Backyard build. DECK/CONCRETE/POOL

Not sure where to put this, and hopefully mod will move it if in wrong area. 

I have learned a lot of painting and decking from this thread: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/pressure-washer-deckbrickfence-paint/162919/page3/

Our backyard is about 2,200 sq feet. Wife hates the old concrete. Pool is old. Deck is old. We also want to add a sunroom to patio (400 sq feet).  I want to give it a visual pop and facelift. 

All contractors who looked at backyard (pavers, travertine, new concrete), bill comes to $45,000-$65,000. Too much for what I want to do.  So goals are to tackle it as much as I can on my own. I have never done the work with concrete, or saw cutting, or pouring etc. 

Always helps writing the goals out. I will put current pictures, and update thread as I do the work. My goal is to finish all by May 1st. Self imposed deadline. 

GOALS (backyard)

• Put a new pool coping around the pool, to give it a visual border. 
• Resurface concrete, fix cracks, grind, pour overlay and do some stamping to hide future cracks. 
• Break a planter around oak tree. Saw cut concrete, get some roots out, and build a concrete bench there. 
• Get rid of old wooden deck, pour concrete, put artificial turf on top. 
• Put artificial turf (110oz) on 70% of the backyard to break up the concrete look

SUNROOM goals:

• Enclose 400 sq feet with all glass. 2 8 feet sliding doors. 2 clear glass doors on the side for entry and exit. 
• Pour 3 inch concrete floor to raise the level. 
• Add 2 rafters. 

FRONT YARD:

• We have had a hard time growing things. We have tried for years. Did some stone work 3 years ago. 
• Remove all plants. Put nice turf. 
• Redo some of the bricks (put one more layer bricks)

FENCE:

• All fence stained/painted. Curtis helped a ton with information. Pressure washer will be here today. 

All your ideas, expertise, welcome and encouraged.  

Backyard current picture (just took pool fence down) . The sunroom will be under patio. 

Front yard, where all will be removed. Add bench around tree. Put turf. 

Other angle showing rear tree, where Inwill break planter and build bench 

Some things I had brainstormed . I wanted to do some Brazilian IPE pool side deck, but was very expensive. So that idea is out

Day 2. Progress has been 

• deck being taken apart
• break 4 inch concrete planter 

May 1st?  Of what year?

I’m a pro, and that’s an ambitious goal. 

But carry on!! 

If concrete is new to you, try something small first. 

If you find it is too much, look for a crew you can hire directly (probably Hispanic). 

Absolutely positively do not do concrete if it's new to you. I do it for a living, there's a reason why a good finisher is usually paid a mint over everyone else in concrete.

Pool decks are among the hardest things to do because if you screw up the finish you have Bunches of problems, including drainage and if the finish isn't done perfectly....you either slip and fall to your death if it's too smooth or you can't walk across it without pain because it's too rough.

Overlayment is almost always garbage, it doesn't save money in the long run, it's at best a bandaid. Stamping and overlayment makes everything worse.

Stamping itself has to be done at exactly the right time, with a chalk or liquid release or it'll end up looking like garbage. Even seasoned pros that have done a lot of it only do a few yards at a time because concrete is a ticking time bomb. Your window could be an hour....it could be 5 minutes.

Seriously....concrete is a pay-the-man situation. Concrete, the material alone, is expensive and if you do it wrong.....it's crap. It weighs 2 tons a cubic yard and you will need a lot of tools to pull off what you want to do.....it's not $50 worth.

You are trying to pull off brain surgery on your 2nd day of med school level here

Also to add.....you don't grind and stamp to get rid of cracks. You will just have new cracks.

Concrete cracks for a reason, putting more un reinforced concrete over the top of it does nothing, it'll crack right there again in very short amount of time

And bluntly.....45-65k is a lot of money but I clock you, as a person who has never done concrete, as having a 1 percent chance of pulling it off and it looking better than it does now. When that happens you are still paying 45-65k plus whatever you did by yourself.....and the cost of removing what you did. I charge $250 an hour for removal, that could be a few days depending.

I'm not being mean or an shiny happy person.....this is really really really not a place for someone who has never done it

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

I’ve been doing this for over 40 years, and I don’t disagree with AntiHero. 

But I do admire your ambition, and will support you as best I can. 

Thats why I suggested something small. You are gonna find this is really hard. 

Carry on- ask for help when you need it. (Although I’m not gonna come there and hump concrete for you! LOL!!)

Final goal

SVreX said:

May 1st?  Of what year?

