Hi all, I'm just starting my self build. I've been working as a joiner building children's playgrounds for the last 5 years but don't have any house build experience (apart from building a tiny house we've been living in for the last 3 years).
I've just dug my strip foundations but the soil is really rocky so the trenches have ended up far too wide in places where I've pulled out rocks and boulders. Would you usually use ply shuttering in this instance to reduce the amount of concrete required when filling the strips? Dos the ply need to come back out once the concrete has begun to set?
Also, for measuring the depth of the concrete I was hammering in rebar pins every 1500 mm to the final depth of the foundations. I've read it that can lead to problems as the exposed end of the rebar (sitting flush with the poured concrete) can rust and damage the concrete. Is this true? Are wooden stakes better?
Thanks for your help
