Long concrete garage/workshop base (10m) - Advice needed

[M@tt]

ah gotcha

no the concrete wall bit will only be up to the base level which is about 80cm high front the ground max iirc

[irishpaving]

And where are you starting the concrete from.. Are the double gates the entrance for the wagon

[M@tt]

regarding which bit to pour first i'm still a bit unsure

I was thinking i should probably do the wall bit first but its at the furthest end from the gate where the concrete would come in. but even then i'd doubt i'll get a mixer down my drive as theres a drain under the drive so i'd be a bit worried about the weight on a mixer lorry on it. so if it cant get on my drive i'd be looking at a good 25 m distance between the road and the formwork so i don't know whether i'd have to barrow it but it would be a right mission i would imagine!!

failing that i could alway start at the end nearest the gate and let that slab set first before progressing onto the next one.

[irishpaving]

Thats alot of wheelbarrows Matt and its something you need to prepare in advance with any concrete delivery. This is not a one man job either. I only mentioned it because i've seen jobs in the past turn heads up in a situation like this. Just making you aware thats all.... It's a fine looking place

[M@tt]

thanks for your comments

i've run through various scenarios in my head regarding the pouring, i've thought about having to get one of them mixers with the long pumping arm but that adds quite alot to the price of the mix so i've been told, or maybe making some sort of makeshift chute from scaffold planks and lined with visqueen to channel the concrete to the area that needs pouring.

out of interest do you know what the standard reach would be for a mixer with the standard chute on the back?

[irishpaving]

What you could do is hire a small dumper and load directly from the wagon and deliver it to where you need it.

[mickg]

never under estimate the power and strength of wet concrete when its being poured, if you have any movement with you timber shuttering then this will double in movement if not more when you start to push wet concrete against it bending and twisting to what ever shape the movement allowed

pouring 800mm high being tipped out of a wheel barrow would be enough to destroy your shuttering if the force of the concrete when tipping is directly onto it but from a dumper you have to be very very careful indeed

personally speaking you don't need to go to all this expense of the concrete when all you need to do is build a double skin block wall up to 200mm from the finished floor level and then build a single skin as the final course, the concrete floor would then sit on the internal skin of block work what would transfer any weight down to the foundation what the wall is built on, you still need to support the block work on the top course as the weight of concrete for the floor area is pushing outwards and could push the top row out of line

to make it look even better you could use stone as the external wall or brickwork instead of concrete blocks, i was suggesting concrete blocks instead of a timber shutter and to save money on concrete

always pour the slab furthest away working out towards the gate, this way you have less mess to tidy up when the slab has been poured, make sure you cover up the existing stone wall with visqueen sheeting if its to retain its good looks because it will be covered in concrete splashes if you don't

you need to use 6" x 2" timbers as a shutter between each section of floor rather than 6" x 1" as you need to hold the concrete in place and a thin timber held in place with 3 timber pegs will bend if it not supported more

why can you not use a barrow service, they mix and push the wheel barrows and you lay in fact some companies offer the service to lay it for you as well

the reach of a concrete wagons standard chute is approx 2 metres long

[M@tt]

ah the reason i thought i was going to need reinforced concrete was that i was a bit concerned that the lateral push from the base material behind it would be too much for a standard wall. So you think a double skin concrete block wall would do the trick and be cheaper?

would you have a gap between the wall skins or do they touch?

and would you just use these type of blocks?



thanks everyone for all your help so far!!

[irishpaving]

Just fill the cavity with concrete if you wanted to go that way. Normally on site we will use a single block laid flat for something like that.
As i said the strongest method to support shuttering is bracing using a hor/rake and we have poured concrete with 9t dumpers with no problems. The dumper i mentioned for you is the 1t loader which is pretty cheap to hire.
As i hinted to you before if this is something you are going to do yourself you will need to get in some help or as Mick said arrange a company to do the wheeling for you.
Get some pics up when you have done it Matt

[M@tt]

i've actually changed my plans today and ordered 2 pallets of hollow concrete blocks!! it saves building 2 skins as my brick laying is shite to say the least

i'll chuck up the retaining wall with those instead, after pouring a concrete footing that i can mix up myself in the mixer.

i can whack some rebar down every other hole, infill with cement and leave some protruding to tie into the poured base, jobs a goodun!!

Oh and yes i should have said i certainly won't be doing it all myself, i plan to convince some of my fairly handy mates to lend a hand with the pouring screeding when the time comes!!

[irishpaving]

Make sure you chuck up some pics Matt when you finish

[M@tt]

absolutely! i'll keep this thread updated

[rab1]

the foam expansion strips were for against the side of your existing stone wall. when the concrete dries it will expand and this should stop any excess pressure being applied to the aforementioned wall. :;):

[Mikey_C]

the rebar going through the hollow (to be filled blocks) can be concreted into the footing when that is poured, help tie it all in.

as a diy'er, with no account or regular user discounts hanson mix turn out cheapest for me, but contact some of the local ready mix places that have the longer arms/booms you may not find them that much more expensive depends on how many cubes you are after

[seanandruby]

phew!!! So glad you are'nt dumping loads of concrete against a one sided shutter. It would of lifted straight up. The hollow blocks are the way forward, with rebar inserts. Dont forget some drainage, wrapped filter pipe with stone surround.