zoothorn

@andyscotland hi, if I can just pick up on this (still waiting on balcony decision y/n, affecting overall build extent by a bit.. so yet to do my plan). You seem to be referring in your info/ post above (all appreciated btw & read 2x) to my doing "Full Plans" from which a builder directly builds from, like an architect usually provides. But I am not doing this/ I do not need to do this. I am going the 'Build Notice' route (more costly, more BCO checks, but £saving on the cost of 'Full Plans' route: bc build is so simple/ small/ builder capable/ BCO & builder know each other/ BCO happy my going this route). And in order to do this, my builder has asked me simply for 'critical dims', on a very basic plan, to scale. So the precise 'u-value' info, etc etc etc is not needed for this plan. I just need to get the wall thickness right, triple-check my door placements, windows, ceiling H.. & I can crack on. I was just wondering if there's some way to do this plan, other than to hand-draw it. Thanks, zoot.

Pretty nifty for £20.. wow I bet these cost £120 a decade ago. I'll consider, but when you say "put a tape measure on each plinth" what do you mean? Tell me about the water rising thing tho- surely the deeper down the more ballast/ stone will settle, so therefore the higher up the more watery it gets: certainly the top layer seems liquid water maybe only 1/2" or so.. but as this is where I'm attatching xyz to.. won't it be the weakest bit this top 1/2"? pro chap gouged a wee channel for this top water to drain off on lower fwd plinf.. I tried to on back top but got in a pickle cutting a 1" notch to drain off top layer, & heard air wheezing out/ seems I punctured the rib section.. like a nana. I hope to heck I don't find the level's dropped by another 1" tmrw in this back one.

@Onoff yes I will trim the rear top plinf once its set. How level.. relative to each other you mean? about 1" out still, even having done back one shy 1". So front top one still 1" below back one. Yes I was thinking nip a bit off the beam @ back rather than packing front up: Im already 1 ft higher than I'd thought/ wanted (85cm H between upper & lower plinfs.. but nervous digging back ole in case cliff became unstable/ I think maybe wise I stopped as is tbh.

Of course use the barrow.. yes ok good plan. Damn pleased that's done tho- prep took 2x time the job did.. most/ hardest was hauling 2/3rd a ton of ballast just down 4m one bucket a time. Very satisfying the mixer'ing tho, & not too hard once ballast next to: I like the tippy out bit best: I had one foot on like a boss.

Ok Yes will note thanks. 30m for an inner.. anyway had to be done/ barrow sorted, & done it. Flippin mess, but no barrows spilt (nearly an OTT full one tho jeepers), some mixes a bit heavy on the ballast, some a bit wet, some a bit ott cement.. but best i could do. What I do have is on my far one (deliberately 1" underfilled to better match level-wise to a full front one) has quite an excess of water on the surface: i can't see anything other than the ballast going to btm & innevitably water 'rises'. Ive mixed pretty well.. but what do I do? front one seems a bit thicker & top level-tapped fairly ok'ish.. but far one I cant cos of the lip. Also what do i do about overnight rain on them? its peeing down right now.

Yes will note thanks. But its the inner tube thats perished/ Ive spent hours trying to fix finally got it on.. then blown again. total fkn n'mare. so I gotta travel 30m to get another inner.. or if they have these ^ then I'll get instead. whole morning on this damn thing.

Its a 3.5- 8. Inners are £2 on ebay.. but I can't afford the wait to post/ mixer goes back to chap end of week. Thanks Onoff.

Yes but £30 I just can't do tbh. Ive put 5x patches on all round the valve.. finally got it to stop bubbles, but yet to put wretched thing back in tyre/ on rim etc. I could buy a new inner but 20m away £15 + an hour I could do without. Mud's my other big prob today/ clay & just clogs your boots making any job almost unbearable. I have to do this today, or tmrw then mixer is away.

At the moment I cannot proceed bc of thre damn barrow tyre/ trying desperately to fix it. stupid damn design should be a solid tyre without exception for a barrow prone to getting punctures in a gdn- som far its impossible to fix it.

Dug me holes, & set tubes in: will be 85 cm above lower two.. quite a height, but didnt want to risk adjacent steep bank instability, by digging them too far down. A bore of a job lots of clay oomshka/ raining etc.. urgh. So I'm ready to lose my mixer virginity tmrw. If only swayze would swoop down hold my handle & relieve me.. I can only dream.

