I Don't Know How To Do This Handyman Job / WLOG 

Looks good Allen better than the rest of the driveway 👍🏻

The height of the clean out box should be level with the concrete to prevent breaking when someone drives over it.

I love the HONESTY . Most (if not all) carpentry channels don't talk about the learning curve or mistakes they've made. Keep up that honesty and your Channel will go far.

Great job for a first timer, coming from 20yrs concrete finisher. Just a little tip if I may add. Passing a rough edge while its soft and wet will make things easy when giving it a final edge. the first rough edge will push down the stones to shape, final coat will leave it nice and smooth. Keep up the great work.

Hey man. My first big concrete story further down. The main thing is that you are extending your skills. After your 10th one you'll know. Never give mercy on pricing, OJT learning or not. My 2 cents on concrete mixing. It takes 1 gallon of water per bag. Use a pail, not water hose. That way, your consistency will be perfect for small jobs. Repeatedly grabbing the hose, and guessing, is a pain in the butt. My First B Concrete Job My boss, Chester, took a job to do a driveway. I'm the helper. I've done some small jobs and knew the basics. Truck comes, pours the concrete just right as we push and level. Then we do the trowel work. Chester teaches. As we are waiting for the last section to set right before brooming, Chester goes inside the home. He comes out, with a smile. He says, "I got the check, broom it and let's go." I say, "But Chess, it's not really ready to broom yet." He says, very slowly and deliberately, " I...GOT...THE...CHECK...BROOM IT...AND LET'S GO." My take, never give the check early, and I needed a new boss.

Something I might have suggested, to the customer (and maybe you did) is I would have suggested busting out the “sunken” section and doing a larger repair of the WHOLE area. Again, you may have suggested that to them. I would have.

Just a suggestion from one Carpenter to another. I started out as a teen doing concrete sidewalks all throughout the city. As concrete is being poured, use a screet board ( straight board wood or metal) and slide back and forth while filling in low spots and taking away high points. This will level off the two surfaces. When you get to the end, a little giggle motion will tamp/ level itself off. After that walk away for a coffee. Next rough float and drop your edge lines. After that walk away for lunch LOL. Next float with your finishing trowel and put on final edging if necessary.

with the rebar. you can drill holes in opposing sides and tie wire the pieces together los easier than trying to bend it in. always a good idea to remove the bad/sunken concrete and or use a diamond blade to square up the openings . use a bucket to gage your water so the mix is absolute. get a small tamper to bring the fines to the surface to aid in finishing. use a wood float first to level the mud . the rest is time behind the trowel...

While you were in there you could have jacked up the piece that sung and put some brick, rocks, crushed stone under it to hold it where it needed to be and made your customer twice as happy

Looked pretty good, Allen. More power to you for putting something out there on the internet you haven't done before and asking for feedback. Keep up the good work.

Great channel, Lee, thanks for taking the time.

this past week, I had to build a 4in deep, 3ft by 3ft pad for a water heater. Never did concrete myself, but took your advice from this video, and jumped in and did it.

Awesome videos thank you so much for sharing

Lee, not bad for your first rodeo with concrete repair. From my experience, be sure to put expansion board on the inside perimeter of the existing concrete. After the concrete dries, there will be no cracking. Hope my comment is helpful. Best wishes to you, and your business. ~Joe ✌😎

Thank you for going back to see the final product

Improvise, Adapt & Overcome. You did a great job. 👍🏽

Tanks for talking over video and explaining what was being done.

My first time ever doing any concrete work was a few months ago pouring a brand new driveway. It came out fantastic. Only one out of four of us had any experience at all but he was able to guide our team through it. A couple weeks ago I lead another team pouring another driveway...only my third time ever. They all passed inspection. I was incredibly intimidated at first too because it was a couple grand in concrete and I wanted desperately to do a good job. I would say it does take some skill to pull off but it is more labor intensive than anything. As long as you set yourself up for success by creating a solid base, reinforcing, and building a good form then you should be able to pull off most concrete work in residential settings.

LOL, I lost count how many times you say “I’m super excited” .......... you’re doing good, I’ve been in the handyman trade 30+ years and you’re vids are fun to watch !!

