Any architects ?
Discussion
This is probably beneath an architect , but anyway..
Having received ludicrous quotes for a concrete slab for a shed/workshop[small]/distillery[/small](about £1200 for 3000mm X 5000mm) I have been pondering cheaper alternatives.
What I have come up with is : concrete piles of about 200mm in diameter , 10 in total spaced in 2 rows 3000mm apart , and at 1000mm intervals ::::: < like that! Span the 3000mm interval with a lintel , and then after laying a damp proof membrane on the lintels , simply span the 1 metre gaps with floor joists ( correct size and spacing from your build reg books?) to produce a reasonably solid floor.
Does this sound like a neat , cheap solution ?
I can hit chalk about 1 metre deep and would propose to auger the holes. Total volume of concrete is circa 0.3 metres.
Any comments ?
Having received ludicrous quotes for a concrete slab for a shed/workshop[small]/distillery[/small](about £1200 for 3000mm X 5000mm) I have been pondering cheaper alternatives.
What I have come up with is : concrete piles of about 200mm in diameter , 10 in total spaced in 2 rows 3000mm apart , and at 1000mm intervals ::::: < like that! Span the 3000mm interval with a lintel , and then after laying a damp proof membrane on the lintels , simply span the 1 metre gaps with floor joists ( correct size and spacing from your build reg books?) to produce a reasonably solid floor.
Does this sound like a neat , cheap solution ?
I can hit chalk about 1 metre deep and would propose to auger the holes. Total volume of concrete is circa 0.3 metres.
Any comments ?
Tony is right.
Hire a mixer, shutter of the required area, order a few bags of sand/ballast, some cement and do it yourself over the weekend.
Alteratively shutter of the required area. Order the required amount of readymix (the readymix company will tell you how much you need based on width x length x depth of the slab.
Get a few mates round with barrows, get your missus on BBQ and beer duty and have it done in an afternoon.
Save yourself a fortune and a lot less hassle than the pilings/joists idea.
Hire a mixer, shutter of the required area, order a few bags of sand/ballast, some cement and do it yourself over the weekend.
Alteratively shutter of the required area. Order the required amount of readymix (the readymix company will tell you how much you need based on width x length x depth of the slab.
Get a few mates round with barrows, get your missus on BBQ and beer duty and have it done in an afternoon.
Save yourself a fortune and a lot less hassle than the pilings/joists idea.
? Would need to check funds after Le Mans , personally I'm not going on a corporate freebie 
B17NNS said:
Tony is right.
Hire a mixer, shutter of the required area, order a few bags of sand/ballast, some cement and do it yourself over the weekend.
Alteratively shutter of the required area. Order the required amount of readymix (the readymix company will tell you how much you need based on width x length x depth of the slab.
Get a few mates round with barrows, get your missus on BBQ and beer duty and have it done in an afternoon.
Save yourself a fortune and a lot less hassle than the pilings/joists idea.
I am doing it myself! 3m X 5m x whatever depth ,say 200 mm minimum with hardcore = 3 cubic metres of soil to dig thats 6 cubic metres when its dug up (IIRC)Thats a skipful to barrow 200 feet , and 2 cubic metres of concrete to barrow back the other way.
The time you are allowed to lay the concrete by a firm like readymix is prohibitive (so many mins per Cubic metre)
z1000 said:
Thats a skipful to barrow 200 feet , and 2 cubic metres of concrete to barrow back the other way.
Well that explains the quote. I'd go with the piles idea simply because of the amount of labour involved if you don't. I'd be tempted (as a non-architect/engineer) to reduce the span on the joists and put in 3 rows.Some basic calcs to help when estimating foundations...
2 x mates plus 8 x stella = 3 cubic metres of soil dug and moved to skip
2 x mates (use different mates to equation above as the initial 8 x stella will have reduced their effective working capacity) plus 8 x stella = 2 cubic meters of concrete mixed, poured and levelled.
The hardcore element is perhaps a little more difficult to calculate but as a rule of thumb try this.
1 x mate plus 1 x BBQ'd steak (+ 2 x stella) should be suffuient for your needs.
2 x mates plus 8 x stella = 3 cubic metres of soil dug and moved to skip
2 x mates (use different mates to equation above as the initial 8 x stella will have reduced their effective working capacity) plus 8 x stella = 2 cubic meters of concrete mixed, poured and levelled.
The hardcore element is perhaps a little more difficult to calculate but as a rule of thumb try this.
1 x mate plus 1 x BBQ'd steak (+ 2 x stella) should be suffuient for your needs.
Im currently working as a arch engineer, working for my chartership to the MCIOB, And I fully agree with everything thats been said on here. If it's only single story, and just birck/block. Do it yourself dig the trench, and fill with concrete then lay the membrane then cast the floor. No need for the floor to be structural either. As long as you have the founds for the brickwork the floor can be laid at a later date.
Any more advice, please don't hesitate to contact me
Any more advice, please don't hesitate to contact me
r8bwt said:
Im currently working as a arch engineer, working for my chartership to the MCIOB, And I fully agree with everything thats been said on here. If it's only single story, and just birck/block. Do it yourself dig the trench, and fill with concrete then lay the membrane then cast the floor. No need for the floor to be structural either. As long as you have the founds for the brickwork the floor can be laid at a later date.
Any more advice, please don't hesitate to contact me
Cheers r8bwt. It's only going to be a timber construction , 4x2's , sheet clad type of thing. Do you think a 3 metre span is ok ? What section lintel , and what section /spacing for the floor joists ? (1 metre span)
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff