Driveway strength

[Bob Denman]

Inquiring minds DO want to know...

[jeffpiercemagic]

Originally Posted by TomAndLindaRogers

Pete,

I recently retired after working 50 years in the concrete construction industry. Over half of that time specializing in concrete mix design and quality assurance. The building codes I am familiar with are designed to insure residential driveways will stand up to regular automobile traffic with occasional local delivery truck traffic. Assuming your builder complied with the codes, I would expect that occasional parking your RV on your driveway to load and unload would not cause problems. With that said, if I were going to construct an RV parking pad, I would use 6” thick concrete on well compacted base aggregate, not the 4” of concrete found in most driveways. I would also use rubber, wooden or plastic pads between the RV leveling jack’s steel feet and the concrete.

Tom

Hi Tom, I'm thinking about having a slab poured in the back yard. I will need to take down the chain fence I have. What are your thoughts of using the chain link fence as support in the slab? Also how much of the 6 inchs needs to be below ground?

Jeff

[Beau388]

What under the concrete is more important than the concrete itself. Even a post tension slab will eventually crack is pored on non-compacted fill. If you are going to park a RV on a slab, I would recommend a 4 to 6 inch compacted gravel base (ISO 14688 medium) with a 3 bag mix containing fiberglass shards. 4 inches should be enough to support a tire loading of 5,000 lbs. Just my opinion having poring several auto workshop floors.

[TomAndLindaRogers]

Originally Posted by jeffpiercemagic

Hi Tom, I'm thinking about having a slab poured in the back yard. I will need to take down the chain fence I have. What are your thoughts of using the chain link fence as support in the slab? Also how much of the 6 inchs needs to be below ground?

Jeff

Jeff, I would not use the chain fence in the slab. It probably will cause more harm than good. The depth of the concrete into the ground is not as critical as the depth of the base material under it. Beau388 is right when he says the base under the concrete is more important than the concrete itself. The design of a concrete slab should be based on the local soils, construction materials, weather conditions and the load the slab will be subjected to. I would follow the reconditions of your local contractor or concrete supplier.

We plan on attending the Fall Sunshine Rally. I’m looking forward to hearing more about your project then. Just remember, the only thing dumber than someone in Florida designing a concrete slab in Minnesota is someone in Minnesota designing a concrete slab in Florida.

Tom