I appreciate the information on the handyperson group. Another resource that many of you can use to learn new skills is your local Habitat for Humanity. I work as a construction crew lead for my local branch and we build new homes in a once crime ridden neighborhood. Our revitalization efforts have helped to reduce crime, increase property values, and created a sense of community among the home owners because they work on each others' homes. We would not be able to do this without the help of our volunteers and retired carpenters/contractors. Most of our volunteers come with no building skills whatsoever but by the end of the day they have framed a wall or laid ceramic tiles. We teach these skills in real time and guide you through the process until you feel comfortable enough to do it without one on one guidance. Most people are in shock at what they have accomplished. We of course do not charge for this and the bonus is that you aren't learning with materials you paid for either. So if you are interested in volunteering with your local branch contact the volunteer coordinator or construction site manager to see when you can drop by and learn. Some larger branches even have workshops you can sign up for to learn from skilled tradespeople. And ladies, please don't feel intimidated, I actually get more female volunteers than males and they are just as productive and easy to teach these skills to. It is quite empowering plus it feels good to give back to your community.

Good job. I do enjoy your Chanel it has helped me a lot. Thanks

Great job. sometimes the best way to learn is dive in the deepend thanks for inspiring me too dude.

That cover over the cleanout is meant to be a lawn sprinkler valve cover. It may work for this application, but it may not hold up if a car rolls over it.

Mixing with a tarp works too. You just mix water and dry ingredients by lifting edges of tarp thus roll mixing the concrete or mortar.

When I shifted over to SDS plus drilling. It made life so much better. I have the bulldog and the Milwaukee battery SDS plus hammer drill. The speed kicks ass but the holes are much more accurate. How many anchors do we install? So worth having the right tool. Or what about when we run into the aggregate in concrete. I now blow through them.

I have been doing Home Inspections for a long time now and I must say for your first time looks good! Just the clean-out a little bit lower but still great job!

I’m out on my very first job today Allen. I’m coming out of semi-retirement to subsidize things for the next few years and this is all I can do anymore so I’ve gotta get this up and running fast or I’m gonna be hungry and homeless, lol. About 3 years ago a guy stripped the Master bath down to the studs for a remodel and he finally got Sheetrock up and got part way thru tiling the shower and he quit on it. His wife said after 3 years she’s ready to have her bathroom back so I’m finishing the tile work in the shower and then tiling the floor and setting a new toilet. Pretty easy job if he hadn’t jacked things up with the shower but I spent yesterday getting it all straight and will hopefully finish the shower today and do the floor tomorrow. Thanks for putting yourself out there for us Allen, I really appreciate it and I watch every one of your videos Take care buddy

It looks good and I think you did a great job.

Looks amazing brother awesome job especially for first time

Alan, very nicely done. i could hardly tell it from a good job. :-)

Wow! Looks great for your first concrete job!

Not bad for a first time. Old concrete got uglier with your concrete all over the place. A clean job is very important in all jobs. Your on the right track.

Great job, I learned something here too

What up Allen, good job on the concrete! I actually just had my first experience with concrete too, a customer needed a 3x5 slab for a generator and i nailed it! I actually have a question for you and anybody who can give me some advise, i just replaced 9 old supply lines but a few will not stop leaking! Maybe a drop every 10min but it's still a leak, what to do? Thanks!

1/2 inch rebar will fit in a 3/4 hole but not the other way around just drill a 5/8 hole for your 1/2 rebar the procedure is called doweling, it's a mechanical control joint. I would have also replaced the adjacent piece of concrete directly down the driveway it is going to continue to settle over time.

I think you did great. It looks professional.

Great job. I am in the same business. A tip would have been using a 2x4 to screed over the top and it would have gotten your slope perfect to match the existing grade of the concrete. Just a tip nice job. I’ve subscribed

I was asked to replace a wooden ramp to a garage for a customer. The ramp had rotted. When i started taking it apart, I already had a perfect form from the existing ramp. I beefed it up a bit and asked my customer if she would like a concrete ramp instead. First time doing a ramp but not a concrete pad. I mixed a high slump, poured it and it came out great. gave it a nice brushed finish too for traction.

Good job man. I would've just threw something under the valve box or in this case clean out box to keep it level and then removed the cover instead of taping it, then poured everything in and used a straight edge that would've gone to get both sides of the original slab. That way you can have a perfect skret for your finish. Also I would've had a bucket and sponge to clean up the broom and tools to make your texture. With the rebar I would've used an epoxy to attach to the original slab and the fallen slab so at least it would've picked up one side of the fallen slab. Also hydraulic cement works well for fixing chipped concrete you just need to use a bonding agent. Hope this helps I love your videos I want to do the same for out here in South Florida.

