Garage base.... changed my mind!

[Jonni]

Started preparing a base for a timber (workshop) a few months ago and just getting round to the last stages (better weather!). So far I have set out an area, filled it with hardcore which has been compacted.

At this point I was going to arrange for ready mix concrete to be delivered and pured (about 50-75mm thick) - however I changed my mind for the following reasons

1) Access difficult to allow a direct pour 2) Cost of ready mix!

Now I just want to grab some old 3x2 slabs and lay them instead. First thing I need to do is hire a small concrete mixer, which brings me to my question..... the mix!?

Could you recommend which bags of whatever I should buy (probably B&Q), and how many I may need based on the area.

Is it sufficient to drop blobs on cement and lay the slabs onto them or does it have to be spread?

Here is the site...

[Rick]

You just need to stop the slabs moving, so you can lay them on sand, or blobs. I am sure pavingexpert has the full speel on this.

Have you considered the guys that mix and barrow, so you only pay for what you need, you just leavel it out - easy ? As your need is so small, you will pay for a lot of empty air in readymix. Air = 30 quid a cube, concrete = 60, you have to buy a whole lorry full.

Rick

[Autolycus]

Will this workshop have its own timber floor? If so, you don't need oversite concrete, just some treated bearers. If not, I'd recommend concrete with a damp-proof membrane of 1000g polythene underneath it. Then, once it's cured, you can treat it with stabiliser solution and dollop some floor paint (anything from £1 a litre cheapo gloss to fancy epoxy) onto it. You'll then have a dry, sweepable floor that won't cause anything steel you put down on it to rust.

You may save a little by buying ballast (sand and gravel mixed) either loose, or in bulk bags, or, as I do, by collecting it a ton or so at a time in a suitable trailer. If you can get the trailer next to the work site, it's very easy to mix straight from it.

Have a look at

for mixes, quantities, and laying tips.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Depends on the weight. I have laid a lot of slabs with 5:1 sand:cement, but I wouldn't want to run a car over them, and certainly not a 30 ton truck.

I would not think that ANYTHING is cheaper than ready mix.

[Geoff Norfolk]

[Harry Bloomfield]

Jonni used his keyboard to write :

If the workshop will have wooden floor it would be better if the floor were raised some way off the ground and the moisture, allowing some airflow underneath. Closely spaced piers (piles of bricks) work well. Even if it just has wood walls/solid floor, then it would be better if the walls were raised above floor level.

[David Hearn]

My Dad used concrete fenceposts to support his shed rather than bricks, got them at a good price actually as they were damaged - hard to sell for fencing, but who cares what they look like under a shed!

David

[Bob Minchin]

There is a franchise operation called Mixamate (you should find them in yellow pages for your area). They mix whilst your wait and supply barrows. I think their minimum is 1 cubic metre. They allow you 1/2 hour per cu m to barrow and place the stuff after that they reserve the right to charge more. I reckon you need two people working flat out to barrow the stuff at the rate they make it and if the job is at all fussy, two people placing and leveling.

They are usually happy to give you a bit more or less in quanta of 1 bag of cement's worth of concrete which I think is two barrow loads.

Their charges are a fixed amount for turning up plus a price per metre. I think with VAT I paid best part of £200 for 2 Cu m a year or so ago.

HTH Bob

[Rick]

The mix and barrow guys are found in yellow pages, give a few a call, some will barrow as well.

The ready mixers round my way only have 6 cube lorries, and you pay 60 quid for concrete, and 30 quid for air, untill the lorry is full. You have to have 6 cubes. You alos get mini mixers, which hold much less, and are therefore more economical. You can also get mixers/pump/conveyer combinations for getting to more awkard spaces.

If you mess arround and are too slow to empty the stuff, you pay extra for that.

My location is remote, and its half a mile from where the waggon delivers too, I have to hire a dumper in, pay extra "waiting time", and there is only one guy that will come, and not have the stuff set before the waggon empty ........

You need somewhere for the waggon to park. If the waggon goes off road, and it gets stuck, its your fault. I always ask the drivers for advice about where is safe to put the waggon. In my experience these guys are more interested in keeping their waggon working, than doing a job for you.

Rick