So, I bit the bullet and have 2.3M^3 of C35 with fibres on a 70mm slump
(apparently that's the driest they can pump with fibres) arriving 7:30
for pumping @ 08:00 in the morning.

This is the on-going "pond" project!
I have a thing on a stick from Wickes to smooth it out from the side
walls http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/190340 (smoothing lute)

I also have my trusty rake. and a cement finishing trowel
http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/226026

I'm looking to end up with a final "polished" (or as smooth as possible)
for fibre-glassing onto so I'm looking for a plan of operation.

My initial thoughts are distribute with rake, level with lute, float
with a float then wait for "bleed water"(?) to evaporate and give a
final smoothing/polish with finishing trowel when the concrete has set
enough. (however long that is I don't know)

The base is gently dished to the centre drain and wire mesh fabric on
top of about 4" of compacted scalpings and should be around 6 to 7"
thick if I've calculated correctly.

Oh, and there's a tarpaulin covering the area like a tent so no direct
sunlight to overly dry the concrete if that's a good thing?

Any tips from the wise would be greatly appreciated. (expected time
between stages of operation etc?)

Cheers
Pete

--
http://www.GymRatZ.co.uk - Commercial Gym Equipment.
Fitting out Home and commercial gyms Nationwide.

On Sep 6, 4:49*pm, "www.GymRatZ.co.uk"
wrote:
So, I bit the bullet and have 2.3M^3 of C35 with fibres on a 70mm slump
(apparently that's the driest they can pump with fibres) arriving 7:30
for pumping @ 08:00 in the morning.

This is the on-going "pond" project!
I have a thing on a stick from Wickes to smooth it out from the side
wallshttp://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/190340(smoothing lute)

I also have my trusty rake. and a cement finishing trowelhttp://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/226026

I'm looking to end up with a final "polished" (or as smooth as possible)
for fibre-glassing onto so I'm looking for a plan of operation.

My initial thoughts are distribute with rake, level with lute, float
with a float then wait for "bleed water"(?) to evaporate and give a
final smoothing/polish with finishing trowel when the concrete has set
enough. *(however long that is I don't know)

The base is gently dished to the centre drain and wire mesh fabric on
top of about 4" of compacted scalpings and should be around 6 to 7"
thick if I've calculated correctly.

Oh, and there's a tarpaulin covering the area like a tent so no direct
sunlight to overly dry the concrete if that's a good thing?

Any tips from the wise would be greatly appreciated. (expected time
between stages of operation etc?)

Cheers
Pete

--http://www.GymRatZ.co.uk- *Commercial Gym Equipment.
Fitting out Home and commercial gyms Nationwide.

The main thing is to have enough helpers with tools.. You won't have
long in this warm weather.
Probably not possible to get a really good finish. You could apply
some render after it has set.

BTW it is called the "sedimentation phase.". You shouldn't mess with
it after the sedimentation phase.
Keep shaded and wet down every couple of hours especially this weather.

On 06/09/2012 18:00, harry wrote:

The main thing is to have enough helpers with tools.. You won't have
long in this warm weather.
Probably not possible to get a really good finish. You could apply
some render after it has set.

Thanks Harry,
Unfortunately it's only me but the warm weather doesn't start kicking in
until mid morn with these clear nights, so I'm hoping to have enough
time paddling around in my wellies to get it spread around. (it's around
16' x 9' area total)

BTW it is called the "sedimentation phase.". You shouldn't mess with
it after the sedimentation phase.
Keep shaded and wet down every couple of hours especially this weather.

I have a DPM that nearly covers the whole area would it be better to
regularly damp down or cover with DPM?

I should be able to attend to it every few hours for the whole of Friday
through Sunday if a regular misting would be best.

Oh, and should I damp down the area sub surface first thing in the
morning just before concrete arrive to reduce premature drying / water
wicking by scalpings? The scalpins are pounded into firm (red) clay sub
soil so it's already pretty water tight underneath.

