Hardcore and shuttering for the parts shed is done :)

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
07/11/2016 at 09:52 • Filed to: None

Hopefully over the next week I'll get the concrete laid down. The plan is to put both Spit bodyshells in there, one above the other, and my mate's 106 GTi, plus all the bit that I'll pull off the dead Jag so I can finally scrap the shell.

DISCUSSION (9)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
07/11/2016 at 10:39

Doing a pour on top of the rock rubble, and you’ve get the bricks all set as soil retention? Can’t say I’ve ever seen a pour done this way.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
07/11/2016 at 10:46

Yeah it’s not a conventional design, but as it’s not going to be much more than storage I can make compromises to save materials.

Rather than levelling the ground which would be a monster undertaking without a digger (it’s a good 4' from highest to lowest points) I’m sloping it ever so slightly at the far end and raising it probably a foot and a half at the lowest point to get the main run level.

The bricks around the outside are supporting some thick plastic sheeting which will hopefully hold the concrete in and stop it from just flowing out. I could have made it out of wood, but it would have been a bit of a bugger cutting it at an angle along the length to match the sloping ground.

My idea with the rubble is that that will make up the bulk of the slab so we don’t use 3x as much concrete as we would normally filling it in. I’m hoping that if we make the concrete a bit wet it will flow inbetween the rubble and knit it together a bit. Around the edge where the walls run I’ve left a ~6" gap so it will be solid concrete all the way to the ground for strength where it’s needed.

It may produce a crap floor and break up instantly, but I'm probably 80% sure it'll work and it means I can actually afford to do it! Cracked slab is better than no slab at all!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
07/11/2016 at 11:06

I wonder if it would work best with some kind of paving stone slurry as the first step - something with a very small minimum rock size or none. What you’ve arrived at is somewhere between a properly masoned stone floor and a concrete one, so if you can eliminate pockets and actually get the rubble seated in cement, then it *might* work.

Cash Rewards > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
07/11/2016 at 11:07

Take that, building code!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
07/11/2016 at 11:12

Hmmm, we’re using sharp sand I believe for the aggregate. There are a few pebbles here and there but for the most part it’s quite small grained. Air pockets will probably be our greatest enemy here so we’ll have to be thorough tamping it down.

It is a bit of an experiment. I'll post up how well it works when we start mixing :) worst comes to worst there's between 2 and 3" of straight concrete over the top of the rubble so that should provide a bit of strength and smoothness for the floor surface.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Cash Rewards
07/11/2016 at 11:14

Exactly! Bunch of bureaucrats!

Technically this building doesn't need inspection though. Most of the buildings we have won't meet code for some reason or other, but we take pretty decent precautions for safety (things like getting the right timber for roof spans to ensure sufficient strength for snow load etc.).

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
07/12/2016 at 15:40

Are you mixing the concrete yourself or getting it from a cement plant? I would suggest going with fibermesh or fibercon for something like that. The fibers added to the concrete will do a good job of reinforcing it and they definitely help with crack prevention / crack arresting. The local cement plants have it on request. I’m not sure if you can buy it from a building supply place if you’re mixing your own cement, but I would be surprised if you couldn’t.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
07/12/2016 at 17:23

Definitely mixing ourselves. We had people in to pour the large base for a stables and they were rushed and did a bit of a haphazard mix, resulting in a flaky surface. Much better to take our time and do it ourselves.

Great tip on the reinforcement fibre. I’ll see what ends up cheaper, steel reinforcement or the fibre :)

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
07/12/2016 at 19:44

The fiber seems to do a better job at preventing cracks than steel since it gets mixed evenly through the cement. It would probably help to minimize cracking on your “nonstandard" base since it will be spread throughout the mix and get reinforcement all the way down to the bottom of the pour.

I’m not sure of the pricing, but a lot of people in my area will do both fiber and steel for garages and outside pours because we get pretty bad winters and the freeze thaw will tear up concrete in a hurry. If I remember correctly it added a few dollars to the price of a truck, so it is well worth it for the insurance.