Onoff

You like complicating things so I felt I had to oblige. Tbh if you're happier then just shovel 4 of ballast for every 1 shovel of cement into the mixer and wet it to the right consistency. It'll be good enough.

1kg of cement is nom 0.66L in volume 1L of cement volume nom 1.51kg of mass So half a 15L bucket = 7.5L. 7.5 x1.51 = 11.3kg of cement. So half a bucket of cement is a bit more than 1/2 a 20kg bag. To exactly gauge half a bucket volume then just fill with 7.5L of water and then cut a bit of wood you can hook over the bucket edge to the level. Just fill up with cement to the bottom of the stick. (Empty the water first ? ).

- 1 black bucket of cement - 4 black buckets of ballast - 7.5l of your water / weatherproofer mix. BUT don't use all at once and be prepared to add more if required. IF you accidentally make a too sloppy mix in the drum then add 1 shovel (or suitable container) cement and 4 shovels of ballast all dry, to soak up the excess water in the mix.

Assume you're using Everbuild 202 Integral Waterproofer. You add that 1 part to 20 - 40 parts water according to the instructions. I must admit I usually just fling a litre of 202 in the 15L bucket and top it up with water to the very top. So I just use that until it's gone then do another bucket full. A bit strong but all my concrete is fine to date. If you've only a couple of litres of the stuff left then 0.5L of 202 in a 15 litre bucket would be 1:30. 365ml in a 15L bucket would be 1:40. 700ml in a 15L bucket would be 1:20.

Yes you can. Turn it off though and make sure you don't tug the mains cable or squash it when you raise/lower the drum when you pour.

Lots of good info here: https://tarmac-bluecircle.co.uk/project/mixing-concrete-and-mortar/

Or stab with a spade a few times!

This suggests 1:2:3:0.5: http://www.clean-water-for-laymen.com/making-concrete.html Therefore 1:4:0.5 if using all in one ballast. Where 0.5 is water. Tbh you just "know".

No way of sitting the mixer so it pours straight into the tube?

???

Worth positioning the barrow with the mixer EMPTY and having a practice tipping and that it's in the right place. If you're not careful as you tip, the rotating drum can catch the barrow and tip it over. Especially if the drum is a bit claggy with dried previous mixes.

It's difficult to explain isn't it? Really he needs somebody behind him whilst he does it...

As long as the mixer stand is on the level then the drum will sit "back" until you tip it. Most of us here have I guess learnt by labouring with a mentor to show us. When you pour there's nothing worse than missing the barrow. I often stand the mixer on a bit of dpm or tarp so I can scoop up any over spill. Bit of a knack tipping whilst it's still going round then giving it a good shake to get as much out as you can.

The Belle 130 for instance has a 130 litre capacity that allows a max 90 litre mix. A black builders bucket is 15 litres. So 1 bucket of cement and 4 of ballast should go in taking up 75 litres. Plus water you'll be ag about the max. If in doubt do half the mix at a time.

If it's going to rain heavily then ideally put a tarp over a pile of ballast if it's ever left sitting on the tarp or it can wash the sand away.

Presume there's a depth adjustment on it? Do you service it? I recall they can be ruined by getting oil in the wrong place.

I've a normal, "quiet" light switch in the bedroom so we can turn the en suite light on with using the click-clack pull cord. SWMBO is a pita though for getting up in the middle of the night, using the loo then coming back and LEAVING THE F***ING DOOR OPEN! Not that it annoys me in the least.

Think we suggested this back in the thread.

An old tarpaulin is good, not a new one unless you dont mind puncturing it, another empty jumbo bag is an option or a big old bit of DPM. Hell, even an old carpet rolled out.

If you use the Everbuild Integral Waterproofer it is also a deaerator so less air bubbles get formed in the mix that need tamping out. I was going to suggest he attacks it in two hits but couldn't face writing another diatribe...

So in a low energy house what is the major mistake(s) made that you have to use energy to cool the place in the Summer? Seems a bit wrong to me. Is the house orientation wrong, could more thought been given to natural shading etc?

I might have a black plastic waste here somewhere. I'd put that in then the plug with a bit of silicone for good measure. Was half thinking a flat metal disc like a conduit lid whacked in with CT1? EDIT: But not a conduit lid as that's galvanised so zinc.

I'd first cut a fillet of pir to go along the top and infill (or gun foam) where the sloping board meets the ceiling. I can see a gap! ? I'd do horizontal battens top and bottom then at 400 ctrs on the rafters. You want to support where the slope end's boards meet the wall & ceiling and back up the joint tape/scrim. Even then you might be wanting a flexible filler later on if you get any cracks.

Buy the cement in plastic bags rather than the paper ones if you're going to store it but check the expiry dates on it. Paper bags if you are going to use immediately. Ballast just comes in plastic bags. I tend to cut the top off of cement/aggregate bags neatly with a pair of scissors. Once empty they're handy to keep for filling with small quantities of rubbish from garden waste, to shed clearing rubbish, to excavated hardcore. It saves on buying rubble bags and they're easier to lift. Rather than a shovel I'll often use a bucket for mixing to get exact quantities. Shovel mixes offend me a bit for some reason. Here doing my shed base I used the black builders bucket you can see filled with ballast. I think I did the base 5:1. Can't remember tbh but it's strong I know. Use a smaller bucket or paint kettle, cleaned out 5 or 7.5L plastic paint container etc for smaller mixes etc. Of course lifting a full builders bucket might be too much for some. Took me about 4 hours on my own this one. Hardcore consisting of anything; brick, block, tile, flint, slate, bits of mortar and concrete, old slabs, the odd bit of broken glass etc. Might have been some A142 mesh in there too but no photo of that: Soft sand blinding layer as there's a DPM went on next. You can see the DPM here: As @Russell griffiths says JFDI! ?

That's for a 1:2:4 mix isn't it? I think a 1:2:3 mix, the old "123" mix equates to 1:4 if using all in one ballast. 1:2:3 as in: 1 part cement 2 parts sharp sand 3 parts aggregate up to 20mm I reckon if he's got 2/3 tonne left, circa 666kg he'll have enough. Zoot, are these 600mm dia / 500 high formers in the ground yet? Put one next to the ballast pile. Get shovelling. Will the ballast you've got left fill it twice? If so you've enough.