Day 10 (14) - No Room For Leonard Rossiter On This Build

Today was scheduled to be Callum and Steve's last day on site to complete, as Callum so eloquently put it, "the mucky stuff".
In reality, they would have to come back on Monday to complete the laying of the garage concrete floor.
For now, they would have to crack on with laying down the hardcore on top of the rubble in the area which will become the floor of the WC and utility room.
This was then all compacted down before covering with a layer of builders sand which would provide a smooth even surface on which to lay the Damp Proof Membrane (DPM). The DPM, as the name suggests, provides a non-permeable barrier against any moisture in the ground coming through into the concrete which in the long term could cause degradation and cracking of the floor and walls, otherwise known as Rising Damp (not to be confused with the classic 70's sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter).

Callum laying out the steel mesh on the supports on top of the DPM

Once the DMP was laid out, steel mesh was measured out and cut to size so that it could fit within the area to be concreted. This was wired together and also connected to the existing foundations of the house using steel rods.
The steel mesh is supported by small plastic cones which keep the steel suspended above the DPM so that when the concrete is poured in, the mesh will be embedded within the solid concrete.




Would you believe this man is powered purely by tea?

Once all the concrete had been mixed (by Steve) and poured by hand (Callum) it was levelled off using a long piece of 4x2 timber to give a smooth surface.


Roughly 20 barrows worth of concrete later...

And then after much mixing, pouring, wheeling, more pouring and levelling...

The finished product

 Well, the photo above shows you what it should have looked like once it had set overnight. Unfortunately, Daisy (one of our cats) had other ideas...

Daisy's contribution to the build. Could have been worse, she could have got stuck there!

Thankfully, the paw prints won't be visible as it will first be screeded before then being tiled, but that stage is way off.

Monday will see the garage floor being poured and the soakaway in the garden being back-filled and Callum & Steve's last day on site.

Now to enjoy the sunshine and a spot of lunch.