Building Extension

craicfox

Hi all,
I'm about to build a small extension to my house to
use as a laundry room. I'll be doing the work myself
and have to work out what quantities of materials its
going to take.
I need 170 4' blocks but don't know how much sand and
cement I need to lay them.
I'm also doing a reinforced concrete slab which will be 3.6m x 2.3m
and 130mm thick. I've no idea how to work out how much
gravel and concrete I'll have to get for this.
I naively though I could go to the builder provider and give him my
measurements, but when I got there the guy just shrugged
and said he hadn't a clue how much I'd need.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

del88

Ring around a few cement companies with sizes of you foundations...ie length, depth, width ....I'm not saying don't do it yourself but best advice would be to talk to a builder if you could.

jimf

why not use readymix for your slab it would make life a lot easier and then go from there poured and finished in a few hours and wont be a lot dearer

arse..biscuits

3.6m x 2.3m x 0.13m = 1.08 m^3

Get ready mixed concrete, say its for a floor (smaller gravel), ask for 1.2 metres to allow a little extra just in case. Don't ask for metres cubed, they'll snigger at you.

craicfox

Nice one, if I order ready mixed how does it arrive? I live in a terraced house and will have to cart the lot through
the house. It might take me a while so do they pour it straight from the truck or does it come in those ton bags.
I don't fancy having to deal with a disgruntled truck driver who has other things to be doing rather than watch me snailing
in and out with my barrow.

650gs

No No No the driver wont wait you need to barrow it in and will need a few people to help.
Better get it an mix yourself that way take your time bringing it in and mix in the back.
Dont forget inslutaion under the floor and dont use 4inc blocks you need at least 9ins

arse..biscuits

Last time I got a delivery, they allowed me 45 minutes to off load. Any longer and there was a charge.
You'll want some 2 friends with wheel barrows to help. 1 metre won't take too long, but that depends on how long it takes you to get through the house and back.

craicfox

Cheers for the advice lads, I'll see if I can rope in a few bodies otherwise I
think I'll just get it dry and work away myself.

jimf

either way you will have a good uniform mix if mixing it yourself make sure its not 2 wet otherwise this time of year it will take ages to go off also get a good finish and you have your finished floor as well as mentioned above dont forget to damp proof

vicwatson

Is it much more to buy it dry and mix it oneself vs the readymix ? Also the cost of a cement mixer to hire?

Cheers

arse..biscuits

vicwatson wrote: »

Is it much more to buy it dry and mix it oneself vs the readymix ? Also the cost of a cement mixer to hire?

Cheers

It'd take ages to do

arse..biscuits

dig foundations
pour foundations
build rising wall
put in hardcore and compact it
put down a thin layer of sand and compact again

arse..biscuits

Put down damp proof membrane
(I didn't use any insulation here as it is an outdoor shed/gym but you would need some)
Fill with concrete and level it off
Although you will have the damp proof membrane on top of the rising wall, you still need to use a damp proof course to build your wall on. You can see it in the last pic.


Hope that's some help

650gs

Two men and a mixer should take an hour to mix unless your stopping for a cuppa in between and as for cost a little less than a third of the price of ready mix

TPM

here is a link to some online calculators for building, it covers concrete, walls and roofs, it might help you somewhere along the way
http://www.source4me.co.uk//calculate_building_materials.php?tab=0

martin46585

650gs wrote: »

Two men and a mixer should take an hour to mix unless your stopping for a cuppa in between and as for cost a little less than a third of the price of ready mix

When compared like with like the ready mix is fairly much equal in price with hand mixed,
If the labour is to be added in which is usually alway mate rates, then the ready mix makes much more sense....

650gs

Well as its going through the house you are going to need a few mates with wheel barrows and as you cant fill them to the top to stop it going every where its going to take you twice the time plus a few quid for to keep the driver there, I reckon two men with barrows bringing it in, two men to screed it as you go so you know you have it all there, where as if you get it dry at 20 euro a ton for gravel and 4 euro a bag for cement, you bring it in dry your self then you and a mate mix for two hours and screed as you go a big saving.:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

martin46585

Take 1.5tonne of aggregate, at 20euros tonne collected,
To mix a 30n strength batch will take 15 bags of cement, five euros each

Call It a tonne if you pardon the pun...

craicfox

Any suggestions on how much insulation I should put down. I've also noticed from using some of the online calculators that the terminology changes alot; there's sand, sharp sand, aggregate, ballast, hardcore and the term gravel seems to mean different things to different people.
When I go to order this stuff what the hell am I going to ask for??