Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.

[smeddley]

...did I mention crap?

The first two driveway estimates are in, and they're over $8,000. These are the two bigger companies, but still. I was really hoping for something closer to $5,000. I should be getting another one tomorrow, we'll see. If not, there goes ALL of the paying down I did on the HELOC over the last year and a half. Bugger.

Eight. Thousand. Dollars.

For a slab of concrete that runs from the street to the garage.

*pulls out hair*

Comments

[aeamek.livejournal.com]

I think concrete must be made out of gold. We got quotes to add a section of curb in front of our house (an area the previous owners--for whatever reason--decided not to replace when they moved the driveway). I think the estimate was in the thousands. For a strip of concrete.

GOLD, I say.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Maybe they figure since I asked for a granite mix (to avoid ASR) that granite is used in expensive countertops, therefore the cast-off rubble granite must also be worth a fortune!

...or maybe they're using bottled water?

*shrug*

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

That seems utterly ridiculous. Can't you steal some concrete from work? ;)

Seriously- what makes it so expensive? The materials or labor?

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I don't really know what's driving up the price so much. Yes, concrete has gotten more expensive, but... it shouldn't be quite that expensive, I don't think. We'll see what the other estimates come out to...

[icecat.livejournal.com]

Wow, makes my whining about a $750 fence seem like small potatoes. I hope the next estimate is lower!!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Hey, any money you don't want to spend sucks. We have some fence issues, too, and since we have a dog... yeah, we'll have to address those, too.

Houses are sucking pits of need. They're worse than kids!

[alankria.livejournal.com]

Is there no way of doing it yourself? If the alternative is eight grand, reading a book about DIY concrete laying may well be worth it.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Oh god no. I understand the basics and I know *how* to do it, but it takes a lot of expertise to properly finish concrete. And, since a driveway really effects the curb appeal of a house, a crappy amateur job can ruin your resale value.

Plus, we're talking about breaking up and shifting tons of existing concrete, doing a bunch of grading, and a lot of form and finishing work. By the time I learned how to drive the loaders and graders, rented them, then either got dumpsters or rented a truck to haul off the debris, then bought the finishing tools, well... I might as well have paid someone to do it.

[alankria.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. =D

And, since a driveway really effects the curb appeal of a house, a crappy amateur job can ruin your resale value.

See, I would never have thought of this, because we have a patch of gravel beside our garage that we just use for turning, and a strip of potholey dirt beside the road where we park our cars. (And I think, technically, that the strip of dirt belongs to the council not us. They're certainly the ones who are MEANT to fill in the deepening potholes of doom.)

~*~the countryside~*~

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling things are very different there! Driveways are a big part of a house's curb appeal 'round these parts, and there are a lot of very intricately stamped/dyed driveways that look quite lovely. They have to go with the landscaping, you know. I'm going the cheap route with plain old non-stamped concrete colored crap!

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

Our driveway is purple. Well, maroony-purple.

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

ahahahahaha

ahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA

[alankria.livejournal.com]

My dad lays concrete in the garden quite regularly.

(Which is not to say that driveways are not a different kettle of fish, only that my instinctive reaction to the idea of paying someone to lay concrete is LOL WHUT. Instinctive reaction appears to have been wrong!)

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

Cars are heavy, and most people don't even know for how long concrete should be left to dry (I did know, but I've forgotten).

My dad's made a few bookcases and a pantry, but mum doesn't let him knock out a wall without checking to see if it was load-bearing -- OH WAIT HE DID THAT ONCE built patios.

[alankria.livejournal.com]

True, dad's never laid concrete that needs a car on it. He has built a wendy house (which is now a shed), another shed, done garden construction of patios and pathways and other stuff, is currently building a... thing... in the garden that we will sit under when we eat out there, plus some bookshelves and other furniture inside.

So the idea of him attempting to lay concrete for a car is not very far off reality! (Of course, he'd research it first and see if it was something he could do, but I doubt he'd immediately assume he had to go for paid help.)

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

Dad once tried to acquire a cubby house for me, but there were some cops.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

If I can, I'll take pictures of it being done. :) I have actually worked with concrete quite a bit, but it's a skill to work on it that large scale. I did lay a paver base for the shed we built! And if the one corner wasn't cracked so badly I'd still probably just be planning on doing that for the extra car space. :/

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Well, it depends on the mix design, the temperature, and the relative humidity... But then, I took an entire class devoted to nothing but concrete! I know how to design a mix, where to place the steel reinforcing, and all that good stuff.

I lack the physical ability and the tools to do it, though! Besides, I'm the engineer, I'm meant for... managing. ;) We stand around and do nothing, y'know! (I could, if I wanted to be nitpicky, survey and design the driveway, but it really is pretty straightforward.)

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

You could have a ducky-shaped driveway. =)

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

AH! I should at least stamp a little ducky or a pawprint in one corner! :D

[alankria.livejournal.com]

No no, you should EMBED ducks in the driveway. Probably along the sides, so they don't get squished. INSTANT KERB APPEAL.

[cazrolime.livejournal.com]

Concrete is ridonkulously expensive. I don't remember exactly how much it was for mum to concrete over a bit of our garden, but it was a hell of a lot for such a small area, and that was even when laying it herself. :/ I wish I knew what was so pricey about cement and bits of gravel cast-off that'd otherwise be chucked away.

*cuddles* Hopefully the next quotes will be lower.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I don't know why, I really don't. But as the alternative seems to be having the car swallowed into a giant hole, I think I'm just going to have to suck it up. :(

I hate being an adult sometimes! (Okay, most of the time, except the staying up as late as you want bit!)