What size whacker?

[John37]

We need to compact crushed brick for our 200 m2 ground floor sub-base which will be 150 mm deep. Would the Evolution Hulk 2.4hp Petrol Powered Compaction Plate be good enough to do the job? It has a claimed 10kN compacting force.

We can buy one of these cheaper than the cost of multiple hires of say a roller or a Belle PCXL 320 whacker from our local tool hire - we've got patios and drives front and rear to do too later. As a registered charity we have some volunteer labour so making multiple compaction passes would be fine if it will work.

Any advice please?

 

[pinenot]

Hi John, what scope of works can you provide so the best advice can be given and what equipment do you already possess or are hiring throughout the program?...pinenot

 

[r896neo]

those evolution plates are total crap. compacting in 40mm lifts might be ok but really they have very little guts.

 

[John37]

Hi Pinenot. If I've understood your questions, we are creating a ground floor meditation room, peace cafe/lounge, entrance hall, toilets and small plant rooms in a semi-detached 1920/1930s house having ground, first and second floors. We are extending (doubling) the ground floor area and renovating the rest of the house, including considerable structural steel.

The new ground floor will be a concrete slab that will be non-structural, i.e. inside the existing and new structural walls and steels. The original floor was timber suspended on sleeper walls, which we have removed - we need more ceiling height. The earth is clay, although towards the front of the house (it's on a site which slopes downwards from back to front) there seems to be a fill of better earth which we plan to compact, probably clay will be underneath it at some depth. The clay is somewhat variable, but the majority of it has stones in it - good news. We've dug about 200 mm down below the original oversite concrete for the floor foundation.

We have a lot of masonry from the site which we can carefully clean of plaster etc, and then crush to 40mm max particle size for the sub-base.

We need to hire or borrow a crusher. Any suggestions?

I'm thinking of a 150 mm deep crushed brick sub-base, suitably compacted. Above the sub-base of crushed brick will be blinding of coarse sand (25 mm?), DPM, concrete slab 100 mm depth (ok?) with A142 mesh at mid level, then 100 or 120 mm celotex or similar with central heating pipes, and then one of the liquid flowing screeds at 50 mm depth. Does this seem ok?

We need to hire, buy or borrow a whacker or roller - hence my original post.
We have various other equipment, including a cement mixer - which we don't plan to use for this! What kind of equipment would you like to know about?

Hope this is what you were asking for and helps people to give advice.

John

 

[r896neo]

Compacting crushed brick rubble rather than mot type 1 is also more difficult and requires a heavier plate.

You may be better buying a decent second hand one for 400 and then selling again after work has finished. The same is true of a mixer.

 

[pinenot]

I was seeking something like a bobcat, tractor with back arm, digger or something like that to fit a wacker plate to, but C'est la vie...pinenot

 

[AdamCH]

............ we are creating a ground floor meditation room, peace cafe/lounge, entrance hall, toilets and .....

The new ground floor will be a concrete slab that will be non-structural, i.e. inside the existing and new structural walls and steels.

Any suggestions?

John

Doesn't sound very green. Shouldn't you be using something organic like dried, compacted squirrels?

 

[pinenot]

John[/quote]

Doesn't sound very green. Shouldn't you be using something organic like dried, compacted squirrels?[/quote]

Now, as you should be aware that would constitute organic matter, which is a big no no...View media item 59049doh

 

[Nige F]

[
Doesn't sound very green. Shouldn't you be using something organic like dried, compacted squirrels?

Technically wrong But all the same I hope the toilets are composting ones .

 

[AdamCH]

I was thinking that they could use dried squirrels for the base and then periodically throw on a mulch of fresh ones which would be nice and soft to sit on and provide natural heating as they decomposed.

 

[pinenot]

Ahh! that's different I thought at first you were just being silly

 

[John37]

Very funny. You're right about concrete not being very green. I've got a new idea - I'll teach everyone how to levitate so they can float around - won't need a floor, much cheaper! Not sure what to do with the dead squirrels though....

 

[pinenot]

Roast them of course, yum yum