Good video..For those planning a project with rebar call your local rebar seller or industrial steel company...they sell rebar cut to size for about half of what the home store charges . (How do they do it...volume!) .and that saves time on your end...same rules apply with roofing metal. Bolt cutters may have worked too to cut the rebar too. Same thing with concrete if you plan to mix more than 10 wheelbarrows...call the concrete truck and save money, time and labour!
@@AmplifyDIY That is cool how we can learn from each other's projects...and using rebar on a smaller project was a good way to see how it works and maybe think about bigger projects too. Looking forward to your next video!
Stone is usually sold in bags that say how many cubic feet they contain: usually 1/3 cubic feet per bag, if I recall correctly. So, to calculate how many cubic feet you need just multiply the total width by the total height by the depth (in feet) of gravel you want to put down. In my case, I wanted 2 inches of gravel for an 8 * 16 shed, so I did this: (2/12) * 8 * 16 = 21.33 cubic feet. (Dividing 2/12 converts 2 inches of depth into feet). Great question! I’m happy to answer any others you may have. Thanks for watching!
If you ended up getting the 20 feet rebar why didn’t you cut them at say 15 feet. This would leave you a 5 feet piece from each one that could have been used for the width. This would have saved you a lot of cutting and cut down on the number of pieces you would need.
Hi Bob - I don't recall exactly why I settled on the specific cuts that I did, but I suspect it's because I wanted to be within 1 foot of each edge. On an 8x16 slab, the 5' cross pieces would have been too short for my preference. To each their own, though. 5' likely would have been plenty long enough. Several years later, and the pad has not cracked - still looks as good as the day I finished it. Thanks for watching!
Just curious but could you have just done 15" and took 5" off the 20's. Maybe my maths wrong but I think it would've only costed an inch one axis. I'd assume you'd have to adjust by 1/2" on each side to put back on center? Also, I have no interest in building a shed but you are so concise and thorough I feel as if watching will help with other projects that I do. You definitely give good tips. Keep up the good work!
Hi Praetorxi! I believe you are right about the adjustments to the rebar. It's been a few years since I poured this slab, and so far no cracks at all. :) Thanks for your kind words about my videos. I really appreciate it.
definitely worth your time to gain skills to use more cutting tools. sawzall, grinder, even a portable band saw, oscillating multitools. bolt cutters work on the thin rebar well. harbor freight sawzall is 20$ with coupon angle grinder is 9.99 with coupon. bolt cutters, 20$ their coupons are all available on a free cell phone app. hope this helps. nice layout. nice slab. well done.
Rebar does not stop concrete from cracking, I am no concrete professional but i can put down concrete its not that hard, My Dad and i have a 24' x 50' x 4" we slab poured in front of my shop for about 48 years now, yes it has a few cracks like all concrete slabs will have and it has no rebar, we pull semi trucks on it and it is still good, my shop 60' x 100' x 4" has no rebar and has no cracks what so ever, I had a buddy concrete professional pour a pad in front of my house garage, 24' x 40' x 4", and he argued with me saying he would not pour the slab without rebar, he said he had some left over from a job and he would put the rebar in for free and so he did. It was poured in the spring and before sommer was over it had cracks in all over the place and some even got bigger the next summer. My grandfather was a professional in concrete and he told me that concrete was guaranteed to dry and then crack. So my question is why rebar in a slab pour, so next time you go to a friends house that has concrete poured in front of his garage see if it has any cracks and also i'm pretty sure it has rebar in it. I am not saying that i know if rebar is needed or not but i am saying it does not keep concrete slab from cracking.Ok concrete professionals go ahead and learn me i am open for discussion.
Hi Jay - thank you very much for your comment. I appreciate your experience, but rebar absolutely does help prevent major cracking in concrete slabs and structures. Concrete itself is VERY strong under compressive loads, but stinks at tensile (being stretched/bent). The rebar is there specifically to increase the tensile strength of the slab. My back porch is roughly the same length and width as the slab I poured for my shed. When the builder poured it, they did not add any rebar to the back porch. It has a huge crack that runs all the way across it - this crack appeared less than a year after the house was finished. Meanwhile, the slab I poured for the shed has no cracks in it at all. If you are interested in more reading/info on rebar and it's effects in concrete, check this out: ruclips.net/video/vuZcPTp51Zk/видео.html
I did not personally compare, but the research I did prior to building this shed led me to believe adding rebar would be stronger and result in fewer cracks. I'm pleased to report that it's now been several years, and there are 0 cracks anywhere in this slab. Thanks for watching!
