Concrete shed base (4 tonne mixed in a mixer!)

[@lukedavies-cooke1029]

Great video. I need a shed like that, Watch that skinny apprentice of yours as well...

[@jamesold5355]

Shush Luke . Stronger than you

[@MarcusT86]

Omg this one must have slipped the net buddy. I actually found it as now I’ve drawn up all the schematics on graph paper for my patio and wall build, and the dimensions for all my footings, I’ve been wondering how to tackle pouring the concrete. I’ve got a mixer and was wondering if it’s feasible to do it all in a mixer, but your video shows just how much you can do with a mixer in a day!

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Yea it's surprising how much concrete you can get done from a mixer in a day. The key things I find are making sure you have a water butt for water that you can just dip the bucket into so its quick (you can waste so much time filling from a hose) and also if you can shovel off a trailer or loose material on the ground rather than from a tonne bag will speed it up, those tonne bags slow the shovelling down a lot. Also splitting the bags of cement in half so you can throw them in rather than shovelling also speeds it up. All those little tips added together will get you firing plenty of mixes out!

[@DawidCzech-i7f]

Great results, control joint not needed for this size of slab?

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Probably could have done with one but it’s indoor (once the sheds built) and we don’t tend to do control joints over here in the UK like they do in other places

[@phildo39645]

Nice work guys..So just sand,cement,and water.. No stone agg required with the fibers?

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Thanks. This mix is 4 stone 2 sand and 1 cement. So if you have ballast which is the stone and sand mixed together like I used here its 6 ballast to 1 cement.

[@pizzabuilder6556]

Lovely job there Sam, are you building the shed too?

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Cheers Darren, yea going to be single block and clad with wood. Some sort of cedar the cladding will be

[@JolantaKucharska-i8c]

When should I use the float ?What stones did you use?

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

I used an all in mix so (or ballast) so it’s the stone and sand mixed together. 6 ballast to 1 cement. Or if you buy separately it’s 4 stone, 2 sand and 1 cement. You float after it’s gone off a bit then keep going over it as it goes off more and more. This time frame can vary hugely depending on temperatures and wind

[@Electrowave]

As a non-builder I'm curious about that smoothing device on a long pole. Is that doing anything else to the concrete other than smoothing the top? Last time I laid concrete was over 30 years ago and I only used wood to smooth the top, like you did as you were mixing, and didn't add any fibres (never seen them before, either). I also laid it on to naked soil. I guess the blue sheet is to prevent rising damp. Interesting to watch, as always :-)

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

The main reason for the float on the long pole is to have a nice smooth finish but also doing it that way helps to bring all the 'fat' up resulting in a nice hard top surface. Sometimes with concrete if it isn't trowelled, you can get a dusty top surface. First time using fibres for me on this one, they are meant to add strength and prevent too much shrinkage, they're cheap enough to buy so thought I would give them a go. Yes the blue sheet is to stop the damp, on a house build you'll also have a sheet to stop radon gases coming into the house.

[@Electrowave]

@@SamDaviesBuilder Thanks for answering all my questions :-) Always good to learn something new. I helped my dad build a house in the 80's in South Africa. Things have come a long way since then, from what I watch on your channel. The damp proofing was above the foundations and above ground level by a couple of bricks if I remember right. Also it was strips in the brickwork and nothing under the floor (concrete). The house is still standing so we couldn't have done too badly :-)

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

@@Electrowave some stuff has come a long way but also you can see how clever some of the older buildings are which are things we may adopt again one day. (Small windows and thick walls in old cottages) great for storing the heat in winter and keeping the heat out in summer. All these big windows may look lovely these days but I bet they weren’t fun in the heatwave!

[@Electrowave]

@@SamDaviesBuilder That's true, big greenhouses. Maybe outside shutters could be installed, like in Europe, which could be pulled down partially or all the way to block the Sun. More effective than curtains because the heat is already inside by the time it hits the curtains. The shutters were great for long summer days because they completely blocked out all light when fully closed. I live in a council bungalow, as does a friend. Both bungalows are pretty much the same but I was cool indoors in the heatwave and my friend was living in a sauna with all the windows open. The only difference between the bungalows is that they are facing opposite ways. I also have a sun filter curtain up in my lounge but I don't think it makes that much of a difference with heat. More to stop the glare when the Sun comes around in the evening.

[@PCISFEAR]

Hiya! Just curious, what size was the timber for the frame?

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

We had concrete blocks as the frame as we did foundations due to this being a blockwork build. If I did do it in timber I would have used 4x2 (slab was 4” thick) with plenty of bracing to stop it bowing

[@marcusd2380]

What was the mix ratio of that concrete 28 shovels to one bag? Looked stronger comming out of the mixer. One of the best mixers hard to beat a lister peters engine. Blue circle as well made up the road 20 mile from me.

