Concrete Job for Aviary, HELP!?

**Skyscraper** · 4th February 2013, 10:58 PM

Sorry if wrong section, I just really wasnt sure where best to post this.

Ok so to begin, heres the aviary I have:

It is for budgies, and I live in the sydney australia area. The area that needs to be covered is 3m x 2.4m. The ground underneath is dirt. The price ranges I got when I called small concreters I found in the newspaper listings ranged from 1.6 grand to $750. I am a uni student, and only have a grand to work with. This grand must also cover the cost of birds, food/toys, and some timber+mesh I'll need as im going to be making some dividing walls in the aviary. So as I'm sure you can see now, having a concreter out will cost more then I can afford.

My dad wants me to look into how much it would cost to do the area ourselves, and what procedure to follow, so I figured I'd come and ask the experts here

So my questions are:

For a 3m x 2.4m area, for a bird aviary, how thick should I have the concrete?[all quotes i got were for 4inch thick as a guess from my dad, we dont really know how thick it should be].
Rough cost to do the job ourselves, as in buying the materials and [renting a cement mixer??]
Best procedure to do the concrete? Also how long will whole thing take to do.
Bird owners, is laying down smashed glass before the concrete a good idea [heard that here before, rats can chew through concrete?]
I also saw this timber floor kit as an option, looks decent and I could afford this, however it would mean the multiple floor kids joined together would have tiny gaps between them [just like when you join any shapes], so would this be a bad idea or better then doing concrete ourselves? [obviously solid concrete is the best but yeah]

I very much need the advice of some of the experts in this area, so all help is appreciated, cheers!

**Pac man** · 4th February 2013, 11:11 PM

Welcome here is a post to start you off:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f245/o...ughput-134920/

Also may be best to register for the renovating forum

**Astrodog** · 5th February 2013, 07:45 AM

Rats can't chew through concrete....

**dai sensei** · 5th February 2013, 09:14 AM

For an Aviary a 75mm slab will suffice, 20MPa with no reo will be fine. It should be larger in plan than the aviary. Just make sure the mix is not too wet and vibrate well with your shovel, then wood float, steel float, foam float as it dries (ie work the surface well to minimise cracking). Once set keep shaded and wet for at least a few days. I've done my own 3 sheds/workshops this way without any issues.

You can pour it yourself, perhaps with a bit of help. Mix your dirt with a few bags of cement, then moisten and thump the ground as much as you can to get it firm and level. Then lay down some 75x35 pine staked to keep vertical. Get your concrete delivered, or mix your own if you are feeling like a good work-out, then level off using the top of the timbers.

Cheers

**Astrodog** · 5th February 2013, 10:03 AM

0.6-0.8 cubic metres of concrete - thats a fair whack for a mixer, especially if you are inexperienced..... I'd readymix that amount in a second..... then you can save your energy to wheelbarrow/shovel/float..... by the time you assemble all the dry ingredients, hire a mixer etc, you aren't going to save much mixing yourself, and you will get a better result with readymix in any case....

**Rusweb** · 5th February 2013, 04:48 PM

I have previously bred finches, canaries and Kakariki's. I mixed my own concrete in a wheelbarrow next to the aviary and only did a depth of a couple of inches as there was no weight being placed on the floor (other than the very light walls) and reason for concrete was cleanliness and to keep out vermin. Alternatively you can dig in some wire mesh or galvanised iron to a depth of 18inches - 2 foot around the perimeter of the aviary to keep the rats out and have a dirt floor.
Cheers

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