Concrete pad in two parts advice please.

[123hotchef]

barrow sod the barrow get the miser in the pad area mix and spin it round and empty it in the hole. no abrrow needed, then move the mixer back gradually as you fill the area until the last mixes the mixer is out side but on the edge so you can still empty it in the pad area. Just read the bottom bit of your post, Id be moving all the dry sand down next the the pad area ready to mix

 

[Smallfry]

Wants to watch football FFS !

If you do end up splitting the pour, and do what I or anyone else suggested, clean off any spillage from the divider before the concrete goes off fully, or it will make removing the bottom batten very difficult.

Try and get the mixer hard up against the shuttering and tip the mixer right over. The mesh is easily displaced so do not barrow over it. You will also find that walking on it, which you will have to, in order to rake it out, tends to work it up to the surface, so watch out for that.

 

[Martin Hocking]

So it’s a new day and I don’t quite feel like I’m having some sort of crisis anymore!

The weather looks terrible for Saturday at the moment but I can only do what I can do and I’ll see where that gets me. I’ll know in the first hour of mixing whether the whole pad is on or not.

I’ve spent ages thinking about all of it, which is probably why I’ve ended up feeling a little vexed. I’m planning on laying the mesh flat on the bottom and popping it up on the chairs 2ft at a time so I can put boards down and barrow over it it’s only 6mm so should flex a bit but I’m expecting to need couple of bits of wood on the shuttering to hold the mesh to stop it pinging up to start with, I’m hoping as we go the weight of the concrete will help it stay down then. We’ll see.

I’ve made my bull float which is as scabby as it gets but should do the job, I’ve got a washing line holder upper that slides perfectly onto the metal handle to extend it to full reach.


I did consider barrowing the sand closer to the pad and I’ve done that with smaller amounts but elected to make the concrete super highway for better access instead.


I really appreciate the input everybody.
A bit more late night rustling on the garden for the neighbours to enjoy and I’ll see where we are in the morning…

 

[dobbslc]

Have a few of these when you're finished.

 

[Pete.]

Bit late here but you can sandwich the mesh between two timbers as a stop end and it won't leak through. Just put your first timber across, lay the mesh overhanging then another timber on top. Tricky bit is getting the bottom timber out so don't dig it into the dirt keep it up on packers.

 

[Erie Fred]

Key it.
The end form, rip a strip like 2" x 2" but taper the sides good for draft angle.
Put it in the middle of the 5" depth board.
After pour & strip, pour the next slab up to it, and it will key in.

 

[Martin Hocking]

So picking up where I left off…

Having gone to bed at a reasonable time on Friday instead of fannying around late trying to finish the prep work and with a forecast of it raining cats and dogs, I was fully expecting to have to sack it all off.

Up first thing on Saturday and finish putting the rubble fine stuff in, lots of rain overnight and more to come. It’s definitely not going to happen today.

Reinforcements arrive at about half eight when my next door neighbour and other half come out to see what needs doing, gluten free not too long after that. I’m still not convinced it’s on but we all crack on.

I’d got just about enough sand to blind it all off.




And just about enough insulation…


What was left of the dpm went on top and then the mesh went in and was wired together. I didn’t take a picture of that unfortunately.

At this point the weather had perked up, it was about 11:45 at this point and I’d said to myself that if it was ready to fill by noon we could give it a go. A quick bacon sarnie and we we were off.

Again no pictures of what ensued but this is what was left just under four hours later…


Not quite @julianf and his mate speed but it turned out to be 64 mixes (I wasn’t far out!)


Then came the hard part. More on that a little bit later…

Thanks everybody…

 

[julianf]

Not quite @julianf and his mate speed but it turned out to be 64 mixes (I wasn’t far out!)

In truth, i dont know how we did it either, but he is a friend that ive worked with a lot on similar, and there isnt much chat... (he is an ex-miner)

 

[dobbslc]

Nice work! Now for the photo of the obligatory cat foot prints all over it

 

[Pete.]

In truth, i dont know how we did it either, but he is a friend that ive worked with a lot on similar, and there isnt much chat... (he is an ex-miner)

Miners don't mess about with chat. They either crack on in silent understanding or whomever doesn't understand gets booted out

 

[Erie Fred]

A few places around me are renting these as of late, getting pretty popular:
https://shop.mudmixer.com/products/mudmixer?utm_source=ABM&h_campaign_id=<campaign_id>&bng_special_campaign=true&msclkid=de8c97a8801914e555a3f1224353a142

 

[Agrismith]

A few places around me are renting these as of late, getting pretty popular:
https://shop.mudmixer.com/products/mudmixer?utm_source=ABM&h_campaign_id=<campaign_id>&bng_special_campaign=true&msclkid=de8c97a8801914e555a3f1224353a142

The cost would be prohibitive here.
We only have post mix or a few very specialist rapid set mortars in bags like that and they are huge money.
Post mix is about £4.50 a 20kg bag. Depending on location loose ballast is £20-40 a tonne and £5 per bag of cement. Which would put it about £1.60 per 20kg of mix. And then about half that again out of a lorry. Plus we wouldn't use such small aggregate in our concrete usually.

 

[julianf]

The cost would be prohibitive here.
We only have post mix or a few very specialist rapid set mortars in bags like that and they are huge money.
Post mix is about £4.50 a 20kg bag. Depending on location loose ballast is £20-40 a tonne and £5 per bag of cement. Which would put it about £1.60 per 20kg of mix. And then about half that again out of a lorry. Plus we wouldn't use such small aggregate in our concrete usually.