I to am pro handyman good job l live in MD. We learn everyday

Another job well done Allen you're the best brother keep up the good videos. Omg just noticed I always see your videos but hadn't subscribed, just did another one to your list all the way from the Bronx NY

Awesome job Allen

Your are the bravest guy to post this with all these experts around

Love your outlook. You should do well. Retired plumber with too many years can help if you catch me...or I catch you. Worked in the south west under UPC.

Hey Allen, next time you're searching through Lowe's or Home Depot try downloading their respective apps. Search for the part you need and it usually points you to the aisle. Big time saver.

One thing I suggest has to do with the installation of the condensate pump. Always, always, hook up the safety on the pump. There should have been two wires coming out of the cover on the pump. Those wires lead to a normally closed safety switch that opens before the water level reaches the overflow point shutting off the A/C unit so it doesn't overflow onto the ceiling and damage it. The wires from the pump are meant to interrupt the low voltage control circuit on the A/C unit. I interrupt the wire that goes to the "R" terminal. If the safety isn't hooked up, it's an accident waiting to happen. Good video and I appreciate anyone who gets the job done even if it's learn as you go.

Looking good 👍

Hey man I love watching your videos! By no means am I a cement expert at all, but I’ve done a few small things kind of similar to that. Anyway the last time I did some cement work I got the blue hawk cement brand at Lowe’s, and it finishes so much easier. It has less gravel in it than the quickrete. Anyway if you ever do some more cement work definitely I would recommend the blue hawk brand, it will make you look like a cement pro. Thanks for the video!

Good job !

Amazing job🎉

Nice job!

Looks great!

Think you did a great job considering the surrounding concrete!!!

great !

For what you were working with it looks good.

Great work for the first time!!

I haven’t read all of the comments so please don’t shoot me of someone’s already said it. But can I offer a bit of advice. That pump is called a condensate pump. It receives condensate water from the evaporator coil of the AC system. Anytime an AC system is installed in an attic or above a finished ceiling there should be a drain pan installed underneath of it, and inside of the drain pan is where the condensate pump should be installed, along with what is called a wet switch beside the condensate pump. So that if per chance the condensate line will become plugged up or the pump motor would fail and you had an overflow of water into the drain pan the wet switch would shut off the call from the thermostat to the air-conditioning unit. Before it ruins a ceiling. Not sure what was under you, just thought I’d throw that out there. Otherwise, great video I’m learning something about concrete, thanks for helping to spread some knowledge.

That’s funny about Lowe’s! I went by one the other day to get a couple joist hangers that were in the lumber section but all the hardware/screws and nails were on the opposite side of the store.😂

Excellent work! Someone already mentioned it but the only thing I would have done differently is replacing that whole section. Did the customer know that you had never done a concrete job before hiring you? Not sure how I would handle the situation if a customer asked me to do something that I'd never done before. I mean I would want to do the job but I wouldn't know whether to say, "Oh yeah I can do that" or "Well, I've never done it before but I will do my best" My first concrete job: 12 years old. My dad was building a wall around the property to protect it from flood waters. The wall was about 3 feet high on the ends, and ran up to about 7 feet high in between. It was roughly 50 feet long. My brother and I hand mixed bags on concrete for what seemed like months. We poured the footer, he laid cinderblocks (brother and I kept his mud mixed for that as well). After the blocks were all laid, we had the task of mixing up more concrete and filling the cinderblock holes up, creating a solid wall. I don't think child labor laws had been invented yet 😂 Great and fun times though!

Great attitude , keep on doin'

Can’t beat on the job training

Looks good, did they not want the sunken in piece fixed? Did you ask them if they wanted it fixed?

Other important things to consider are proper subgrade prep. If grade below isn’t properly compacted your slab will sink in the future as soon as that grade sees any water. Also curing concrete properly. Use curing compound or wet burlap to keep moisture in for 7 days otherwise concrete won’t hydrate well and you’ll end up with poor strength.

Looks good .

Concrete does not dry it cures over time, also use a magnesium float for your initial leveling if you do not have a 2x4 to screed your pour with. then use the mag float, and after the concrete starts to haze over and set up, use your steel float.

Looks good

Excellent concrete job ! I'd be proud of that "solid" job if I were in your shoes!

Good job

That looks great man nice job

As a layman customer, I would have been happy with your work.

I think you did pretty good work!

