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Posted by James on August 11, 2006, 3:43 pm
> James wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>>I want to lay a garage base at the bottom of my garden, for my
>>>>motorbikes. It is 25 metres from the road side so delivery of pre-mixed
>>>>concrete will be a problem, or expensive, or both.
>>>>
>>>>I can mix the concrete myself using a cheap to hire mixer but I need
>>>>some advice on the amount to lay in one batch, to avoid cracks.
>>>>
>>>>The slab will be 6m x 4m x .125m = 3 cubic metres.
>>>>
>>>>The mixer spec says it can mix 85 litres in 6 minutes.
>>>>
>>>>Assuming I'm just tipping the concrete straight into the ready prepared
>>>>area, with a bit of tamping and smoothing, I can probably mix and tip
>>>>about 12 loads = 1 cubic metre, in 70 minutes, with possibly 20 mins
>>>>more for actually shovelling all the ingredients into the mixer.
>>>>
>>>>This means I can lay one third of the base in about 1.5 hours.
>>>>
>>>>So, help needed here :- What is the best way to do this?
>>>>
>>>>I'm assuming I can't just lay the whole base over a space of 1.5x3 hours
>>>>= 4.5 hours as the concrete at one end will have started to go off
>>>>before I've finished at the other end?
>>>>
>>>>Should I lay 2 slabs, 2 metres wide each, with a 2 metre gap between
>>>>them? Then, I could wait a few days until they have both gone off then
>>>>fill in the gap with another slab? Will this be prone to cracks between
>>>>the 3 separate sections?
>>>>
>>>>Any ideas anyone. All comments and advice greatfully received.....
>>>>
>>>>Cheers
>>>>James
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>Don't fully fill it at any point but gradually build up the thickness
>>>evenly over the whole area until finally you are able to build up to the
>>>final level and tamp down with comparatively few mixes. This will ensure
>>>that you are able to move the top layer around sufficiently to properly
>>>level it, because the concrete at the top will all be fairly fresh.
>>
>>
>> So you think the whole slab can be layed in one session, even if this
>> takes 6 hours? Would it not be prone to cracks?
>>
>>
>>>Move all the ingredients as close to the base as you can before you start
>>>and don't skimp on the assistance. There's nothing quite like being
>>>totally shonkered by hard graft and having to keep going because you
>>>CAN'T stop. Been there, done that!
>>
>>
>> lol. I'm kind of looking forward to doing the graft as I'm trying to lose
>> some weight at the moment!
>>
>> Yes, the ingredients will have been moved to the site beforehand,
>> probably over the space of a *number* of days.
>>
>> You are right about the assistance - probably mad to attempt it myself in
>> one day. I can think of 2 mates who'll help me out, which raises another
>> question - given that the mixers are only about £25 a week to hire, would
>> I be better off getting two, and with the help of the mates lay the slab
>> in double quick time? Would this help prevent any cracking?
> I'd do it in strips, as you suggested. I've done a few, without any
> problems. As long as the underlying base is firm enough and the slab thick
> enough, the slabs will bond together with no cracks.
>
> I find the break, waiting for the mixer to finish, is a chance to get a
> breather, get the kinks out of my back, before going on..
lol, I see your point :-)
>
> I am surprised that the total cost of getting it pumped, ready mixed, is
> only double. I would jump at that...Buying readymix is so, so much easier,
> so, so much faster and the quality is so much more consistent than mixing
> your own.
£376 for ready mix delivered - not including waiting time to barrow it to
bottom of garden, estaimated 90 barrows!!!
£734 for it pumped, again not including waiting time!!
I reckon I can do it for £300 if I mix it myself, not including the £25 for
a week's hire of mixer, and couple of crates of lager for hire of two mates
:-)
>
> However, your shuttering has to be all in place and absolutely perfect.
> I'd still do it in strips, whipping out the intermediate shuttering after
> getting a rough level on the two outer strips.
So you'd put the middle strip in straight away, while the other two are
still damp?
>
>
>
>
> --
> Sue
>
>
>
>
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