concrete

Hi All, looking for a bit of advice, I’m planning an extension on the rear of my property and I’ve been advised to port the existing air bricks through which seems sensible. Due to the slant of the ground around the property if I bury the porting pipe work in the substrate (mot type 1) I’ll...

Hi Everyone, After giving up on completely make up to my driveway with layer of resin bond due of cost not affordable at moment, I was thinking to make most of it with what I have. During the years due of new pipes the concrete has been cut and patched and the top cement layer still visible...

I want to put a cat flap in an Easyform Type 2 cast-in-situ concrete cavity wall. are there likely to be any problems?

Hi guys. I'm building a shed measuring 13ft x 8ft (I know 12ft would be better for timber sizes but I am building as big as I can in the space the missus has allocated). Today I've dug down 150mm ish to the depth I want my concrete. See pictures. The corner of the shed will be in front of the...

After a leak in the shower and horrible mould, I stripped everything back to the suspended timber floor and found that the adjoining room, the kitchen, has a concrete floor. It appears there's no DPM under the concrete floor and the soil/sand under the concrete floor feels wet, though less wet...

Hello I am uncovering the path of a pipe buried in plasters in a wall and concrete in a floor The pipe is made of lead and transitions to copper What is the best way to break out plaster and concrete without damaging the pipe Thanks

I have a 1960s 2nd floor flat. Removed old carpet tiles from the kitchen to find what I would say are quite significant cracks and deterioration. In parts it seems the concrete is disintegrating as can be seen in the last photo which was taken after some light brushing and makes me think it’s...

I'll be plaster boarding my new extension next month. In another thread I posted on here, it seemed the general consensus was to batten rather than D&D. The walls are all flat and plumb and it does make it easier running conduit and pipework behind. I have since been very lucky to secure about...

A gallon of Sikha, spread in 2 coats (5x4m room). Regs told me to run a membrane along the base of and up the inside of the blockwork wall before the stud went on. Am putting down a CLS plus 18mm ply substrate, then 8mm click vinyl. Do I really need to continue the membrane across the whole...

I have a drain with gaps around the edges between it and the surrounding concrete, which I'm not sure what to do about it. I was concerned there might be a leak, but it looks like it's touching the original concrete in multiple places, so I don't think it has dropped. Water is getting in the...

Hi All, Just finishing my wet room. I have a linear drain in the end embedded and secured levelled into the concrete floor. I am now ready to do the wet room slope pan. I have placed two pieces of strip wood on each side and raised them accordingly to my slope measurements. I will use these...

I am running a cold water feed to my shed, about 10m from the house. The house already has a cold water tap on the outside, and I intend to plumb into it (keeping the tap for garden work) but having a permanent feed to the shed. I am digging a trench to the required depth (~750mm) but within...

Hi My house was built in 1950, it has a single story extension with a flat concrete roof. The roof does not leak but has always had condensation on the inside through the winter due to not being insulated. Whilst renovating I have removed some plaster from the ceiling and found that some of...

I'm installing a 16kw air source heat pump next week, and need to put in a spot to anchor it. I'm wondering if people can comment on how they've installed them and what has worked? I'm aware this ASHP will put off a lot of water (60-100l a day) and there's an inlet for sewer/waste water (it's a...

Hi, I am building a block wall and need about 1m^3 of concrete. I know there is a number of ways to do this is buying ready mix concrete and hiring a pump the best way? How much would It likely cost? cheers, Ed

I have a concrete slab outside my house that previously had concrete slabs laid on a dry sand and cement mixer. Both of those have now been removed and I'd like to re-screed before laying foam underlay and artificial grass. My reason for this is the slab is very rough and it also pools water...

Please does anyone know how to calculate the volume of concrete produced from a bag of quickset. The sort that's ready mixed and you just add water. I'm putting a fence up and have calculated that I need around 35 litres of concrete per post. Problem is that I don't know what volume you get from...

Hi. Quick question: I have rigid insulation upstands around the concrete slab in my extension, and am using self-levelling compound on it before laying engineered wood. Do I trim the insulation and level over it (creating a thin cold bridge to the masonry/bifold frame) or level first and trim...

Hi. What ratio of Portland Cement/ sharp sand/ aggregate would you recommend for building up existing concrete footings of a small bridge? 3m span. The river water has 'undermined' the exposed edges of the footings. Not so much 'undermined' as 'side scoured'. So some of the concrete will be...

Got just 2 layers of a rustic garden wall to patch up just 1m wide. Made of broken pieces of pavement slabs 50mm thick. Mortaring about 1 cm thick layer with same thickness aggregate thrown in for strength. Got maybe 3 or 4 handfuls wickes ready mix mortar bag left, but maybe little short to...