Browse Forums Paving & Concreting 1 Apr 09, 2009 4:47 pm I want to put up a 4m x 3m shed. Obviously I need some sort of slab. I've been googling everywhere and reading heaps. Apparently I should have a 100mm slab with reo. We were going to put up the shed first - we're told most people do that - and pour the slab later. But after all my reading I've now got a couple of questions: 1. If I mix the concrete myself will it work? I mean a wheelbarrow at a time it'll never be finished in one hit will it? Can I continue the next day or a couple of hours later? Can the job be done piecemeal? 2. Will I really need plastic underneath, then reo, then plastic on top while it cures? 3. Anchoring a shed seems a bit problem. If we pour the slab first we've got to drill into concrete and fix with things like rawlplugs. so I was thinking of putting the shed up (It's a very flimsy, light, stratco thing, waste of money) on some levelled wood pieces and then immediately fill some prepared holes with concrete at the corners and the door jambs, and put tent pegs bent at the lower ends into them and hanging from the lower edge of the walls. Thus anchoring the thing when the concrete cured and leaving it sitting there off the ground on these little 'piers' as they'd be then. then pour a slab. Like we're told 'most people' do. But it seems like a hard way to go at it to me - carting barrowloads of concrete in through the door, working the concrete inside a dark shed - and how do you find the sideways space to screed it? So considering all this would this method really work? So that's 3 questions. Any suggestions, guffaws, opinions, whatever, all welcome. the number one thing I want to know is what i started with: can we do the job wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow load or is that impractical.? regards, ab Re: Can I Pour A Shed Slab Bit By Bit From A Wheelbarrow? 2Apr 09, 2009 7:35 pm Perhaps you could set some galvanized bolts in the correct location and height before pouring the concrete? If you really want to do the concrete in small pieces then maybe using pre-cast paving slabs would be easier. You would still need to concrete in some mounting points though. As far as I know, the only reason for plastic is to prevent rising damp. I rather think those who advise concreting after the shed has been erected are really referring to very large (Farm) sheds where space to manouver isn't such an issue. Re: Can I Pour A Shed Slab Bit By Bit From A Wheelbarrow? 3Apr 09, 2009 9:13 pm I just put up a Stratco shed last weekend probably very similar to the one you did. First of all, fastening the shed to the floor is very easy. If you look at the sheds on display you will find they have some metal clips which hook over the inside lip of the shed walls and dynabolt to the floor. Buy at least 8 of those clips from Stratco (if they aren't supplied) and go to Bunnings for the dynabolts. I used M8x40mm dynabolts. You need a hammer drill with a cord (cordless don't have enough grunt) and an 8mm masonary drill bit. Simply put the clips where they need to go after squaring up the shed (corners and middle of walls at least) and drill the hole for the clip, then insert the dynabolt and tighten. They are very easy to use - you will be surprised. Secondly you will need to anchor the shed while you are putting it up - so some sort of floor is required before assembling the shed. You need to put up the walls first and rivet them together then square the shed up and dynabolt it to the floor. You cannot assemble the roof etc until it is anchored to the floor square - otherwise it will keep moving around and get out of square before you have a chance rivet the rest together. If you rivet the roof on with the shed out of square you are kind of stuffed. I doubt that you can poor a slab piece by piece but one option you could use is to make 6-8 seperate footings (corners and middle of walls) say about 400x400x600 deep and poor them seperately - just make sure they are poored to the exact same level. This will give you something to anchor the shed to and then you can make a gravel floor in the shed or use pavers etc after it is up. Stratco recommends either a full floor or this system for their sheds. Re: Can I Pour A Shed Slab Bit By Bit From A Wheelbarrow? 4Apr 09, 2009 9:36 pm 4 x 3 is about 12 sq's or about 1.2 CU mtrs. about 12 full wheel barrows (full as in when your bum pops out) You should use mesh f62, the off cuts you can make some nice height peg 't's, A 2.4 mtrs screed will be joy get a mini mix but you need to know what your doing, oh and get ready for the sauna. you have to have 14 rums the night before beers by 11 am Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Can I Pour A Shed Slab Bit By Bit From A Wheelbarrow? 5Jul 16, 2009 12:11 pm Wow this is almost a mirror image of what I'm going through. Except my stratco shed was already errected when I bought my house. I think I've worked out its a Stratco Modular workshop. My biggest problem with it was the door wasn't wide enough, but I've fixed that I'm thinking of hiring a mixer and pouring the concrete myself. Let me know how you go. Adrian Re: Can I Pour A Shed Slab Bit By Bit From A Wheelbarrow? 6Jul 16, 2009 8:58 pm not really recommended for the inexperienced diy but for a small conc. area get it in a mini mix with a retardent and summer mix to slow it down so you dont loose it Da Vinci Outdoor Living Architectural landscaping http://www.davincioutdoor.com Re: Can I Pour A Shed Slab Bit By Bit From A Wheelbarrow? 7Jul 16, 2009 9:07 pm Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Hi, we live in an area where the black soil is prone to a lot of movement. We have an old 50's house with masonite everywhere and nails popping out, warping, rusted etc.… 0 4493 Is it possible to render an old corrugated iron shed.I have heard that it can be done if it is covered with chicken wire first.Not sure of the ratio of the render mix and… 0 4863 Thanks. Yeh ideally that would have been good, but have progressed too far now. Hoping some well placed internal walls fixed up into the battens will provide some… 2 5366 |