I’m a pro, and that’s an ambitious goal. 

But carry on!! 

Well May 1, 2020 :) 

SVreX said:

If concrete is new to you, try something small first. 

If you find it is too much, look for a crew you can hire directly (probably Hispanic). 

Concrete is fully new to me. Never touched it. The area by the deck, we have wooden steps, which I will get rid of. Due it being side of the house, I want to try the concrete there first. I added a pic for you to get an idae. If I mess up here, should be tolerable 

SVreX said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

I’ve been doing this for over 40 years, and I don’t disagree with AntiHero. 

But I do admire your ambition, and will support you as best I can. 

Thats why I suggested something small. You are gonna find this is really hard. 

Carry on- ask for help when you need it. (Although I’m not gonna come there and hump concrete for you! LOL!!)

I've been doing this 23 years professionally and longer just helping my dad with his business.

Pool decks are the thing that seasoned good concrete finishers sweat over. These are marriage killer sorts of jobs if you do them yourself.

And I'm not saying that as hypothetical, I've literally seen it happen more than a handful of times.

Suggestion on the concrete surface...

Antihero is right. You’re gonna have more cracks. 

Consider a textured outdoor tile. It’s much easier to handle a little bit at a time as a DIYer, and crack membrane underneath can do wonders. You can mix up some thinset, lay a small area, and come back to it three days later and do more. Cost of the materials will be close to similar. And the look can be stunning. 

Concrete MUST be done all at once, and if it comes out E36 M3ty, it comes out E36 M3ty.

Along the same lines, consider a wood framed deck where you can. Don’t use concrete unless you have to. 

If you spend a little more on TrekDeck flooring, it will look like a million bucks.

Antihero said:

Absolutely positively do not do concrete if it's new to you. I do it for a living, there's a reason why a good finisher is usually paid a mint over everyone else in concrete.

 

Pool decks are among the hardest things to do because if you screw up the finish you have Bunches of problems, including drainage and if the finish isn't done perfectly....you either slip and fall to your death if it's too smooth or you can't walk across it without pain because it's too rough.

 

Overlayment is almost always garbage, it doesn't save money in the long run, it's at best a bandaid. Stamping and overlayment makes everything worse.

 

Stamping itself has to be done at exactly the right time, with a chalk or liquid release or it'll end up looking like garbage. Even seasoned pros that have done a lot of it only do a few yards at a time because concrete is a ticking time bomb. Your window could be an hour....it could be 5 minutes.

 

Seriously....concrete is a pay-the-man situation. Concrete, the material alone, is expensive and if you do it wrong.....it's crap. It weighs 2 tons a cubic yard and you will need a lot of tools to pull off what you want to do.....it's not $50 worth.

 

You are trying to pull off brain surgery on your 2nd day of med school level here

I appreciate this kind of input. I am not wanting to do brain surgery. My goal is to do the demo first. See where I am. Tackle the things I can. THEN get a professonional to help me. Listening to your advice, concrete is then a pay the man job! I know my limitations, and I posted this thread, because your opinions on this forum is as good as gold to me.

mr2s2000elise said:

SVreX said:

If concrete is new to you, try something small first. 

If you find it is too much, look for a crew you can hire directly (probably Hispanic). 

Concrete is fully new to me. Never touched it. The area by the deck, we have wooden steps, which I will get rid of. Due it being side of the house, I want to try the concrete there first. I added a pic for you to get an idae. If I mess up here, should be tolerable 

What sorts of tool do you have? Bullfloat? Blue Glider? Fresno? Crazy Trowel? Finishing broom? Fly Groover? Floats? Laydown trowels? Burner trowel? Edgers? Placers? That's what you would need to finish it

Setting it up would require a compactor( you can rent it) rebar cutter/bender, a way to tie rebar together and a way to make it level 

The tools are gonna be spendy, a decent bull float alone is a couple hundred

SVreX said:

Song the same lines, consider a wood framed deck where you can. Don’t use concrete unless you have to. 

If you spend a little more on TrekDeck flooring, it will look like a million bucks.

I do need to think about the wood deck. THat was my initial idea. However, IPE contractors are wanting 38-$42 a sq/ feet, which is adding up fast. I will look into the Trek Deck.

Personally I wish the house didn't have a pool. But kids enjoy it now. We will fill it if I ever live here long enough .

Antihero said:

mr2s2000elise said:

SVreX said:

If concrete is new to you, try something small first. 

