Steel pegs to hold shuttering for a concrete base?

[Morrisman]

I’ve been plugging away trying to get this sorted for ages, lack of materials, long wait list, personal injury, all cramped my progress. Today I finally decided to lay out and peg the wood for the concrete base.

After trawling around town for an hour I managed to buy 6 bags of crushed limestone in B&Q, to fill and hammer down in some parts of the base,

I also bought some 2” square timber, cut it into short lengths and tried to drive it into the ground to screw my planks to.

No chance. The soil is so full of rocks, pebbles, gravel etc, it just goes in 3” and stops dead. Even a sledge just bounces it out of the ground. Maybe thinner wood would do? But I think I need some sort of steel bars, maybe rebar, but short of ordering in a 6m length of heavy stuff, cutting, sharpening etc, I can’t think of any other way. So much of my gear is stashed at my dads place, due to lack of room, no idea even where my chop saw is now.

When I built my last garage I was out there 8 hours a day grafting, but this one seems to be nothing but stumbling blocks and a pain in the rr’s.

 

[500e]

Its trying to tell you it needs to be bigger
Nice to see you have a decent sized compressor tank

 

[Morrisman]

On the other hand, I did discover my Wickes batteries (sort of) fit into my Makita impact driver and work quite well.

 

[123hotchef]

Drive around pick up a bit of scrap metal and cut it up u used a old stool

 

[slimjim]

I’ve been plugging away trying to get this sorted for ages, lack of materials, long wait list, personal injury, all cramped my progress. Today I finally decided to lay out and peg the wood for the concrete base.

After trawling around town for an hour I managed to buy 6 bags of crushed limestone in B&Q, to fill and hammer down in some parts of the base,

I also bought some 2” square timber, cut it into short lengths and tried to drive it into the ground to screw my planks to.

No chance. The soil is so full of rocks, pebbles, gravel etc, it just goes in 3” and stops dead. Even a sledge just bounces it out of the ground. Maybe thinner wood would do? But I think I need some sort of steel bars, maybe rebar, but short of ordering in a 6m length of heavy stuff, cutting, sharpening etc, I can’t think of any other way. So much of my gear is stashed at my dads place, due to lack of room, no idea even where my chop saw is now.

When I built my last garage I was out there 8 hours a day grafting, but this one seems to be nothing but stumbling blocks and a pain in the rr’s.

View attachment 235418

If you only need a few, then buy a couple of 5/8 earth rods from tool station,

buy a metre long 12mm Sds and drill a hole first, then you don’t need a point.

 

[Parm]

Why not just wooden pegs?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

@Morrisman This to make the hole for your peg(s), you can do a lot of damage with one

https://www.toolandfix.com/carters-...VRTMvt-H6nubE5tXh2CI0Mhd33izOK5RoCTuYQAvD_BwE

A bit spendy for what you might think of as a one-off job though.

 

[Morrisman]

If you only need a few, then buy a couple of 5/8 earth rods from tool station,

buy a metre long 12mm Sds and drill a hole first, then you don’t need a point.

I’ll check into that, not sure how deep these pebbles go, maybe my village was a beach once?

@Morrisman This to make the hole for your peg(s), you can do a lot of damage with one

https://www.toolandfix.com/carters-...VRTMvt-H6nubE5tXh2CI0Mhd33izOK5RoCTuYQAvD_BwE

A bit spendy for what you might think of as a one-off job though.

I already have one, but it goes in no better that the wood stakes. Too many big pebbles.

Just been out and screwed the ends of my shuttering together, squared it up and nearly dead level...

 

[Morrisman]

Why not just wooden pegs?

As in my main post, they simply refuse to go in. Maybe they need to be pointier, but I’m sure the pebbles and rocks and stuff would simply destroy said point.

 

[Parm]

As in my main post, they simply refuse to go in. Maybe they need to be pointier, but I’m sure the pebbles and rocks and stuff would simply destroy said point.

Ahh rocks n pebbles, right royal PITA for what you are trying to do

See if you can get your hands on to some road pegs or rebar. Cut to suit and Hooghly on down with BFH

 

[Morrisman]

Ahh rocks n pebbles, right royal PITA for what you are trying to do

See if you can get your hands on to some road pegs or rebar. Cut to suit and Hooghly on down with BFH

There’s a construction site just down the road......

Just thought, I’ve got some seamless steel tube, 3/4” od at my dads place, far too nice stuff to beat into the ground, but that might be one answer. I like the idea of the SDS drill, I have some long bits already, maybe 18” only though.

 

[Parm]

There’s a construction site just down the road......

Get as much as you can, it’s handy stuff

 

[slim_boy_fat]

and nearly dead level...

Tsk...tsk

 

[Shedendman]

1'' rebar BFH them in

 

[Shedendman]

It not going anywhere its only a 6'' base and you're using what looks like 2'' thick
Knocked load up like that with a few rubbish roof batten to keep it square

 

[Morrisman]

Tsk...tsk

It’s within 10mm I recon, but I could slip some shims under, when the pegs are driven in.

There’s going to be a ready built wooden shed stuffed on top, with the continual failures and mistakes I’ve been making with almost everything I lay a hand to the last few years I daren’t risk trying to build another one myself.

Hopefully this will turn into a build thread, but then it may get lost in the great abyss of rarely updated threads, the speed I’m going at....

 

[Parm]

It’s within 10mm I recon, but I could slip some shims under, when the pegs are driven in.

There’s going to be a ready built wooden shed stuffed on top, with the continual failures and mistakes I’ve been making with almost everything I lay a hand to the last few years I daren’t risk trying to build another one myself.

Hopefully this will turn into a build thread, but then it may get lost in the great abyss of rarely updated threads, the speed I’m going at....

For the effort now, its well worth getting it level as best as you can. It will pay dividends latter on

Some more knowledgeable and experienced folk will say what sorts of tolerance is acceptable

 

[rtcosic]

buy a metre long 12mm Sds and drill a hole first, then you don’t need a point.

We are plagued with stones too and I have resorted to 22mm 1 metre long masonry drill bit in the SDS drill as a pilot hole.

My wife borrowed it and a 75mm or so core drill for planting out. She got some odd looks, but it worked in that the plants lived!

Maybe I should get her one of these for Christmas?

 

[Morrisman]

1'' rebar BFH them in

If I had some, or knew where to score some locally....

It not going anywhere its only a 6'' base and you're using what looks like 2'' thick
Knocked load up like that with a few rubbish roof batten to keep it square

I’ll probably need the concrete brought through from the road in one of those mini dumpers, as I only have doorway access, so the last thing I want is the guy clobbering the shuttering while dumping his load, and moving it all.

 

[Shedendman]

Not if he tips from the slabs,someone then in the hole to spread it