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...
http://www.btinternet.com/~jonni/base.jpg

Thanks
Jonni

On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 18:33:42 GMT, Jonni wrote:

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...
http://www.btinternet.com/~jonni/base.jpg

Thanks
Jonni

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

"Jonni" wrote in message
.. .
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.
snip

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 http://www.pavingexpert.com/ for mixes, quantities, and
laying tips.



--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. )***
Car Transport by Tiltbed Trailer - based near Derby

Jonni wrote:

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...
http://www.btinternet.com/~jonni/base.jpg

Thanks
Jonni

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.

Rick.............. who are these guys that "mix and barrow"? I've got a
similar sort of thing widening my driveway but I'm worried I'll over or
under estimate the amount I'll need resulting in problems. Actually, £60 for
a cubic metre doesn't sound that bad........... do you happen to know the
minimum they'll deliver at that rate?

Ta
Geoff
"Rick" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 18:33:42 GMT, Jonni wrote:

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...
http://www.btinternet.com/~jonni/base.jpg

Thanks
Jonni

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

Jonni used his keyboard to write :
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.

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.

--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.org

Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Jonni used his keyboard to write :
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.

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.

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

Geoff Norfolk wrote in message ...
Rick.............. who are these guys that "mix and barrow"? I've got a
similar sort of thing widening my driveway but I'm worried I'll over or
under estimate the amount I'll need resulting in problems. Actually, £60
for
a cubic metre doesn't sound that bad........... do you happen to know the
minimum they'll deliver at that rate?

Ta
Geoff
"Rick" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 18:33:42 GMT, Jonni wrote:

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...
http://www.btinternet.com/~jonni/base.jpg

Thanks
Jonni

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




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

On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 21:46:05 GMT, "Geoff Norfolk"
wrote:

Rick.............. who are these guys that "mix and barrow"? I've got a
similar sort of thing widening my driveway but I'm worried I'll over or
under estimate the amount I'll need resulting in problems. Actually, £60 for
a cubic metre doesn't sound that bad........... do you happen to know the
minimum they'll deliver at that rate?

Ta
Geoff

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