Any knowledgeable souls out there..know anything about installing concrete tees?

[optidiscic]

Local wooded course got approval for concrete...need some know how, advice, etc...South Mountain in Bethlehem PA...thanks..post here if you think you can help http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=338767355269&ref=mf

[Cgkdisc]

http://www.innovadiscs.com/coursedesign/course12.htm

[DSCJNKY]

Contact Bamba Rico (or Steve) at 19th Hole Sports (Veterans Park in Sylmar, CA). Not only do they own a disc golf course with concrete tees that they installed... but, they own a concrete company too.

Don't know what type of info you were looking for... but, here's the number:
(818) 362-9499

Good luck.
DSCJNKY

[AdamH]

We referenced this when pouring teepads at a local course. We just used a push broom to texture the pad and they turned out really well. We rented a mixer that can be towed be a pickup and used a mixture of sand, gravel and bagged concrete. Much cheaper than buying all bags and the pads turned out great.

[srm_520]

Place your forms, and find the cheapest concrete you can - if won't matter. The important part is adding rebar for strength, or they will crack within 10 years because of the elements. A good 6' x 12' box will require 3 12' bars min, but I would put in 5 12' pieces spaced a foot apart, and they will last forever. Rebar is cheap, so don't skip it.

Grade the box with a very slight slope for drainage, and make sure you brush it and edge it in your finishing. The stiffer the brush the better, you want good grooves in the concrete for traction.

I second the truck hauling concrete comment. It's cheaper than a truck and can get to all of those hard places a concrete truck can't, you can better limit your concrete, and it's much less backbreaking and quicker than trying to manually mix each bag. DON"T USE BAGS, unless you want to die of exhaustion.

[rshrevo]

what size tee box makes a good tee box. 9'x4'x4 inches. what is your opinion?

i am looking to try and get the a local course by me to possibly install concrete tee pads just need to find out how big to make the tee pads so i can get quotes as to how much it would cost to install.

[MiketheGoalie]

Small diameter bars placed about 1-1/2" from the top of the slab @ 12-16" o.c. EACH WAY will ensure a well-performing tee pad (even welded-wire-fabric-ask the guys at Home Depot or Lowe's) will suffice.. If for some reason you can't afford the reinforcing or forget it, make sure you put a joint at a roughly 1:1 aspect ratio or mother nature will put one there for you. What I mean is, for a 9'x4' pad, you need a joint in the middle of the long direction because that's where the shrinkage and temperature crack will form. Just tool the top of the concrete about 1/2" deep and that's all you need for a crack initiator.

[kinger]

Build wood edge forms and coat with a form release agent so the concrete doesn't stick to the form, if properly made you can re-use the forms for other tees.

A slope of 1/8" to 1/4" per foot should allow for proper water drainage.

If possible excavate and grade below the topsoil and compact some good fill material, a well compacted base will help keep the concrete from settling and cracking over time. Stone is very good, but good soil (not topsoil or any organic material) can do the trick.

Welded wire mesh or #3 to #4 (3/8" & 1/2") rebar are both good options, but you should reinforce the concrete using one of these methods. If rebar is used I would space it no further than 12" on center in each direction. Try to center the reinforcing in the middle of the slab and keep it at least 3" from the edges.

Ready mix concrete from a real supplier would be ideal, but would only be beneficial if you are pouring multiple tee pads at the same time. I would ask for a 4,000 psi air-entrained exterior concrete mix or a Class C mix with a 4"-6" slump for workability. Keep in mind that once ready mix concrete is batched it should be completely unloaded from the truck in under 90 minutes to ensure a good final product (the 90 minutes includes travel time from the plant to the course).

Concrete is heavy (150 lbs per cubic foot) so have a few wheel barrows and plenty of muscle on hand to get it from truck chute to tee pads efficiently in areas where the truck can not pull right up to it.

Place the concrete and tamp it including tapping the side forms to help consolidate it and prevent air pockets and honey combing. Float the top with a straight clean 2x4 and make sure to fill any low spots. Floating also helps consolidate the concrete so be sure to move the float back and forth plenty to bring the "cream" to the surface. Concrete sets up fairly quick within an hour or so, keep that in mind when finishing because if you wait too long it's not good.

After consolidating and floating, take a medium to stiff push broom (new or clean broom please) and broom the surface to provide a good finish with lots of traction. Leave the forms in place for at least a day and cover the concrete with plastic for at least a week or use a spray applied curing compound in lieu of the plastic.

Concrete takes about 30 days to properly cure out, but you would be able to walk on it after it sets up in a few hours.....I would still allow at least 3 days before applying any real foot traffic.

[esdubya]

Kinger knows what he is talking about, that is good info.

we just had 35 pads (18 at 6'x12' and 17 at 5'x10') installed in 3 days by a local contractor. Fast yes, but not cheap! Total job came in around 25k including labor. They used the wire mesh in the concrete. 4 inches of crushed concrete base with 4 inch thick concrete on top.

Regarding pad length I would not go any shorter than 10 ft. Width isn't as big a deal but wider is better.