Mr. Lee I have been a plumber for 20 years and I love it. Recently I have been looking to increase my skill set into the handyman field. I would appreciate any suggestions you might have.

I think it was for your skill set and yes the clean should been lower but you do and learn

You did it great!!!!

Good job, Good video.

First of all you did a satisfactory job for your first time, but I can help you and I hope you read this because it’s useful to you, get yourself a plank of wood size of your choice, just the same as a straight edge, no t&g, then once you put your mix in your spread it around leaving it proud of the hole, take your Wooden straight edge and ( tamper ) the concrete, like lift the plank and tap it back down but move it around and slide it left and right as your doing it this can 1 spread it around and 2 get rid of air pockets and 3 it brings the water to the top, but the final thing is to make or buy a wood float ! And tamper it with the wooden float and finally float the water off the top, leave it and go back to it just like you did but with the wooden float, that gives you the none polished rough surface people require. You don’t need to cut a new clean edge as sliding the tamper plank blends it to any edge, in England we use a sand called “ sharp sand “ for concrete’ it’s a courser grade of sand than cement sand, mixed with the cement powder and gravel gives perfect concrete, please try this Allan because it’s the right method, perseverance brings perfection. Well done for getting on with it though.

I like that word (doning it) haha nice work

Hey Allen, what reference point did you use to price this job considering you've never done concrete before? (pretty great take home for you regardless!) Also, did the client ever know this was your first time doing this, or did you keep that quiet? Just curious how the quote/conversation went. Great content!

Was that a main drain line clean out or was there a lever/valve inside? The drain clean outs around my property look different, but that box looks identical my irrigation shutoff in my front yard.

GOOD JOB

The cleanout is inside the Pit Cover.

You job was fine handy easy and profitable.Dont bother with a wheelbarrow just have a pice of any scrap board ply 16mm cut it around 4×4 5×5 have it beside hole and get stuck in and mix everything on the board and shovel it into the hole job done, and always wash everything after.l did mention before in one of your fence post clips i said keep your mixes dryer and yes you need it to dry a bit before or you can finish.Its catching it at the right time to achieve that depending on the sun.Also try and look at the colour of the Driveway and try and match it by the amount of cement you put in.You didnt need to worry about it here on this job as the Driveway was like an assault Course.But its on these jobs you can practice and experiment for the better Looking Driveways.👍👍👍

My dad taught me how to do concrete at 8 yrs old. and land scaping.

Looks good on the concrete, too bad they didnt have you fix the lower patch that sunk

Start using Sika Fence Post Mix from Home Depot it's faster lighter and not as messy

Not saying you could have done much about it, you did what you had to do. The AC job was obviously already hacked up before you got there. Thanks for sharing.

Get the Lowe’s and Home Depot apps for your phone and you can search products and it will tell you the aisle and Bay number.

So when are you supposed to trowl to smooth it out nice ?

Looks Good 👍

Good brother...

Leave the house broom at home lol your finishes are getting better 👍🏻 . I’m sure all the concrete guys would’ve recommended the concrete finishing broom because of the rougher finish the plastic bristles leave. Nonetheless excellent job Mr.

First use a 2x4 to screed, then use a wood float and after the bleed water is gone you can use the metal trowel

Hey man. Just found your channel. Great job on the concrete. I kinda wanna warn you about that condensate pump tho. I hope you put some kind of emergency shut off switch on the pump or unit. If that pump fails and the unit continues to condensate it is going to cause water damage over whatever part of the attic that I. Its actually against code to not have a pump on a water pan with an auxiliary drain line. Thanks!!

Not bad 👍 I haven’t done concrete but I probably would have tried to not spill so much over on to the existing driveway just because of staining. But it came out great

Next time use a wood float to push the rock down, and it’s to edge early so you won’t fight the rocks later

I think when you did the edging, you should have left the jagged side alone or edged on that side a few inches in from the Jagged Edge so it would be straight but other than that good job

Nice job, Rookie. 😜 Thanks for sharing this video of losing your 🍒. Congratulations on your first concrete driveway (LOL) On a serious note: Thank you for another helpful video.

That is a mortar pan for mixing small batches of mortar to set brick or block.

HL thank you for your incredible information 💯🎯 How do you justify the cost on the concrete job.... Absolute deserved but just wondering how you costed it... Chs Q

Good job on that. I’ve done a lot of concrete work. One suggestion... watch your audio levels when showing what you’re doing and overlaying your narration. It was tough to hear your narration of over the superfluous sound of the video.