Garage Entrance Concrete Repair (RK?)

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Cunning Plan

Soft Sand - OK?

No.

Quoting: Cunning Plan

Sharp Sand - Good for creating a structure - right? But stones are too big

Sharp sand should be sand with no stones . . . .

Ballast is a mix of Sharp sand and 10-20mm stones.

Quoting: Cunning Plan

But I couldn't find any other type of sand

Where did you shop ?

[Roadkill]

Look for this :



http://www.wickes.co.uk/Sharp-Sand/invt/220112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.wickes.co.uk/Sharp-Sand/invt/220112

[EDGE]

it's £1.36/bag if you buy 10 bags, I just bought 10 this weekend, £1.54 each for up to 10 bags...

I need another 10 today !

ffs

[Roadkill]

Their bulk bags are pretty cheap - delivery is reasonable, too . . .

[Big Mouse]

That will still be too thick for a 4-5 mm repair; I think you'll be better off making the repair area deeper wih an edge to work upto to get a better bond with a concrete mix.

[Incursus]

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19386-for-selfhealing-concrete-just-add-bacteria-and-food.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19386-for-selfhealing-concrete-just-add-bacteria-and-food.html

[EDGE]

The bulk bags are about a tenner cheaper per 875kg, but it's a lot mire hassle to transport it round to wherever you're working. Just bought (had delivered) 38 small bags of building sand and it was £11 more than the jumbo bag, but it's WAY easier to load them in to the car 15 at a time and drive them round to the garage rather than shovelling and barrowing. I had to move 3 ton of GSB round to the back for the foundations, thought about a barrow then hired a mini dump truck for the weekend!  FAR FAR easier!!

[Cunning Plan]

Okay finally remembered to upload the pictures..

These are my first go at repair patches, you can see the colour of the original concrete I was talking about Only about 5--10m deep.



So not being able to use the concrete as I wanted, I ended up making a strong mix of concrete, almost 90% to get it like a putty to smooth over the top.




Not as flat as I would have liked. .




Painted to match the brick colour near the front of the house and to try and blend the two together Also minus the patch of saw-dust

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: Roadkill

Ballast is a mix of Sharp sand and 10-20mm stones.

What do you think RK?

If I didn't paint it, how would I have got it the same colour?

[Roadkill]

Can't see the piccies at work - will have to wait til I get home.

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: Roadkill

Can't see the piccies at work - will have to wait til I get home.

Bah, it is like you have better things to do than look at my pictures when you get home

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Cunning Plan

Bah, it is like you have better things to do than look at my pictures when you get home

Busy getting the Radian for sale last night, I'm affraid.

Need to go online tonight so -

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Cunning Plan

you can see the colour of the original concrete

Looks like a VERY sandy mix - no wonder it broke up !

Quoting: Cunning Plan

I ended up making a strong mix of concrete, almost 90%

I assume you mean 90% cement ?

If so that'll probably shatter in the first major frost unless you're very, very lucky . . .

With such a relatively small ramp (and considering it was so badly made in the first place) I'd have opted to smash up the original, shutter it and replace it entirely.

What you've got now doesn't look terrible but I really don't think it'll last.

If you attack it again - give me a shout (if it's local) and I'll give you some on-site input.

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: Roadkill

Looks like a VERY sandy mix - no wonder it broke up !

HmmMm - the whole garage floor is the same. It seems pretty strong TBH though. The step was a little crusty though - maby the weather affects it more?

Quoting: Roadkill

I assume you mean 90% cement ?

Yep, keep getting them mixed up. Cement makes concrete, Cement makes concrete - got it, got it!

Quoting: Roadkill

If so that'll probably shatter in the first major frost unless you're very, very lucky . . .

AHHHHHHHH I did bad?

I assumed cement is the strongest thing out there if you don't dilute it, it's uber strong - I just assumed people don't use 100% because it would cost more than diluting it with sand

You know who's fault this is. The sand.

Quoting: Roadkill

If you attack it again - give me a shout (if it's local) and I'll give you some on-site input.

Big thanks dude, but it is at my parent's house, so Norfolk A lil far for you I think - no matter how many beers I supply

I have a small step to build next as part of the Outside Office Conversion.




It's about 100x800x200mm dXhXw. This one is a bit different as I'm doing it from scratch, so I'll build shuttering first to box and fill it from there as you say.. See how that build goes

Thanks for your help thought RK. I've learnt a bit even though it doesn't look like it!

