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Posted by MiamiCuse on October 12, 2007, 9:33 pm
>> Hi I used a jack hammer to open the 4" concrete slab and made a trench
>> for
>> the plumber to come to redo the underground pipe fittings.
>>
>> Once they are done I need to pour the concrete slab back.
>>
>> Question I have is...
>>
>> (1) As I broke off the old concrete slab, there were a lot of the large
>> chunks of concrete I have as debris. Should I use those to fill in the
>> trench up to the 4" mark below grade, or should I use sand and pack them
>> tight?
>
> As long as they're not pressing on the pipe, sure use them as fill.
> Just make sure that whatever you put down is well compacted. Lift and
> drop a sledgehammer over the entire trench fill then smooth out the
> surface.
>
>> (2) There were wire mesh inside the concrete slab that I broke up. The
>> trench is about 8" to 12" wide about 10 feet long. Is there anything I
>> need
>> to do as far as the wire mesh? Should I cut another wire mesh of that
>> size
>> and put it in? The way many of them broke off I am not sure I can tie
>> back
>> to the old ones.
>
> It really doesn't do all of that much. If your slab wasn't cracked to
> the point that the sides were uneven, it's not going to prevent
> anything. The subgrade preparation was adequate and the mesh was used
> as insurance. If it makes you feel better, put it in - it can't
> hurt. Just won't help if you prepare the trench subgrade properly and
> place the concrete correctly.
>
>> (3) Underneath the concrete slab is a sheet of plastic, is that a
>> moisture
>> barrier or some insect barrier? Now that it's broken what can I do to
>> have
>> the same effect?
>
> Put some more plastic back. Again, it's not going to do much as
> there's no real way of sealing poly to poly easily. It's cheap and
> easy enough to do, but any little gap will allow moisture to migrate.
I cannot seal them anyways, as some of the plastic sheets are torn at the
edge where the concrete broke off so most of the edges do not have any
plastic protruding just along a few spots. So there is no way to have that
seal. Unless I loosen the sand under the concrete slab all the way around
the edges six inches in or so, then glue a thick 10" strip from the
underside onto the existing barrier, then fill in the sand to the bottom of
slab, then add in a new piece to glue to the other side of the strip, then
fill with concrete. Probably not worth it I guess.
MC
>
> R
>
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