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I need to make a slab for a shed base. The location is a issue its down the side of the house at tje end of a small lane im trying to figure out the benefits/cost of getting some mates with barrows compared to hiring a pump to get it in anyone had similar experience?
depends on size, diy gonna be a fraction of the cost no matter what
I used sand and then a few 3’x2’ concrete paving slabs. Quick, cheap, easy and good enough for a shed.
Of your two options, others will be better to listen to.
Get a mixer in the garden where you want the slab and just feed it sand, gravel and cement, leave to mix for a while and tip out. Repeat using the mixing time to barrow the aggregate into the garden.
Takes less time that you think, especially if you get a couple of mates/children to take turns with the barrow
I was the same as igm except I used 2x2's. 8x10 ft shed, had no hassles in the 15 yrs it's been up
Do you need a cast concrete slab? You could use concrete slabs laid onto a dry mix of sand and cement or a plastic grid filled with gravel with bearers on top.
Its a base for a big shed 6m x 3.5m so needs a fair amount of mix. Im just thinking a pre mix pump in the morning leaves me the afternoon to go off for a ride
Did a 4m x 4m patio base a long time ago DIY, barrowing all the materials to the mixer and mixing in situ. Took 2 of us best part of a day, it was hard graft. Still I'm tight so it was the only option.
If you lay a concrete slab it will need reinforcing with a steel lattice, otherwise it will crack.
My shed is 6x2m on concrete slabs with a damp proof membrane under, the difference is a few thousand quid and not much difference in insulation, to pour a concrete floor you will need to dig out for a hardcore base, then sand, then membrane, I think you will also pay for a minimum load and use a fraction of it for that size, it's by the cube I think, and you might need to notify planning.
I'd say the key bit is the membrane, without it the floor will act as a fridge element and you will get damp, what you put on top is just surface.
Depends on the mix a bit, and how far it's got to be delivered to reach you, but you'll end up paying probably £300-£400, maybe more, for the concrete. And have to hire a pump & operator for at least a couple of hours if they'll do a shortish period like that. The setup and clean-down times will be much longer than the actual usage time. The economics are pretty questionable in my view.
Seriously, hire an electric mixer, get some stone and sand delivered, buy a few bags (OK, quite a few) of CemI, get some mates round, and fire up the barbecue to feed them while they graft. Pretty much what WCA says above.