[art b]

imho, its a fair 1st attempt.....
wot did you use to smooth it though craig....?....the end of your knob....

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: art b

wot did you use to smooth it though craig....?....the end of your knob....

Yeah, it is that BIG it was uncontrollable!!!!!!!!




But no, I used a tiling plastic thing.. A bit like this:



Which would have been fine, but it was the mix I tell you! It just didn't want to go flat, the more I tried to smooth it the more it would come up. I am thinking I didn't use enough water now

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Cunning Plan

This one is a bit different as I'm doing it from scratch, so I'll build shuttering first to box and fill it from there as you say..

Maybe give me a call if you think you're gonna get stuck.

If you're laying down some shuttering make sure it's level and secure.

Then add your mix in one go (ie. don't allow the first parts to dry).

Go for a drier mix as you'll always end up with water on the top (I keep doing this) and finish with a straight smooth piece of wood by "shuffling" it left-to-right across the mix while edging it back and forth - this'll give you a level finish, and will smooth it out, too.

[Cunning Plan]

Awesome, cheers buddy - appreciated  

I'll get some pictures up so you can remote-gaffer the build!

[Andy]

Did a step nigh on exactly the same to that.

Shuttering is the important part, work on getting that how you want it, nice and level and secure. Once you have that sorted make sure you get your mix right. I can't remember the one I used off the top of my head but I had at least a couple of bags of ballast to make it up. I also whacked some scrap metal bars in there for added rigidity (was a door step between two rsj's).

Ditto Rk, wanna hand, give us a shout. Love building/breaking things!

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: Andy

Shuttering is the important part, work on getting that how you want it, nice and level and secure.

Roger

Quoting: Andy

Ditto Rk, wanna hand, give us a shout. Love building/breaking things!

One thing I'm not sure about is weather-proofing / damp-proofing the wooden floor of the outhouse. You can see from the picture - that white area under the door is just a piece of wood - I need to mate concrete up to it to primarally stop water being soaked up by the wood and secondly tidy the entrance by improving access.

I know I can't just mate the concrete up to the wood, so I need to put something between the two

Any suggestions?

I'm thinking a dam-proof-type-sheet-thing, but I don't know what..

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Cunning Plan

I'm thinking a dam-proof-type-sheet-thing

DPM ?

May work - if it's reasonable timber the only chance it'll get to absorb moisture is when the concrete is drying (it'll expand).

Once the concrete is dry the timber will slowly shrink back, leaving a small gap . . . maybe pump some silicone sealer in there to reduce the transfer of moisture after ?

[Big Mouse]

A bit of DPM will be fine. Makes sure you have a small fall on the top so any water will run off, you might want to think of setting a water bar in as well for the door to shut against to stop water blowing in under it. You can see the original bar at the bottom of the picture

[Cunning Plan]

Okay..

I was thinking of using some of this stuff:




http://www.toolbox.co.uk/everbuild-evb90805-everproof-5432-92155\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.toolbox.co.uk/everbuild-evb90805-everproof-5432-92155

And coating the wood in it. I like the idea because there is another section of the outhouse that looks like damp has been getting on the wood, which isn't near any doors or windows or openings of any kind, so I am assuming there is a gap in the concrete barrier that is raised from the ground all the way around the base of the building, I could put some of this all around the edge to prevent water getting in..

Bad idea and better to stick with the DPM?

[Roadkill]

Never used paint-on DPM before but would guess it would work in the first senario.

However if you have existing damp areas I doubt painting that stuff on would cure it . . . damp comes up from the ground so most likely you've got a breach in the DPC damp course (see link below for DPM / DPC details) or a tear in the DPM under the slab.

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/dpc.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/dpc.htm

[Cunning Plan]

Just about to buy some materials for making the step.

Yet another few questions for you

Do I need 'overlap' tape to put on the DPM?



http://www.screwfix.com/prods/66092/Building/Damp-Proof/Radon-Sealing-Tape#BVRRWidgetID\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.screwfix.com/prods/66092/Building/Damp-Proof/Radon-Sealing-Tape#BVRRWidgetID

Or am I okay with just forming the DPM into the gap the best I can, then concreting over the top

Also, is this DPM okay?



http://www.screwfix.com/prods/83999/Building/Damp-Proof/Damp-Proof-Course-225mm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.screwfix.com/prods/83999/Building/Damp-Proof/Damp-Proof-Course-225mm

I don't think I need any wider as it is a fairly small section to do anyway