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

It was 30 shovels to a bag, was aiming for around 6:1 mix. Diesel mixers are great, they go all day with barely any fuel! We will be mixing the compo to lay the blocks with in it too, makes a lovely mix when you do a big mix in them. Where abouts in the country are you? I did a job on a coal power station once (Aberthaw) and was a cement works nearby as they had all the fly ash from the power station. Got everywhere that stuff!

[@marcusd2380]

@@SamDaviesBuilder I’m in Northern Ireland blue circle had a plant in Cookstown a few Mike up the road from us. And Tobermore concrete are a few miles in the other direction. We have a few big sand and gravel quarys around us. I’m amazed how much concrete product goes to England each day from around us. I bough my mixer 6 years ago for 1000 pound it was 30 or 40 year old then and going strong I see the same one on gumtree today for 1800 pound. 1 have 16sq meter floor for a we shed to do very soon. A big days work for me doing it myself. Going to do a 4 to 1 mix the gravel I got isn’t the best

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

@@marcusd2380 amazing how much cement we must go through in the UK every day! Price of it is crazy now too. Good luck with your pour, a hard days graft mixing concrete but very rewarding!

[@robertreid2319]

what size pad is that please in need a 7mx4m pad in my garden

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Not sure exactly but it wasn’t far off your measurements

[@MarcusT86]

What mix did you use for this buddy? And how many shovelfuls of ballast to a bag of cement? I’m getting ready to dig out for the shuttering for my footings as soon as this garbage weather goes away!

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

For concrete I usually do 6 of aggregate to 1 cement. Usually I do 36 shovels to a bag of cement (not huge shovels) - I will do this type of mix if I use a big diesel mixer as I can fit it all in those big drums. If it is the smaller electric mixers I will do 18 shovels to 1/2 bag of cement - again not huge shovelfuls of aggregate

[@MarcusT86]

@@SamDaviesBuilder thanks buddy. How long do you let it mix before pouring the concrete?

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

@@MarcusT86 a couple of minutes, as long as it looks consistent when it’s turning and it’s even colour all the way through then it’s mixed enough

[@Patmac74]

Just came across this..... What size is the slab????

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

I think it was about 7 x 4 metres

[@Patmac74]

@@SamDaviesBuilder cheers, I'm hoping to put a similar size in. This will be a great help to estimate quantity

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

No problem. There is quite a few good free concrete estimators online, I usually use source4me.co.uk which usually comes pretty close on quantities

[@artur198555]

Hi could you tell me what would be the quote for that if I would like to hire you guys? My shed base size 5m x 4m

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Honestly depends on access on the job and how good the access is. Where are you located? We don’t travel far!

[@artur198555]

Preston Lancashire , I just wanned to know is it cheaper to hire crew like yours to do it or concrete with the pump. Today I get a quote for 3 cubics - 1200 pounds@@SamDaviesBuilder

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

@@artur198555 you can do it cheaper mixing by hand it just depends how much time you have. If you are short on time, then having it from a lorry make sense and it is easier. We mixed this one by hand as the access for lorry was poor

[@rw2659]

How many hours did it take?

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

4-5 hours I’d say to mix and lay. Plus, then you’ve gotta leave it go off a bit before you can do all the final trowelling

[@rw2659]

@@SamDaviesBuilder Thank you. I have got about 3 tonnes to lay as a base for my gazebo and didn't know if it was worth starting today before the weather turns wet tomorrow night

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

@@rw2659 if you don’t have a time limit then there’s plenty of time today!

[@samanderson7248]

Did u put mot type 1 underneath before concrete

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

Yea, you can’t go straight on soil

[@samanderson7248]

Thanks👍

[@samanderson7248]

Is it 18 shovels on electric mixer to 1/2 bag of cement ​@SamDaviesBuilder

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

@@samanderson7248 yeah, that’s what I do when I use an electric mixer. Can’t be huge shovelfulls otherwise the mixer will be overflowing and also technically it is overloading a mixer of that size, so just watch it doesn’t tip over.

[@samanderson7248]

@@SamDaviesBuilder thanks just needed some advice going to do concrete driveway myslef soon

[@fishydubsfishing6516]

That's going to crack it's way too thin and there's no rebar

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

100mm thick just like a house construction this is. No way it will crack

[@jameslynch8029]

The fibres do the job of the rebar,hence it not needed

[@jameslynch8029]

Pointless video, no information of mix ratio,rough guide of how many mixes it took, Nothing at all,Boring video watching a float going back an forth

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

At no point have I said this is HOW to do a concrete mix or shed base. It’s simply a video of us working. But thanks for taking the time to watch and some other videos on my page may be interesting for you hopefully

[@alistairfraser8579]

@@SamDaviesBuilder I am planning to do a concrete slab for a summerhouse and found your video and replies to comments very helpful. Thanks. But I also want to congratulate you on writing such a polite reply to this comment. I'm baffled as to why some people are so rude

[@SamDaviesBuilder]

@@alistairfraser8579 thanks so much for your kind words. It does surprise me (or maybe doesn’t anymore 🤣) about how rude people can be in the comments, you’d never speak to someone like that face to face. Hope your project goes well!