getting readymix up a driveway

[pippo]

Hi,

I have decided to get ready mix delivered for my garage foundation strips. I am going to order 3.5m3. They are unwilling to back the truck up the driveway incase they damage services underground. I contacted a local pumping company and they only deal with larger projects and hire their pump truck at 400 per day which is too much for me.

So i am left with the prospect of having to barrow it or getting some kind of dumper. Has anybody used these:

http://www.hss.com/g/47116/Mini-Dumper.html

Apparently they hold 6 cu ft, and from what i have read there are 35 cubic ft in a cubic m. So 3.5m3 would be 122.5 ft3.

If i were to order 2 of these they would be doing 61ft3 each which would be 10 or 11 trips each up and down the drive and I think it could be done in less than an hour depending on how long the truck takes to fill them.

Does that sound about right or am I miscalculating? The ready mix company normaly allow 0.5 hr to unload then i have to pay for extra time, so i am hoping that 1 hr is enough and that the concrete will not go off in this time.

What do you think ?

Pippo

 

[cmother1]

I'd get as many mates as you can muster with builders barrows and just go hell for leather on it. 2 people spreading and as many barrowing as you can get. Beer is a good incentive.

 

[pippo]

Hey cmother1,

I was going to do that but most of my friends are lazy useless gits and Im the only one with a barrow lol. For the cost of buying more barrows and a couple of crates of miller I can probably hire these 2 (i can get the second half price so 100 all in for the day). And then punt them the same day. I was hoping that myself my brother and a mate of his could manage between the three of us. 1 levelling and 2 operating the muck trucks.

Are my calculations reasonable, to assume we can do it in an hour ?

cheers

pippo

 

[Diyisfun]

If your drive is wide enough for the lorry, have you looked into hire come steel sheets to have laid to spread the weight, they can be hired.

 

[pippo]

Diyisfun,

I did consider trying something like that but my neighbour has a tree halfway up the drive which overhangs the drive and i dont think the truck will fit under it.

 

[regsmyth]

I used something like that for a similar problem many years ago, it was for a 6m x 6m slab, 75mm thick, so that would have been about 3 cubic metres.

We only used one barrow, and we did it quick enough.

I reckon with two of you and two barrows, you'd manage it easily in 1 hour.

But you should aim to get it done in half an hour to make sure it doesn't start to go off and to give you time to level it.

Make sure you've got all your tipping areas, and access routes ready.

 

[pippo]

Hi regsmyth,

Thats good to know that it can be done, I will get the 2 just in case and I will indeed have everything set out to go. Access will need to be pretty much from the front so i planned on having something to bridge over the front strip (any suggestions?) as I have kept the middle clear of excavated soil so i can get around it.

Can the concrete be poured if the soil is damp? Its been raing quite bad up here for days and the trenches are filling up with water. I can bale it out (had to do this while digging it last week) but if the trench soil is damp will it stop the concrete from curing ?

 

[IJWS15]

I would pump - makes life a lot easier

Not wanting to worry you but how firm are the edges to the trenches and how close to the edge do you need to go to tip into the trench? After all the drivers will be novices in these things.

 

[pippo]

Unless I can find someone doing pump hire on an horly rate basis then its just too expensive. I do see what you are saying about the edges falling in. The soil is very firm, however these dumpers will put lots of weight on the edges when they tip i guess. Maybe I could use the steel sheet idea to spread the weight ?

 

[regsmyth]

Well you could build yourself some sort of chute to tip the conc into, you could move it around as the trench gets filled.

But you would have to do a lot of preparation, and as others have said, there is a very real risk involved in what you are doing.

It begs the question, have you any idea how much this garage will cost, or is every step going to involve "how much?? I can't afford to do it properly/safely"?

 

[pippo]

Its a case of doing it bit by bit as and when i have the money.

 

[Deluks]

You can cut back the tree branch on your side of the boundary. Hire some steel road plates and get the truck as near as poss.
If the site is not on a upwards slope you could knock up a chute out of plywood and steel strapping, or get some massive pipe from somewhere and use that.

 

[cmother1]

When we did the foundations for a joint extension a few yars ago 3 of us barrowed/laid 4cu mtrs of concrete in just over an hour (& 2 of us ain't spring chickens!). We were using a Mixermate lorry so we got short breaks between each mixer full to spread what we'd tipped. Edge the hole with old shuttering ply, sterling board, whatever... Length of drive was about 25-30 yards. Totally knackering job, mind...

 

[pippo]

Right an update,

Ive provisionaly booked a 1ton dumper for a week on Saturday depending on the weather. I will be dumping it all in at the front side with a couple of people spreading it around. I have some thick plywood sheets that i will use like a pouring board so that the dumper is not too close to the edge. I have had 2 quotes so far, £350 and £370 for 3.5m3 of c20.

Is c20 the correct mix for strip foundations? They asked me but as i didnt know they just quoted for c20. Also is it worth getting the fibre stuff aded for strength?

Cheers for all your help so far

Pippo

 

[Thermo]

we use the tracked versions for large concrete bases when we do them, well worth the money. Im not sure if they are up your way but have you tried mixamate. they will knock up the excat amount you want and the lorry comes with a dumper that is £40 to hire, far cheaper than hiring from a hire company