Yes indeed- I was wondering tho if easier to put 1/2 bag of cement in maybe.. then 2 buckets+ worth of ballast. Maybe I'm thinking wrong.

Honestly when Onoff does his maths stuff I feel more stupider than most labourers.. I'm right back in maths class panic rising cos I cant understand wtf is going on. I shall take your laymans approach & Onoff's maths & go s'where between the two. Terrific help as always chaps.

Crikey I don't know how you understand this maths stuff- its alien to me (7.5 x 1.51.. I just have no idea how you'd consider multiplying these).. but appreciated! Anyway understand "half a bucket of cement is a bit more than 1/2 a 20kg bag". But isn't cement normally in 25kg bags tho? It makes my chap's method look hilarious- he just winged in ammounts & looked alot.. until mixed! he was so fast (each bertha took us only 1.5 hrs) I didn't have time to look/ see what was going in you see. He poured straight from the concrete bag ~1/3rd at a time afaict.

Ok going with that (it'll have to be 1:40 waterproofer.. I think that's approx what chap used for the big berthas). Is 1/2 a bag of cement, approx 1 bucket?

Saved that link- very useful. Ok so for a load say on the bit-smaller than usual (to make it easier to pour for me alone) how many of those full Onoff-black-buckets of ballast would you say? then I can work out the 4:1:0.5 ratio, water as 0.5.

Can I swivel the mixer round on its base, once mixed? I mean my idea was load it then move it round 40* to tip into barrow.. to make loading it more convenient > swivel > tip/ empty barrow > & swivel back 40* to load again.

Slim possibility- had thought of it.. but its a pig of a slope around tube, & getting the b'stard off the stand etc.. it was a job with 2 of us I thought. I should imagine its alot more caked-with-concrete than your clean one Onoff.

Ok I have a galv barrow.. seems ok tho not so big. I might try some side stabilizers if I can fashion something. I had no idea it could be poured turned off/ not spinning. Ok will do this I think each time tbh. Ok now the mix. If I were to put in 8x 1/2 full buckets (those decent size yellow jobs kinda like Onoff's black one ^) its not feasable to measure out a full bucket of cement really is it to get my 4:1.. if I had another spare bucket maybe so, but say how many full buckets would a 25kg bag be? Then approx how much water with this volume of ballast/ cement? I'll have to do just a cup+ of waterproofer/ hardner(?) each mix as got only 2l at best left (this should equate to what went into the other mixes ~ approx). Thanks chaps.

I have a feeling that's the best advice I'll need. Thanks PeterW. So barrow handles -away- from mixer.. I mean I guess I couldn't get the sod out if t'other way round tho. unless swayze took hold of my handle from the other side..

I forsee a helluva lotta swearing tmrw then. Yes I wish I had patrick swayze to hold my belle handles even if he got a stiffy tbh Id put up with it if it meant my barrow doesnt fall over. I might put some chaps on backwards in case swayze goes hammer & tongs mind you.

Good point- will do tonight. One thing I was amazed at- was the small size of mixer's drum attatchment to the motor: it only looks about 1.5" wide! I cannot believe how much pressure must go on here for such a thin spindle. And after 18 years of full abuse this one's had too. Can you tell me about how the drum weight sits once its 'full'? I mean maybe 1/3rd full. IE directly over centrpoint below.. or does it tend to pull one way a bit. just seen my fav moistboyz song has quite alot of swearing in it! oops. nevermind. bach next time.

Right its time for a musical interlude before I lose my cement mixer-virginity. I expect to achieve excess chest hair & my general zootmusk levels to rocket to absurd levels by tmrw ev. Thanks alot chaps. Moistboyz..

Aha ok understood. Ok just done that- found a tarp: bucketed down onto tarp nr mixer > pulled last 1/4 down in dumpy bag almost killed me > whole lot back into dumpy bag next to. Ok mixer Q: once "full" (well drum looked sort of 1/4 filled when we did big lower tubes.. but via a chute I made > down > into tubes, hence a lighter mixer load) so is that maybe what, the drum 1/3rd full? And the balance when loaded: is the design of this belle that centre of weight is directly over the centre stand midpoint? or does it tend to pull over a bit one way fwd or back when loaded?

Aha ok understood. Yes that's a better plan. Do i need to pile it onto something, or into another huge dumpy bag tho? or can it be dumped on the ground/ getting bits of earth in inneviatbly etc.

Aaah.. haven't seen T&J for 30 yrs. I'm so behind the mouse now.. no, I don't have a cat/ awful stinking creatures roam & crap on my property.