Browse Forums Paving & Concreting 1 Apr 29, 2010 1:41 am We have just had concrete aggregate, laid under our alfresco and our triple drive way, because of the cost, we never had down the sides of our house done. Both sides are not visible from either front or back of the house, and won`t even be used, unless we need to service the hot water system. Sizes are 10.5 x1 mtr & 15 x 1.5 mtr SOOO I`m trying to convince hubby to give laying concrete a go, as it doesnt have to be perfect, Has anyone laid ther own concrete, was it that hard? Any tips for successful concrete laying? Re: DIY Concrete 2Apr 29, 2010 7:18 pm I have done a wee bit, and it is not too difficult but is hard work. Luckily I had my father in law around to advise / help with the laying, otherwise I would have worked it too early and ruined it. I would recommend getting someone who knows what they are doing to tell you how to do all the prep work (excavating, compacting, forming up) and have a look at it before you pour and then also be around for the pour, even if you have to employ a grano worker on hourly rates during the pour, if you have never worked concret before. Can be pretty stressful it it goes to poo on you. Re: DIY Concrete 3May 07, 2010 9:01 pm I am also thinking of having a go with DIY concreting the path at the sides of the house. What I do not know though is how to deal with the drainage. Do you just pour the concrete so that it has a fall towards the backyard or you actually put some pipes going to the sewer for the drainage? Oxford 22 @ Stage12a Point Cook Site Cut : 05/03/2010 Slab Pour : 24/03/2010 Frame Inspected : 06/04/2010 Pre-plaster Inspection: 22/04/2010 PCI: 16/07/2010 Final Inspection: 30/07/2010 Landscaping: who knows??? MyHomeoneThread Our Oxford22 Blog Re: DIY Concrete 4May 10, 2010 9:33 am Fall the path away from the house towards some sort of permeable surface eg lawn, gravel, garden bed etc, should easily be able to deal with it. For bigger expanses of paving you may have to look at soakwells etc Re: DIY Concrete 5May 10, 2010 10:12 pm DON"T do it. Concreting relies on two things, Skill and timing. And they both come with Experience. You Can't order a truck load of Concrete Start pouring and then realise you suck at it. Brick Paving on the other hand can be done over many weekend's through trial and error and all you basically need is a string line screed and a diamond 9 inch blade. Also the concrete truck will charge approx $1.70 a min waiting time if you take longer than 45min to discharge. Plus they will charge you to take any concrete back to the yard. Re: DIY Concrete 6May 23, 2010 6:54 pm Doing concrete yourself is easy.... With 5 other men there depending on area. You may look at a small area saying oh its only 1.1 metres by 8 metres. Thats nothing! You far wrong, my trade is concreting and concrete pumping. Your better off finding the lowest price for a quick job there are alot of people out there that will do it for near nothing to some of the guys will do it for, but make sure your thorough and call the plants and calculate concrete yourself, even find out the going rate per metre in labour, I think right now its about $65 a square metre. 'Keen' has explained it right for the draining out the water correctly, but depending on tight the spot maybe it can be very difficult to get it right. Using dumpys and so on to get the falls right can be difficult. And ordering the wrong mix can disasterous effects on water seeping under the concrete and then ponding can occur and possible damage the exterior of the house. Re: DIY Concrete 7May 23, 2010 7:02 pm You still have to do a good job with exposed aggregate. If its not flat, you will see it.. also, if you have never poured concrete before you will struggle with 30m2 by yourself. you will end up with a big expensive piece of crap. get help from someone that knows what they are doing Assuming the structure of your cabinetry is good then I would DIY everything as follows: - replace your counter tops entirely, - replace all drawer runners with soft close… 1 4782 |