substitute for concrete bases.

[God mode restorations]

Good morning all. ...been reading and commenting on a few posts regarding sheds/workshops...and materials and techniques..I am or was a ground work/ tarmac engineer for 20 plus years until I gave up due to breaking my right leg twice...I can still do it but slow and not as fit as I was..now some of us are in or will be in the process of building a better work place.some of us have restricted access to are back gardens via alley way or small path up the side of house...that makes doing concrete bases difficult.so we are left with a mixer and doing by hand..I will be building a 12x30 workshop that will have lathes.mill ect...we all no that concrete is best but with today's technology there must be a better way...I can do my base in three sections with mesh and rebar connecting the bays...and did think about a footing with block and beam...Iva way a lot of work....

 

[Woody.v8]

You can hire a concrete pump along with readymix for sub £100, This takes out all the barrow work.

 

[God mode restorations]

Yes there is not a lot of options once you way it up.block and beam is or more of a task...but I did forget about the pump idear...

 

[Wallace]

After using a mixer and pouring 3 slabs 2m x 3m over 3 weekends then doing one 6m x 3m with Readymix in what seemed like minutes I'm all for having concrete delivered if possible, much easier. It was like Ambrosia Cream Rice to spread and tamp down compared to the much I mixed!

 

[mike os]

Get it pumped, proper job and no back breaking work

 

[ukracer]

I was in the same boat but I had 25 bags of extra rapid set cement already on site free......plus approx 2 bulk bags of ballast I got round it all by mixing 3 to 1 e rapid set and fresh standard cement.

I did 6 x 4 metres in 5 bays using a mixer. It was slow but almost free.

 

[God mode restorations]

I was in the same boat but I had 25 bags of extra rapid set cement already on site free......plus approx 2 bulk bags of ballast I got round it all by mixing 3 to 1 e rapid set and fresh standard cement.

I did 6 x 4 metres in 5 bays using a mixer. It was slow but almost free.

That's a good size to do by hand...

 

[God mode restorations]

I will see how much a pump will be ..living down a dead end Road could cause a few issues..failing that.i divide the bays up a bit more.may be four sections..plenty of rebar and expansion joints...not the best idear but one that might make it a bit more manageable. ..

 

[gaz1]

ive done it with 4 others and 2 wheel barrows for an extension at back of property of house and its not easy work

it can be done with readymix this way but you have to keep moving by the time youve done that get it pumped in much faster

there is other ways to do it you can use concrete lintels as long as you do them correctly and spread the weight evenly by using concrete beams or use steel lintels your choice on the materials and the expense your prepared to go for a shed

others are lucky they can build concrete structures instead of just a garden shed some are lucky enough to build a massive garden shed

yet it all comes down to materials and cost in the end

 

[MrFluffy]

Even if you get a pump or it chuted in or on a conveyor, worth highlighting to others about the dragging round, feeding the poker through to get rid of air bubbles and tamp/work it and the truck waits for nobody and just needs to get it off as fast as possible and be gone. Concrete day has to be planned and prepared for with military precision, or if it goes wrong on the day (and sods law...) the slurm waits for nobody (although you can slow it down sometimes by wetting it down).
I did a 4x7m workshop slab on my own and it was really hard going, finished at 7am or so after a 11am delivery though that included powerfloating too.

 

[MrFluffy]

I will see how much a pump will be ..living down a dead end Road could cause a few issues..failing that.i divide the bays up a bit more.may be four sections..plenty of rebar and expansion joints...not the best idear but one that might make it a bit more manageable. ..

Don't forget that will involve 3x delivery charge and 3x cleaning charges. And they make up the bulk of the cost of the concrete delivered. I would *like* to do my barn this way split into 3 bays, but it adds hundreds to the cost so one big pour, fingers crossed eeryone turns up who has promised to help and a weekend in bed recovering afterwards for me it is...

 

[brightspark]

WE HAVE BAROMIX ROUND OUR WAY they barrow it in for u and u just pay for what u have used its not much more expensive than them dropping a heap ouside and no waste

 

[colnerov]

Someone on a states forum asked about using tarmac/asphalt...seemingly a bad idea as a jack etc would just sink into it...

Depends on the strength of the mix, they use it at the airport on the runway and some taxiways and they have 400 tons of 747 on them.

 

[God mode restorations]

Tarmac is good for what it was intended for.roads and driveways. Definitely not for a shed base....

 

[GRUMPY1950]

Hi I am doing a garage base at back of house 5.1 Metres x 9 Metres minus pit area, I am interested if anyone has hired concrete pump and how much you expect to pay.
Its about 4.5 Cub/m Thanks for any answers.

 

[colnerov]

Not for long though, and not as a point load - where they park is concrete... A trolley jack with it's little wheels probably puts more pressure (psi say) on the ground than a plane.

I used to work airside and the asphalt on the runway is as hard as the concrete, we used to have more problems with concrete shaleing than with the runway surface and that had 1/4" grooves every 1/4" for drainage.

 

[gaz1]

and if your a skinflint make your own cement mixer

those with a jcb or tractor can use one of these

 

[gaz1]

hey spencer how far are you going with the cement ? the cement mixer has its own chute at a much lower level as you can make a chute to go a lot further than intended

using scaffolding boards ive used this method but also best to use thickish plastic sheet as aids in the flow of concrete

 

[colnerov]

I'm not sure it's a relevant comparison to a shed floor

You're absolutely right, it's just a case of the right mix for strength, as someone else on here has found out recently.

 

[gaz1]

You're absolutely right, it's just a case of the right mix for strength, as someone else on here has found out recently.

pmsl someone had to rub that one in and right