I've taken on a small project of a single storey extension. I Have a little knowledge of the basics but building control have told me i need a reinforced suspended concrete slab of 200mm depth. Do I just sit steel mesh on the internal skin of blockwork?
I have normal strip foundations. He Said to sit steel mesh on the inside skin and either break pockets into the existing house or expose footing and build up to sit on. I don't see how its suspended. Should i have shuttering underneath or just the normal hardcore and dpm.
Suspended slabs are normally sat on hardcore or some barney rubble or something. The design means that if the ground settles away under the slab afterwards then it doesn't matter because the slab is capable of spanning across the supports.
A sus slab isn't such a big deal but I would be uncomfortable not designing it properly and for that you need full details. The reinforcement is straightforward but the supports and load bearing points are critical. It also needs to be installed properly to make sure you get correct concrete cover and correct mix and placement. There's a lot can go wrong and I'm not really convinced it's a DIY job.
I'm also still struggling to see why a beam and block floor wouldn't do.
Being in a Radon rich geographical area where I live, all concrete slabs that would once normally have been ground bearing now have to be sat on the inner skin to avoid any chance of the dpm (radon barrier) splitting should the ground ever sink a little. So in that respect I guess you could call them suspended.
Having done some research i'd be stupid not to just go down the beam and block route. Can I punch pockets into the existing house to take the beams? or shall i expose the existing footing and build up off that?
Suspended RC slabs arent easy to construct or economical for small scale domestic stuff.. push for beam and block flooring.. radon barrier can easily be incorporated into the floor..
If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below,
or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.
Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.
Please select a service and enter a location to continue...
Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local