Nice. My one criticism is that there is no rebar over the walls. That is where all the weight will be for the building. In other words put the rebar under the walls first. I guess you are very close though.
Great video and so nice to see you plan it out in 3D beforehand. I was wondering about a base for a shed and would really be interested in your opinion. I am thinking of using heavy duty galvanised metal fence posts set into concrete post holes as a base, rather than a full slab of concrete. As the shed needs a solid base it could rest on the metal supports. Perhaps this would also raise the wood and reduce water contact with the ground / concrete.
Hi David - yes, I've seen lots of people build a shed foundation that way, and it works pretty well. Just make sure that you use pressure treated lumber for the floor joists etc. When I was planning this project, I ran the numbers to see which would be cheaper. Pouring concrete was a little more expensive (around $100 or so, iirc) in materials, but I decided the peace of mind of never worrying about wood rotting, getting termites, etc was worth it to me.
I'm a bit late to the game on commenting on this, but I'm about to tackle the project myself. What 3d software did you use? Trying make my life easier by mapping it out first. Thanks for your videos man!
rebar is used if you are parking on it car or truck bigger weight thicker rebar a shed floor in general would not need re bar unless you are putting a lot of stuff on it
Hi Mark! I struggled for a long time trying to decide if I should bother with rebar in this slab. Ultimately I decided that while it is not strictly necessary, I hate cracked concrete so I added it to hopefully cut down on the cracks long-term. You can see lots more details of the decisions that drove my design in my video all about rebar here: ruclips.net/video/I3r1XlqYZXw/видео.html
im a builder so i do not need the vid putting re bar in is neither wrong or right for a shed slab with re bar in it can cause problems later on as you did not put a dpm in, the water can corrode it cement soaks water up the dpm goes under the re bar to stop this, this is why a lot of cement cracks or poor mix as well ie to dry it cracks or to thin a layer 1inch min for cement
@@AmplifyDIY Well, it's also used to keep it from cracking if the slab starts to pull away from itself so it's always a good idea to add it. Buy yeah, considering you didn't add more gravel to raise the foundation from your surroundings, DPM would have been nice. Doubt it will cause any trouble in your lifetime though. I give you an A.
And how quickly is it an issue if it's not - i'll be digging out the area around the slab next spring to lay decking supports at which point my slab will be quite high. WIll one winter matter?
So I’m thinking of making a parking spot for a 2004 Chevy Tahoe. The land is currently dirt. Do you recommend rebar or mesh? Or neither? How thick a slab?
I recommend rebar, and at least 6” thick on the slab. My slab was only 4” thick because I know nothing will ever drive or park on it. You’ll want a pretty beefy slab, especially for something like a Tahoe. I’d love to hear how it turns out for you. Good luck!
AmplifyDIY I appreciate your feedback & opinion. You seem to know a bit of this. I will reply with the outcome. You along with others helped in my direction. Thank you!
Not trying to be an ass, but the concrete will grab onto a little rust and be just fine. It can't grab onto paint near as well. Painting rebar is a no-no.
Awesome explaination on how to do things correctly. Really put everything in order. It's beautiful.
Thank you!
very informative on how you have used rebar for concrete slabs. thanks
Good video..For those planning a project with rebar call your local rebar seller or industrial steel company...they sell rebar cut to size for about half of what the home store charges . (How do they do it...volume!) .and that saves time on your end...same rules apply with roofing metal. Bolt cutters may have worked too to cut the rebar too. Same thing with concrete if you plan to mix more than 10 wheelbarrows...call the concrete truck and save money, time and labour!
Underrated comment right here. If I were to do this again, I’d definitely source the rebar from a local metal shop. Thanks for watching!
@@AmplifyDIY That is cool how we can learn from each other's projects...and using rebar on a smaller project was a good way to see how it works and maybe think about bigger projects too. Looking forward to your next video!
Do you have concrete that has cracked and split? It probably didn't have enough reinforcement like rebar added to it.
How many inches of gravel did you use? 2 or 4?
I used 2”.
One more question, how would you figure for how much stone you need?
Stone is usually sold in bags that say how many cubic feet they contain: usually 1/3 cubic feet per bag, if I recall correctly. So, to calculate how many cubic feet you need just multiply the total width by the total height by the depth (in feet) of gravel you want to put down. In my case, I wanted 2 inches of gravel for an 8 * 16 shed, so I did this: (2/12) * 8 * 16 = 21.33 cubic feet. (Dividing 2/12 converts 2 inches of depth into feet).
