Concrete Experience

[teak]

I hve been in construction quiet some time. One experience I nver had was making contrete building as in Italy. How do they make floors with concrete? They have nice tiles eveywhere too. The wall are hard.

Also, can a person, building their own home get pre-cut electric cables and items that will stand up to the NWC?

Thanks teak

[RicodJour]

They either use precast plank (most common) and install them with a crane, or they cast them in place using wood/steel scaffolding to support the concrete as it cures.

Precut cables? I don't follow you. The house wiring has to terminate at the electric panel, a junction box or at the receptacle/outlet. If you've priced copper cable recently you'd know that you don't want to install any more cable than you absolutely must use. Whatever you meant by precut cable, it'd cost more. If you're trying to eliminate an electrician, it's probably unwise to think about going that route.

R

[CWatters]

We recently built a house in the UK with concrete floors.

We used "beam and block" construction with foam insulation and screed on top.

See

The screed has UFH pipes in it. The beams are inverted T section with aircrete blocks between. Similar blocks were used to construct the walls. You have to use the right density of block to carry the weight of the floor.

38mm wooden battens are fitted to the underside and plasterboard/drywall is fixed to those. The result is a cavity just deep enough for halogen downlights.

[PeterD]

Concrete floor construction is well documented. Perhaps a bit too complicated for a Usenet thread however. Did you try a Google search? If not, do so. Basically you create a form with heavy reinforcment to the floor below. It takes skill and experience. Also the floor, and the reinforcement is critical.

Better is to use precast flooring units. You lift them in place with a crane, and work from there.

Pre-cut? YOu can get diagonal cutters for a few dollars at a hardware store and cut any length you want. I've never heard of 'pre-cut' cable for building construction, and doubt it exists in the US. If you are unskilled in wiring, I'd strongly recommend an electrican be hired. If costs are an issue, some will work with you where you put the stuff in place, and then they come in and do the final hookup.