SHORT LOAD CONCRETE IS MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE THAN BUYING BAGS AND MIXING IT YOURSELF:
Suppose you need two yards of concrete. It takes 60 of the 60# bags to make one yard, so you would need 120 bags. The price per bag at the national home improvement companies is about 2.57 per bag. The concrete alone is over $300. Then you would need a mixer because you and your neighbors can't mix that much concrete by hand. Mixer rental cost is about $50 per day. Next you need to transport the concrete and mixer, meaning at least another $50 to rent a truck. We are now easily over $400. Getting two yards delivered by one of our members is almost always much cheaper than that.
| 1 Yard | 2 Yards | 3 Yards | Volume need to complete your job |
| 60 | 120 | 180 | Number of 60 lb Bags at 60 bags per yard |
| $154 | $308 | $462 | Cost of bags at $2.57 per bag (from major home improvement store) |
| $50 | $50 | $50 | Mixer Rent per day |
| $50 | $50 | $50 | Truck Rent to bring the bags home and return unused bags (assuming you get the job done in one day) |
| $254 | $408 | $562 | TOTAL COST (not counting aches and pains plus payback to neighbors and relatives for helping you) |
>>>>> This simple analysis does not factor in the excess time to clean the mixer, dispose of the paper bags, buy refreshments for your relatives and neighbors, wear and tear on your body, mistakes, etc.
MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE THAN DELIVERY BY A NORMAL 9 YARD BARREL TRUCK:
An additional benefit is that you don't have to pay for nine yards when you only need a couple yards of concrete. Nine yards is the typical minimum job size of a normal ready mix concrete company. That is the normal capacity of a barrel concrete truck that you commonly see on the street. Secondly, they may have to dump what you don't use at your location making a big problem in most locations. If they don't dump the excess on your property, you will end up paying an extra fee to clean out the barrel truck of the excess.
CONCLUSION - SHORT LOAD CONCRETE DELIVERY IS LESS EXPENSIVE:
Using a Short Load Concrete service can be much more efficient in terms of cost and your physical labor. Short load concrete is delivered to you in one of three ways. The first is a volumetric truck, which mixes the concrete while it is being poured at your location. The second is a mini barrel truck which might hold three yards of concrete rather than nine years. The third way this job is completed is with a small barrel mixer mounted on a trailer.