Great question! I’m happy to answer any others you may have. Thanks for watching!
Haha yes! I got here wanting to do my patio and saw your hat! Go stealies!
Thank goodness they are playing again this year. Been to a few games this season, may catch a few more. Go Steelies!
Thanks - you explain critical points very well!
Thank you!
If you ended up getting the 20 feet rebar why didn’t you cut them at say 15 feet. This would leave you a 5 feet piece from each one that could have been used for the width. This would have saved you a lot of cutting and cut down on the number of pieces you would need.
Hi Bob - I don't recall exactly why I settled on the specific cuts that I did, but I suspect it's because I wanted to be within 1 foot of each edge. On an 8x16 slab, the 5' cross pieces would have been too short for my preference. To each their own, though. 5' likely would have been plenty long enough. Several years later, and the pad has not cracked - still looks as good as the day I finished it. Thanks for watching!
what is the depth for the reinforcing bars if i have 6" concrete?
I’d try to get it right in the center. If you are placing 6” of concrete, aim for a 3” height of the bars.
@@AmplifyDIY Thank you so much.
could you guys do a video on how to prestress concrete slabs with rods?
lol
Well thought through in near perfect detail, thank you
Curious why you didn't put a vapor barrier underneath the concrete?
How far from the slab did you cut back the rebar.
Hi Superchivas - I believe I left a 6" gap from the end of the rebar to the edge of the slab. Thanks for watching!
Just curious but could you have just done 15" and took 5" off the 20's. Maybe my maths wrong but I think it would've only costed an inch one axis. I'd assume you'd have to adjust by 1/2" on each side to put back on center?
Also, I have no interest in building a shed but you are so concise and thorough I feel as if watching will help with other projects that I do. You definitely give good tips. Keep up the good work!
Hi Praetorxi! I believe you are right about the adjustments to the rebar. It's been a few years since I poured this slab, and so far no cracks at all. :)
Thanks for your kind words about my videos. I really appreciate it.
Thanks!!!!!
definitely worth your time to gain skills to use more cutting tools.
sawzall, grinder, even a portable band saw, oscillating multitools. bolt cutters work on the thin rebar well.
harbor freight sawzall is 20$ with coupon angle grinder is 9.99 with coupon. bolt cutters, 20$ their coupons are all available on a free cell phone app. hope this helps.
nice layout. nice slab. well done.
What is the distance between reinforcing bars ?
16-18” is what I use.
@@AmplifyDIY Thank you
Sweet!
Rebar does not stop concrete from cracking, I am no concrete professional but i can put down concrete its not that hard, My Dad and i have a 24' x 50' x 4" we slab poured in front of my shop for about 48 years now, yes it has a few cracks like all concrete slabs will have and it has no rebar, we pull semi trucks on it and it is still good, my shop 60' x 100' x 4" has no rebar and has no cracks what so ever, I had a buddy concrete professional pour a pad in front of my house garage, 24' x 40' x 4", and he argued with me saying he would not pour the slab without rebar, he said he had some left over from a job and he would put the rebar in for free and so he did. It was poured in the spring and before sommer was over it had cracks in all over the place and some even got bigger the next summer. My grandfather was a professional in concrete and he told me that concrete was guaranteed to dry and then crack. So my question is why rebar in a slab pour, so next time you go to a friends house that has concrete poured in front of his garage see if it has any cracks and also i'm pretty sure it has rebar in it. I am not saying that i know if rebar is needed or not but i am saying it does not keep concrete slab from cracking.Ok concrete professionals go ahead and learn me i am open for discussion.
Hi Jay - thank you very much for your comment. I appreciate your experience, but rebar absolutely does help prevent major cracking in concrete slabs and structures. Concrete itself is VERY strong under compressive loads, but stinks at tensile (being stretched/bent). The rebar is there specifically to increase the tensile strength of the slab.
My back porch is roughly the same length and width as the slab I poured for my shed. When the builder poured it, they did not add any rebar to the back porch. It has a huge crack that runs all the way across it - this crack appeared less than a year after the house was finished.
Meanwhile, the slab I poured for the shed has no cracks in it at all.
If you are interested in more reading/info on rebar and it's effects in concrete, check this out: ruclips.net/video/vuZcPTp51Zk/видео.html
Did you compare rebar vs metal mesh?