Not many years back, cement was 3.80 a bag, inc vat.

Nowhere seems to be selling it at less than £8 a bag now, with the vat.

: (

 

[Agrismith]

Not many years back, cement was 3.80 a bag, inc vat.

Nowhere seems to be selling it at less than £8 a bag now, with the vat.

: (

Depends on quantities. No one gives a discount for less than a pallet.
Same with post mix. Can get a couple of quid of per bag.

 

[Erie Fred]

The cost would be prohibitive here.
We only have post mix or a few very specialist rapid set mortars in bags like that and they are huge money.
Post mix is about £4.50 a 20kg bag. Depending on location loose ballast is £20-40 a tonne and £5 per bag of cement. Which would put it about £1.60 per 20kg of mix. And then about half that again out of a lorry. Plus we wouldn't use such small aggregate in our concrete usually.

How about Dis ?
does a cubic yard each load.

 

[Agrismith]

How about Dis ?
does a cubic yard each load.View attachment 456214View attachment 456216View attachment 456217View attachment 456218

They require a lorry to move them so a very expensive exercise. I think some even need a movement order as they are over width.
Popular years ago but almost all been exported now.
It's so much easier and cheaper to just get a lorry in.

 

[Erie Fred]

They require a lorry to move them so a very expensive exercise. I think some even need a movement order as they are over width.
Popular years ago but almost all been exported now.
It's so much easier and cheaper to just get a lorry in.

Nope, towed it behind my plain 2 wheel drive Taco.
This one was not over width.

You say it "needs a lorry to move" as a bad thing.
And yet you say "It's so much easier and cheaper to just get a lorry in."
So which is it ?

 

[Agrismith]

Nope, towed it behind my plain 2 wheel drive Taco.
This one was not over width.

You say it "needs a lorry to move" as a bad thing.
And yet you say "It's so much easier and cheaper to just get a lorry in."
So which is it ?

Our towing rules are a lot different over hear. The ones that where common here where over the 2.7t which is realistically the maximum you can put on a trailer in the UK. This means you have to move have to move it by lorry. At £300 each way. Add to that the fact ballast and cement delivered are more expensive than ready mix concrete before the labour of mixing it is added. Then you end up with a very expensive job.

 

[sako243]

At £300 each way. Add to that the fact ballast and cement delivered are more expensive than ready mix concrete before the labour of mixing it is added. Then you end up with a very expensive job.

@Erie Fred For a point of reference when you compare the fact I paid £700 to have a team of 3 men come in complete with concrete pump to lay my baby bottom smooth workshop floor (11x5m, 6" thick) the transport doesn't add up when for £100 more you get the work done for you by a professional outfit.

 

[Martin Hocking]

So as @dobbslc has said my biggest fear having just finished mixing was all creatures great and small tramping through it all. The cats walked through it 6 times when I did the little pathway a few weeks before. I even borrowed some orange netting from work to cover that eventuality, as it turned out I had other issues to contend with.

Without waffling too much the two principle issues I had were environmental and well just mental…

Somewhere between the pour being book ended by heavy rain showers, the sand being very wet when we hit the middle of it, dpm and mixing at speed, I ended up with more bleed water than I was expecting/hoping for.

This meant that I wasn’t able to do much else with it until about 9pm that evening.



I was pleased to find that the diy bull float I made didn’t fall to pieces and worked fairly well. Although I could have done with a bit of a trial run beforehand. It seems to me, from this experience at least that to get the best from it you’d want to start at one end and work your way across going back and forth in one trip. Which wasn’t possible here, because of all of the foliage around the shed.

It’s at this point I ran into the first ‘mental’ problem I knew I probably needed to get something to kneel on to tidy up where I’d stopped with the bull float but couldn’t think of anything I had to hand at the time -( I realise now the bit of insulation off cut I had would have worked)

Then the second more pressing issue became apparent, the latter end of the pad was still miles away from being ready so I whipped down the tilts I stapled up to stop the rain (nearly falling in the slurm in the process!) and crossed my fingers!

To no avail. By 11:30 I had to give up waiting and just do the best with what I could, with a bit of gymnastics with the bull float and trowel I gave the other end a gentle trowel up and went to bed. I did consider setting my alarm for 3am to do a proper job but figured I’d probably sleep through it and my neighbours have suffered enough late night rustling recently!

Fast forward to early the next morning and the sun has decided to make an appearance (yay) things don’t look too bad really, but I can’t say I’m not a tiny bit disappointed. I tentatively step on in my dressing gown and try and trowel off a couple of bits where the fat has caused a ripple. Then for reasons I’ll never know I decide to blast off the excess with the hose undoing everything I’d just done! Then after saying some impolite things about myself I go and make the cup of tea I should have had first!


After letting it settle again I got the watering can out and wetted it all up throughout the day. Then gave it a full soak ready for covering for a slow cook.


And that’s where it’ll be for at least another day or two. I’ve got a little surface spalling which you can see in the picture there at the very wet end but the slab itself seems sound and hopefully will cure up to be nice and strong.

Once it’s cured and had a chance to dry I’ll know whether it’s a tin of floor paint or some carpet I’m going to need!

Jokes aside I’m not as downbeat as I make out, frankly I’m amazed I’ve got a slab there at all and to be honest by the time I’ve crammed the shed full of all my hoardings I won’t see much of the floor. It is a little frustrating to put in a full shift and fluff your lines so close to the finish line, but the nice thing about repentance is you get to do it at leisure so I’ll get on with finishing the rest of the shed first!