brick in Alexandria, Virginia had the least expensive medium-duty firebricks in the area: $1.10/each. That was in 2008, so it's likely to have changed but worth a call.

For HeatStop, I went to Potomac Valley Brick in Rockville and for Vermiculite, Seasons Wholesale Nursery in Gaithersburg.

Hope that helps.

[dsyl1]

thanks for all of the info. I picked up mid duty and heat stop from PV in rockville, and i hope to get the board from a company in beltsville (there calling me back)... for those concerned, thanks and i will pour in separate slabs (if it ever stops raining)... Again, Wish me luck???

[100million]

expandion joints material

I think use this Quikrete 1/2 In. x 4 In. x 5 Ft. Expansion Joint - 691703 at The Home Depot

Then u will have less cracks

[Neil2]

Large or irregular slabs will crack, especially if you have an "inside" corner. The trick is to make then crack where you want. Controlling the cracking is usually done by a construction joint (formed by separate pours) or by cutting a joint 3/4 to 1 inch deep within a day of the pour.