Oh, just found the following page that gives me some good pointers:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/94xhfcw

Thanks again, obviously I only get the one shot at getting it right.
8¬O

--
http://www.GymRatZ.co.uk - Fitness+Gym Equipment.
http://www.bodysolid-gym-equipment.co.uk
http://www.trade-price-supplements.co.uk
http://www.water-rower.co.uk

On Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:49:28 +0100, www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote:

On 06/09/2012 18:00, harry wrote:

The main thing is to have enough helpers with tools.. You won't have
long in this warm weather.
Probably not possible to get a really good finish. You could apply
some render after it has set.

Thanks Harry,
Unfortunately it's only me but the warm weather doesn't start kicking in
until mid morn with these clear nights, so I'm hoping to have enough
time paddling around in my wellies to get it spread around. (it's around
16' x 9' area total)

BTW it is called the "sedimentation phase.". You shouldn't mess with
it after the sedimentation phase.
Keep shaded and wet down every couple of hours especially this weather.

I have a DPM that nearly covers the whole area would it be better to
regularly damp down or cover with DPM?

I should be able to attend to it every few hours for the whole of Friday
through Sunday if a regular misting would be best.

Oh, and should I damp down the area sub surface first thing in the
morning just before concrete arrive to reduce premature drying / water
wicking by scalpings? The scalpins are pounded into firm (red) clay sub
soil so it's already pretty water tight underneath.

Oh, just found the following page that gives me some good pointers:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/94xhfcw

Thanks again, obviously I only get the one shot at getting it right. 8¬O

The fibres will make finishing it off really smooth difficult as some
will end up poking out. If you are fibreglassing over that might not be a
problem...



--
Steve

On 06/09/2012 20:34, Steve Eldridge wrote:

The fibres will make finishing it off really smooth difficult as some
will end up poking out. If you are fibreglassing over that might not be a
problem...

Ah ha. Didn't think of that Steve.
That might save me trying to achieve the impossible.

:¬)

Good point.

Thanks
Pete


--
http://www.GymRatZ.co.uk - Fitness+Gym Equipment.

In article ,
"www.GymRatZ.co.uk" writes:
On 06/09/2012 20:34, Steve Eldridge wrote:

The fibres will make finishing it off really smooth difficult as some
will end up poking out. If you are fibreglassing over that might not be a
problem...

Ah ha. Didn't think of that Steve.
That might save me trying to achieve the impossible.

The fibre I've seen for putting in concrete was fine enough
that it would have been held down by the surface tension.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

So, I bit the bullet and have 2.3M^3 of C35 with fibres on a 70mm slump
(apparently that's the driest they can pump with fibres) arriving 7:30
for pumping @ 08:00 in the morning.

This is the on-going "pond" project!
I have a thing on a stick from Wickes to smooth it out from the side
walls http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/190340 (smoothing lute)

I also have my trusty rake. and a cement finishing trowel
http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/226026

I'm looking to end up with a final "polished" (or as smooth as possible)
for fibre-glassing onto so I'm looking for a plan of operation.

My initial thoughts are distribute with rake, level with lute, float
with a float then wait for "bleed water"(?) to evaporate and give a
final smoothing/polish with finishing trowel when the concrete has set
enough. (however long that is I don't know)


We probably won't hear any more from him today, sounds like he has his work
cut out!

Mike

On 07/09/2012 09:01, Muddymike wrote:

We probably won't hear any more from him today, sounds like he has his
work cut out!

Ha...
All well and good specifying an S2 mix when the pump operator comes
along and then adds more water to reduce the risk of blocking up the
pipe.... so any plan of attack has gone out the window. Got to wait for
it to stiffen up enough for me to dig out the bottom drain as it's now
surrounded by 8" of sloppymix. Though I have managed to pull it up
towards the walls enough to get a fall towards the centre as planned..
Just time for a shower and a cuppa I think.
:¬)

Cheers
Pete