Thread: Bell shaped holes?

I ended up buying 4 bags of cement and 1/4m3 of premix. Cost less than $50. Even managed to borrow the trailer from Bunnings, did you know that if you buy anything (like, anything at all - even a light bulb) from Bunnings you can hire their trailer for free for two hours???

If you've already done the concreting then ignore the following, else (and I assume your using a mixer) ...

Get yourself a strong 10lt plastic bucket (heavy plastic like what paint comes in) and just a normal bucket that has litre markings on it (and a strong handle).

Put 2 full buckets of all-in into the mixer, then add a bucket of cement then add another 2 buckets of all-in (helps you remember how many you have put in - only need to count to 2 ).

After is all goes a uniform grey colour, slowly add 7 litres of water (using the normal bucket).

Wait until it is all mixed (maybe a couple of minutes), then pour.

Too easy ....

Thanks heaps for the tip Vernonv Was sort of planning to do that already, although hadn't actually bought a bucket... And no, no mixer, just the wheel barrow and shovel... Or maybe I should get a mixer...

In any case, had to modify some downpipes today, they were in the way. Then started to put the carport up. To the Titan salesman who told me that one person should be able to do it by himself, I say "HA - yeah right..." It probably doesn't help that I weigh in at a piddly 54kg, but even if I was big and burly I think I'd struggle in a large way to put it up by myself...



The frame is up, we were hoping to get the footings done today too, but I think that'll have to wait for another day. It's sitting very short at the moment (and very very not level), it'll have to be lifted up about 200mm on one side and about 100mm on the other side (to get it level with the house), and the front will probably need to be lifted up at least as much (there is massive fall on the right front at the moment, my garden is really not level and I think I dug the front right hole too deep due to the storm water piping... Might fill it back in a little)

Question: The Titan salesman recommended hiring some props to help lift and get the frame level. How do you stop the frame from falling off the props? At the moment it sort of leans to one side. Apart from the house, there isn't really anything solid to tie it to. I thought of pegs in the ground, but the frame is really quite heavy, I don't think pegs are going to do much.

Anyway, thanks heaps for all your help. Next weekend will hopefully be spent levelling and squaring the frame up, and pouring the footings.

YAY!

Originally Posted by demuire

Thanks heaps everyone If I use rapid set concrete mix (this is the all-in-one premix stuff like from Bunnings?) wouldn't I need like a lot of bags? The shed builder I called yesterday recons I'd need like 6 bags (20kg each) per hole, which is like 24 bags! At like $25 per bag that could get expensive really quickly... Or maybe his estimations were all wrong... It does sound like a hell of a lot of concrete...

probably 3 or 4 20kg bags per hole at about $10 per bag, do not use rapid set, has a lower MPA than standard concrete / conmix, yes, the pre mixed bags you get from the likes of bunnings

$25 per bag sounds more like 40kg bags

Do you mean cement or concrete? I'm getting a little confused

cement = that grey powder, no sand, no stone
concrete / conmix = the grey powder with sand & stone

Originally Posted by demuire

Thanks heaps for the tip Vernonv Was sort of planning to do that already, although hadn't actually bought a bucket... And no, no mixer, just the wheel barrow and shovel... Or maybe I should get a mixer...

In any case, had to modify some downpipes today, they were in the way. Then started to put the carport up. To the Titan salesman who told me that one person should be able to do it by himself, I say "HA - yeah right..." It probably doesn't help that I weigh in at a piddly 54kg, but even if I was big and burly I think I'd struggle in a large way to put it up by myself...



The frame is up, we were hoping to get the footings done today too, but I think that'll have to wait for another day. It's sitting very short at the moment (and very very not level), it'll have to be lifted up about 200mm on one side and about 100mm on the other side (to get it level with the house), and the front will probably need to be lifted up at least as much (there is massive fall on the right front at the moment, my garden is really not level and I think I dug the front right hole too deep due to the storm water piping... Might fill it back in a little)

Question: The Titan salesman recommended hiring some props to help lift and get the frame level. How do you stop the frame from falling off the props? At the moment it sort of leans to one side. Apart from the house, there isn't really anything solid to tie it to. I thought of pegs in the ground, but the frame is really quite heavy, I don't think pegs are going to do much.

Anyway, thanks heaps for all your help. Next weekend will hopefully be spent levelling and squaring the frame up, and pouring the footings.

YAY!

Demuire, did you use a bevel... the posts don't appear straight to me .

I had the same problem with a stormwater pipe. Needed to relocate the pipe some 300mm away for some 6 metres to the pit (used two 45 degree elbows cemented together).

I solved the big hole issue by making a sheet metal cylinder 300mm x 600mm, filled the soil around it and was left with a neat hole. In fact decided to do that with all the holes which also allowed me to place the footers in their exact positions and level with the others.

Council inspector was quite happy about that all. Then filled the holes with concrete.

Well, it's all painted and the roof is up:



I need to finish putting screws in the roof (I've got about 1/3 of them in at the moment), trim the roof down (it's too wide, I didn't know I could "squash" the sheets in when I started screwing them in), put on the gutter and the trim around the edge of the roof (I forget what they're called), and then I guess it's done! It's taken waaaay longer than I'd like, but I suppose I've also saved myself some $1500 or something...

Originally Posted by demuire

............put on the ..............trim around the edge of the roof (I forget what they're called), ............

Demuire,
it's called "barge capping".

Mick

Hey demuire looks good mate now its time to relax and have a bash to celebrate the good work.