If you find it is too much, look for a crew you can hire directly (probably Hispanic). 

Concrete is fully new to me. Never touched it. The area by the deck, we have wooden steps, which I will get rid of. Due it being side of the house, I want to try the concrete there first. I added a pic for you to get an idae. If I mess up here, should be tolerable 

What sorts of tool do you have? Bullfloat? Blue Glider? Fresno? Crazy Trowel? Finishing broom? Fly Groover? Floats? Laydown trowels? Burner trowel? Edgers? Placers? That's what you would need to finish it

Setting it up would require a compactor( you can rent it) rebar cutter/bender, a way to tie rebar together and a way to make it level 

 

The tools are gonna be spendy, a decent bull float alone is a couple hundred

I don't have construction level tool. I built a garage about 5 years ago, with some stone work. I will rent most. What needs to be left to professional, wil be for sure. 

SVreX said:

Suggestion on the concrete surface...

Antihero is right. You’re gonna have more cracks. 

Consider a textured outdoor tile. It’s much easier to handle a little bit at a time as a DIYer, and crack membrane underneath can do wonders. You can mix up some thinset, lay a small area, and come back to it three days later and do more. Cost of the materials will be close to similar. And the look can be stunning. 

Concrete MUST be done all at once, and if it comes out E36 M3ty, it comes out E36 M3ty.

Concrete is sounding scarier by the minute!

Antihero said:

SVreX said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

I’ve been doing this for over 40 years, and I don’t disagree with AntiHero. 

But I do admire your ambition, and will support you as best I can. 

Thats why I suggested something small. You are gonna find this is really hard. 

Carry on- ask for help when you need it. (Although I’m not gonna come there and hump concrete for you! LOL!!)

I've been doing this 23 years professionally and longer just helping my dad with his business.

 

Pool decks are the thing that seasoned good concrete finishers sweat over. These are marriage killer sorts of jobs if you do them yourself.

 

And I'm not saying that as hypothetical, I've literally seen it happen more than a handful of times.

well marriage killer = ferrari for me. HAH jk. I appreiate the input. 

I wll update on Sunday -- hopefully i get through most of demo by then.

Antihero said:

Also to add.....you don't grind and stamp to get rid of cracks. You will just have new cracks.

 

Concrete cracks for a reason, putting more un reinforced concrete over the top of it does nothing, it'll crack right there again in very short amount of time

 

And bluntly.....45-65k is a lot of money but I clock you, as a person who has never done concrete, as having a 1 percent chance of pulling it off and it looking better than it does now. When that happens you are still paying 45-65k plus whatever you did by yourself.....and the cost of removing what you did. I charge $250 an hour for removal, that could be a few days depending.

 

I'm not being mean or an shiny happy person.....this is really really really not a place for someone who has never done it

I don't think you are being mean. I am a grown man, I know my limitations. Keep em coming. 

mr2s2000elise said:

Antihero said:

Absolutely positively do not do concrete if it's new to you. I do it for a living, there's a reason why a good finisher is usually paid a mint over everyone else in concrete.

 

Pool decks are among the hardest things to do because if you screw up the finish you have Bunches of problems, including drainage and if the finish isn't done perfectly....you either slip and fall to your death if it's too smooth or you can't walk across it without pain because it's too rough.

 

Overlayment is almost always garbage, it doesn't save money in the long run, it's at best a bandaid. Stamping and overlayment makes everything worse.

 

Stamping itself has to be done at exactly the right time, with a chalk or liquid release or it'll end up looking like garbage. Even seasoned pros that have done a lot of it only do a few yards at a time because concrete is a ticking time bomb. Your window could be an hour....it could be 5 minutes.

 

Seriously....concrete is a pay-the-man situation. Concrete, the material alone, is expensive and if you do it wrong.....it's crap. It weighs 2 tons a cubic yard and you will need a lot of tools to pull off what you want to do.....it's not $50 worth.

 

You are trying to pull off brain surgery on your 2nd day of med school level here

I appreciate this kind of input. I am not wanting to do brain surgery. My goal is to do the demo first. See where I am. Tackle the things I can. THEN get a professonional to help me. Listening to your advice, concrete is then a pay the man job! I know my limitations, and I posted this thread, because your opinions on this forum is as good as goldtoto

Even the demo is gonna be rough, 2200 sqft of concrete is roughly 55 tons. Figure 2 ton for each 8' by 10' section.

I'm not trying to totally kill your hopes and dreams or anything, it's just a lot harder than it looks lol