I did not personally compare, but the research I did prior to building this shed led me to believe adding rebar would be stronger and result in fewer cracks. I'm pleased to report that it's now been several years, and there are 0 cracks anywhere in this slab. Thanks for watching!
Nice. My one criticism is that there is no rebar over the walls. That is where all the weight will be for the building. In other words put the rebar under the walls first. I guess you are very close though.
Good tip, James. Thanks!
Great video and so nice to see you plan it out in 3D beforehand.
I was wondering about a base for a shed and would really be interested in your opinion.
I am thinking of using heavy duty galvanised metal fence posts set into concrete post holes as a base, rather than a full slab of concrete. As the shed needs a solid base it could rest on the metal supports. Perhaps this would also raise the wood and reduce water contact with the ground / concrete.
Hi David - yes, I've seen lots of people build a shed foundation that way, and it works pretty well. Just make sure that you use pressure treated lumber for the floor joists etc. When I was planning this project, I ran the numbers to see which would be cheaper. Pouring concrete was a little more expensive (around $100 or so, iirc) in materials, but I decided the peace of mind of never worrying about wood rotting, getting termites, etc was worth it to me.
I'm a bit late to the game on commenting on this, but I'm about to tackle the project myself. What 3d software did you use? Trying make my life easier by mapping it out first. Thanks for your videos man!
Hey Sizemore! I used Tinkercad to do the layout for this project. It's free, and really easy to learn. Best of luck on your project!
Why not cut the rebar with a grinder with a metal cut off wheel
That's a much better option - I didn't have one at the time. Thanks for watching!
rebar is used if you are parking on it car or truck bigger weight thicker rebar a shed floor in general would not need re bar unless you are putting a lot of stuff on it
Hi Mark! I struggled for a long time trying to decide if I should bother with rebar in this slab. Ultimately I decided that while it is not strictly necessary, I hate cracked concrete so I added it to hopefully cut down on the cracks long-term. You can see lots more details of the decisions that drove my design in my video all about rebar here: ruclips.net/video/I3r1XlqYZXw/видео.html
im a builder so i do not need the vid putting re bar in is neither wrong or right for a shed slab with re bar in it can cause problems later on as you did not put a dpm in, the water can corrode it cement soaks water up the dpm goes under the re bar to stop this, this is why a lot of cement cracks or poor mix as well ie to dry it cracks or to thin a layer 1inch min for cement
@@AmplifyDIY Well, it's also used to keep it from cracking if the slab starts to pull away from itself so it's always a good idea to add it. Buy yeah, considering you didn't add more gravel to raise the foundation from your surroundings, DPM would have been nice. Doubt it will cause any trouble in your lifetime though. I give you an A.
@@TechieTard Does the base of the concrete slab need to be higher than the surrounding land? How much higher?
And how quickly is it an issue if it's not - i'll be digging out the area around the slab next spring to lay decking supports at which point my slab will be quite high. WIll one winter matter?
Liked more cause of the -Family project👍
So I’m thinking of making a parking spot for a 2004 Chevy Tahoe. The land is currently dirt. Do you recommend rebar or mesh? Or neither? How thick a slab?
I recommend rebar, and at least 6” thick on the slab. My slab was only 4” thick because I know nothing will ever drive or park on it. You’ll want a pretty beefy slab, especially for something like a Tahoe. I’d love to hear how it turns out for you. Good luck!
AmplifyDIY I appreciate your feedback & opinion. You seem to know a bit of this. I will reply with the outcome. You along with others helped in my direction. Thank you!
Not risers, chairs.
+Charles Silvis thanks for pointing this out. Chairs is the correct term. Thanks for watching!
Not trying to be an ass, but the concrete will grab onto a little rust and be just fine. It can't grab onto paint near as well. Painting rebar is a no-no.
Thanks for the tip!
you did it on 16" centers cause it felt right? Yeah, thats what an engineer is for. also there is a rule for splicing rebar.
I should hire an engineer to calculate rebar spacing in a slab for a shed? Seems....overkill.
@floatpool Rookie mistake, I know. Guess I'm just going to have to live on borrowed time for that slab for now. No cracks more than a year later....
Why didn't you ask an engineer?
For a simple shed like this, I didn't really feel the need. Several years later, this slab is still perfect - not a single crack.
All them tools and you don’t have a grinder or some bolt cutters
Gotta run whatcha brung!
I rather pay the $50...