Pour a small concrete pad

A level slab for a grill, trash cans or a small shed. Bagged concrete, no truck.

How big is the pad?

square feet

This one needs a trailer

About 1345 lb of materials. That is more than one pickup load — your shopper will need a trailer, and may make 2 trips. The rental is $35.00, it goes to them in full, and we take nothing from it. Only shoppers who can tow will see the run. ⚠️ 3 items on the list have no weight on file, so the real load is a little heavier than this.

Before you start

Wet concrete is caustic and burns skin — wear waterproof gloves, long sleeves and safety glasses, and rinse any splash off right away. Each bag is 80 lb, so lift with your legs. Call 811 before digging.

What to buy — untick anything you have

Concrete

9 bags of concrete mix, 80 lbRegular concrete mix, not fast-setting and not mortar. Check the bags are not hard or torn.

Stone

11 bags of paver base gravel, 0.5 cu ft

Hardware

3 Rebar, #3 × 10 ftUse the bar cutter by the rebar rack, or ask for help, to cut it short enough for the vehicle.
1 bag of rebar chairs
1 roll of rebar tie wire
1 box of exterior screws, 2 1/2 in (1 lb)

Lumber

4 Pressure-treated 2×4, 8 ft
1 bundle of wood stakes, 18 in

Tools — already ticked off, since most people have them

Tools

1 Electric concrete mixer
1 Wheelbarrow· most people have this
1 Hand tamper· most people have this
1 Magnesium float
1 Concrete edger
1 Spirit level· most people have this
1 Waterproof gloves and safety glasses· most people have this

It lands in the shopping form, where you can edit anything and say what you think each thing costs. Nothing is ordered until you send it.

How it goes · about a weekend · some experience

Mark the pad, dig out 8 in, and tamp the ground flat and firm.
Screw the 2×4 forms together around the hole, stake them every 2 ft, and set them level with a slight fall away from any building.
Fill 4 in of paver base inside the forms and tamp it hard.
Lay the rebar in a grid on the chairs so it sits in the middle of the slab, and tie the crossings with wire.
Mix the concrete a few bags at a time to a thick oatmeal texture and fill the forms, working it into the corners.
Drag a straight 2×4 across the forms to level it, float it smooth once the surface water is gone, and run the edger around the sides.
Keep it damp and covered for three days, and stay off it for a week.