RichS

How about just buying some used scaffold tubes off ebay along with a few swivel clips. Could sell them on again when you get the permanent set up sorted.

No disrespect but I think this may finish your bathroom quicker than you

If you're using "flowable concrete" make sure to place a well sealed DPM on top of the insulation otherwise you will end up in the same situation I found myself in 3 weeks ago. Not a nice place to visit.

Aha, sneaky

@PeterStarck Well I suppose that was the best result but still a major pain in the arse

But as the whole area is roofed over I assume that connected to a ground line.??

I'll have £1.00 worth of that. Let me know where to send the money

Impressive!! I'm assuming the concrete was pumped in with a ground line pump??

@IanR How many cubic metres did that lot take?? Quite a few I'd guess.

I wouldn't dispute that it can happen with a standard mix, but with a low slump the chances are greatly reduced as the concrete doesn't flow. And yes, loading onto the top and letting it flow into the ring beam has got to be a good help.

That had been done, so they all floated nicely together

This is exactly what I am going to do when I re-instate the garage area later this week. Unfortunately the main house area is already laid out complete with heating pipes attached to the mesh so I will have to run with it and hope the less fluid standard mix does not cause the same problems. Watching the YouTube clip I attached earlier and also @Alexphd1 experience would all point in the right direction.

@PeterStarck Just read your blog Peter. That was really bad luck with your slab pour. I think if i had reached that stage I would be tempted to call it a day. Did you have to stand the cost of all the new materials etc??

@Alexphd1, Thanks for that offer, yes I would appreciate it if you could check the aggregate size and let me know. It may need to be 10mm with such a low slump to allow it to be pumpable. Yes, SC concrete is very liquid, lots of plasticiser in the mix so although it contains aggregate it is very much like a thick screed in its consistency. @Russell griffiths, not sure on the difference between the flow getting under and lifting versus floating, that's a bit of a chicken or egg question. The end result was the same however so I would certainly not recommend SC concrete for a passive slab unless you cover all the insulation with the DPM which is what I would do in future, regardless of SE drawings.

@PeterStarck, Yes, if the DPM had been laid on top of the polystyrene it would not have been a problem and the slab would all have been laid and finished in about 4 hours. I have set out the slab as per SE drawings, and indeed as can be seen here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEiRXB81WJM I believe that others have laid their slabs out the same, with insulation on top of the DPM, and wondered if they had encountered any problems. Fortunately I started the pour in the attached garage area and so didn't have any heating pipes to contend with when I had to hastily start removing the steel but it certainly is not an experience that I want to go through again the next time I try to pour. For what it's worth, as I have had to remove all the steel, insulation and damaged DPM from the garage area I was considering laying a second, thinner layer of DPM over the top of the insulation, under the steel, for the next attempt. Obviously I can't do this for the main floor area without removing all the heating pipes, steel etc and then re-instating it.

Has anyone had any issues when pump pouring a passive slab?? The reason I ask is because I have, and it was a major pain in the arse. Two weeks ago we had a very short spell of warmer weather and so I booked in my slab pour with my chosen contractor. To cut a long story short it all went tits up. They pumped in a self compacting concrete, which they thought would be ok, and all it did was float the top layers of insulation along with the steel on top. Luckily we managed to salvage the steel but approx 3 - 4 cube had to be jack hammered out the next day. The company in question were great about it, held up their hands straight away and we came to suitable arrangements, I have no gripe with them whatsoever. My issue now is I need to prepare for the next warm spell so that I can try again. It will not be with the same company as they do not lay anything other than self compacting, which clearly is not suitable. So what I need to ask is what grade have others used, with a pump, and had no issues. I assume a standard C25/30 mix that doesn't flow like self compacting, i.e. requires vibrating, is the solution but is this classed as pumpable??.

Okay, and once again thanks to you all for your replies

Ok, thanks for all the replies regardless

Really !!!! No one ????????????????????????

Does anyone who has had a passive slab poured know what slump range their concrete was in. I would guess within S2 - S3 but would appreciate a more specific answer.

I spent about 4 hrs stripping down our last one and then went to Curry's and bought a new one. Just not worth it in my opinion.

If they're giving the girls a choice of different coloured wands they certainly do

That is exactly what I did on my existing house when I blocked up some windows. Matches the original perfectly.

@lizzie If your washer and drier are side by side can you squeeze an end support panel between them?. This would then support the worktop.

A door in the skip