Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 61Nov 08, 2009 12:45 am Too many adds 6ish cu/day is about right for paths n' exposed etc. If you want a nice finish. cure asap but not less than several hours from lifting the machine of it. Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 62Nov 08, 2009 1:33 pm Hi onc, without hijacking KW's thread can i just ask about "sealing" the verandahs. the color is charcoal (4%) to match wooland grey roof which it is getting closer to colour every day as it "fades" - grano said leave it 14 days to fully dry, then seal with 2 coats of a particular sealant put on with paint roller - IYO does this seem reasonable approach? cheers tony Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 63Nov 08, 2009 4:18 pm Hi ya T&V... I am sure KW won't mind the hijack. ...sounds about right to me. Though there are a lot of sealers in the market place. Best to Google a TDS(tech data sheet) for the product... most product's application & TD is base on the 20c ambient temp... Relates to coverage ( ie viscosity) Penetration (solvent evap via wind strip) Intercoat times (2nd & 3rd coats[epoxies mostly]) Also, wet or dry, cured or uncured applications. . Didn't mean to confuse the question, ...but figured it is best to know that there are other products to suit different applications.. That said ... the sealer you are using could give the ‘wet look’ and significantly darken the colour. Some other sealers don’t change the colour, merely add a seal coat. Best you try a patch, always a good thing. Finish as you would normally 2 coats etc and allow to cure. This is the only way to know what you are in for. Many variables to affect the outcome make it difficult to predict if it is what you want. Hope this helps. onc Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 64Nov 23, 2009 7:18 pm onc_artisan ... Vibe should be done on the edges to stop honeycombing and the thickenings should be vibed. But I don't expect vibe to be throughout. ... Hi Onc, I am a slab ignoramus - could you please help by explaining what did you mean by this ? What's "vibe" in this context, and also honeycombing and thickenings?! One other thing - do you know what does it mean that the slab "has been finished hard"?!??!?! And is that good or bad ?? Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 65Nov 24, 2009 8:51 am G'day Lex... The vibe is a vibrator, and vibes the concrete to reduce air entrapment... Air entrapment is honeycombed concrete... Honeycomb like a bees hive without the honey A thickening is like an internal beam in your slab. ie where the slab thickness is normally 100mm a thickening would likely go to 300mm X 300mm or larger. Hope this helps onc Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 66Nov 24, 2009 9:05 am Oh, thanks Onc!! Yes it helps (and I admit I'm still "processing" parts of it and trying to link it all up ... ). And what about the "finished hard" slab? (if that's a phrase which is widely used amongst those in the know ) My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 67Nov 24, 2009 9:11 am Probably talking about a 'burnished finish'. The surface will almost have a sheen on it in certain light Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 68Nov 24, 2009 9:48 am Thanks, Onc! Now, I don't want to be greedy , but just thought of another thing, if you or anyone else can add some explanation for me ... Our slab edges have been damaged and now we have a few places where a biggish chunk of slab edge is missing. I estimate the biggest ones are about 45 cm long and about 5-6 cm thick. (If photobucket and imageshack didn't mystically and drastically reduce the size of my huge pics, I would attach them, but they are just tiny and so are useless ... I'll have to figure it out eventually)... Should we be screaming for a fix, or should we let it go? From what I gather, the frame (timber) would be sitting "on air" on those sections. And if the timber is (or gets) weakened for any reason on that exact spot, I think we'd be in lots of trouble. Thanks for any guidance and constructive comments re. this problem! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 69Nov 24, 2009 10:17 am G'day lex you greedy bugger No not at all In a perfect world the slab top should be flat with NO imperfection, the corners should be there not broken off. If the slab top is not smooth and flat, the chippies will put packers under the frame. Now if the area of damage is larger than minimal I would be saying as I have said before that the slab needs to be repaired. We have no control over what the builder decides is OK for repairing inconsistancies. Though this may be because it is a rare event and repairing a concrete slab is not in their knowledge base... ... and is likely as they keep using packers not repairing. Sticking new concrete to old doesn't work very well for several reasons, one of which is the primer that is used is likely a PVA type non-crosslinked so if water did pose an issue the repair could be compromised. If an epoxy has been used to 'prime' the surface will the concrete 'key' to an impervious barrier, NO! Just wet the old concrete and apply the new, this will work until the area repair is given a shock, such as nailing or dynabolting etc and will delaminate. So this is why I suggest an epoxy repair. ...not hard to do, not overly expensive and will do what is required But someone has to admit fault and get on with it. Most times we are called to a site to 'make good' an issue, once we have shown the builder or his appointed worker, we don't do repairs for them anymore, they do them themselves . Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 70Nov 24, 2009 10:52 am Ooooh, thanks again, Onc! I'm worried that I'm getting a bit annoying but I so like to know about these things ... OK, just to clarify some of this. If the slab top is not smooth and flat, the chippies will put packers under the frame. Is packers what you describe further (ie. either old-to-new or epoxy method), or is it something else ? Though this may be because it is a rare event and repairing a concrete slab is not in their knowledge base... ... and is likely as they keep using packers not repairing. My builder is saying that it is very common for the slab to get damaged ?!? Sticking new concrete to old doesn't work very well for several reasons, one of which is the primer that is used is likely a PVA type non-crosslinked so if water did pose an issue the repair could be compromised. Not sure what this is actually (and is sticking some kind of glueing? And where is that primer used ) I think the frames will be exposed to the wheather for at least 2-3 months, so maybe it's likely the water would "get it" that way, but maybe it's not that likely that there will be rising damp in one of those areas, at least) If an epoxy has been used to 'prime' the surface will the concrete 'key' to an impervious barrier, NO! I don't know what's been done to the surface of the slab, apart from it been covered with some curing compound. BTW, I heard that some curing compounds are not compatible with some glue types (we'll probably install glued floors later on) - how do I know what's compatible when I dont even know what's been put on in the first place!? I guess there should be a way to "test" the surface so as to determine what type of glue to use?) So this is why I suggest an epoxy repair. Yes, thanks! Sounds good. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 71Nov 24, 2009 10:57 am the reason problems dont get fixed or brushed aside by builders is because most home owners dont have a clue about building a house and the weaken to the so called experts opinions. if your not happy with any job on your building site then make them fix it asap dont get brushed aside and dont let them walk over you. your verandah area without seeing a picture but the problem with not fixing it is sure it will be hidden by the tiles but because theres a gap behind the tiles you can expect to replace these tiles everytime you stand on that area. tell the builder your not happy and want it fixed now you wouldnt pay for a tv or fridge with marks on it so why pay for something 20 times the cost if its not right. sorry i get annoyed at tradies pulling the wool over home owners.dont let tradies get away with poor workmanship it just makes it too easy for the tradies to rush jobs and not finish them properly. stay safe happy building Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 72Nov 24, 2009 11:05 am To true bingoshelley A packer, (sometimes referred to a Keza as in Kerry Packer) is a piece of something, fibro or timber or even plastic wedge, to sopport the bottom plate. If your builder says it is common then he needs to get some decent granos Stick, should have been 'placing'. Sticking as in stuck. Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 74Nov 24, 2009 5:20 pm this is what i mean your builder has told you its common and nothing you can do. well thats absolute rubbish you can hold payment for any job not done properly but once youve paid theyve got you because now your the one having to take legal action to get things done which is more expensive in the long run and most people wont go down the legal track. its not your fault its the industry getting away with it time and time again.unfortunately builders have you over a barrel if you dont pay for ** work they wont continue building your house and they count on this. they know you will accept it because you want your house asap but if you dont recieve goods or services of a quality you have paid for then you do not have to pay until you are happy. stay safe happy building Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 75Nov 24, 2009 7:36 pm Well, unfortunately, our contract says that we must pay progress payments even if the work is not up to scratch. Has anyone got any real life experience with this?? Also, we don't actually care too much about building be done asap. The only thing we care is that it's done properly and with a quality that's satisfactory to us. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 77Nov 24, 2009 10:34 pm Hi all My slab was poured on the 12th of this month and I went yesterday so see what framing was done and saw a few hair line cracks is the slab. One crack goes from one side to the other side of the slab. We did have our slab inspected by an independent inspector the day after the slab was poured and it passed. With the extreme heat wave we had when our slab was poured it may have played a role in the slab starting to crack or could it be something else?? What do we do?? What can we say to our builder?? Builder; Big M Design; Soho 32 Facade; Ascent Blog; http://mickeyb-soho.blogspot.com Trend; viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23990 Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 78Nov 24, 2009 11:04 pm mickeyb What do we do?? What can we say to our builder?? It is not good enough dot com Don't stand for it or bettter still don't pay for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 79Nov 24, 2009 11:36 pm onc_artisan mickeyb What do we do?? What can we say to our builder?? It is not good enough dot com Don't stand for it or bettter still don't pay for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Paid for the slab last week, as there was on tiny crack. But know there are a few cracks and one long crack. Will bring this issue up with my Independant Inspector and will take it from there. Would love to let my SS know but I still haven't met him Builder; Big M Design; Soho 32 Facade; Ascent Blog; http://mickeyb-soho.blogspot.com Trend; viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23990 Re: Your slab, what to look out for? 80Nov 24, 2009 11:45 pm Money talks bull pit walks. Where you are coming from is where you are going to... No the fireplace doesn’t work. It’s been enclosed. I’m not sure what was removed, as it was done quite some time ago - well before what I can see with photos online… 2 11569 Interested in getting either the Polytec Boston Oak or Palace Peak for kitchen cabinets. Looking at the Boston Oak ones, it appears that the colour varies significantly… 0 9159 4 14259 |