Browse Forums Paving & Concreting 1 Nov 29, 2010 8:50 pm Seen enough issues here to give me shivers when I think of concreting. We're going to have 3 seperate slabs in our renno. 1 that needs to potentially bear 2 storeys of light weight construction, 1 for a deck with tiles and another for a utility/garden shed. What are the things to ask for, look for or do when concreting to give you the best chance of a crack free, trouble free slab? I've heard that watering the slab for the first few days is good as is covering the slab with plastic to slow down the drying process. What other tips are there? Ta. Re: Tips for getting concrete right 2Nov 29, 2010 9:07 pm 80 slump 25mpa (25/20/80), mesh minimum cover 45mm 'chaired', Minimum slab thickness 100mm... Cure with water and plastic for a minimum of 7 days .... and a raft of other things Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Tips for getting concrete right 3Nov 30, 2010 10:47 am What ONC said. He knows. The one thing I would mention about watering a slab, is that the slab needs to have a constant pool of water on it. Many people think that watering a slab a couple of times a day (and it drying out in between) is going to help. Actually it makes it worse. The concrete hydration process actually shocks the concrete and can be worse than doing nothing. If you cant achieve a constant pool then use Poly to tightly cover the slab and then occasionally stick the hose under the plastic to keep the moisture level high. It is easier and less work in the long run, and achieves a far better cure. This is the laymans version of the technical description. Hopefully ONC will clarify my terminology if required. If you want to have a read, look at this info on curing, explains it nicely. http://www.concrete.net.au/publications ... ring06.pdf Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 I'm putting a new floor in my kitchen, slate flagging on a standard concrete slab. I have allowed for a bed thickness of up to 20mm to accommodate the different… 0 15118 They using concrete or timber sleepers? Timber or steel uprights? Any drainage behind sleeper? 3 2786 Just be careful with building stability during construction, that is when the structure may be weakened, refer to your engineering drawings for stability methodology. 1 6170 |