flanagaj

He said he was happy to do cavity blockwork. I'll ask the next bricklayer whether he'd prefer trench blocks.

I'd paid them for the days they did and now I still owe him £250 for some engineering bricks, but I'm in two minds whether to tell him that he can take the £250 out of the £550 I paid him. Just undecided whether it's worth the aggravation.

That vertical bubble is only over two courses. Yes, this was the brickie that we were planning on using, but he'll be given his tools tomorrow morning from the lock up. It's very disheartening that a tradie think that work is acceptable. I've just got my laser level out and the corners of the garage are 20mm out on the horizontal. There is also a block that's got no vertical mortar, it's literally directly butted to the adjoining two blocks.

Just had a good look at the foundation masonry done by the brickie last week and it’s rough. he say it doesn’t matter as it’s not seen.

The whole site was dug down by 200mm before footings were pulled. Even the estimators work schedule states digging down the oversite after you've built up to DPC. I'll stop whining as it's done now, but next time I'll dictate the order of works.

I'm getting tired of the comments! My post like many are simply about challenging the 'wisdom' in which construction activities are performed. Digging out the oversize after block work is up to DPC, is the dumbest approach ever. So yes, my advice to anyone embarking on a ground bearing slab, is to dig out once you've poured the footings.

Ground bearing slab requires 525mm to be dug out below FFL. It's currently only dug down 200mm

When we had the footings dug, the JCB guy told me to pour the concrete footings and then dig the over site down, before commencing the foundation masonry. That made complete sense, but unfortunately, the brick layer was committed to starting on a specific date and it didn't get done. Now I'm thinking how blooming tricky it's going to be to manoeuvre the mini excavator around and not catch any of the block work. So unless I am missing something 'basic' here, my advice would be to dig it down first and then commence your foundation masonry.

@JohnMo slightly harsh.

I spoke to the concrete company about the water and they said that the volumetric mixers auto adjust the water cement ratio so it ensures the ordered specification.

Thanks all for putting my mind at rest.

One more final question before I close the topic of my concrete footings. Do I mist spray them, or just leave it?

😂 That's what my wife tells me. At this rate I'll peg out before the end of the build.

Pump was supplied by the concrete company. I think it's been a long day and when things don't go smoothly, you wonder what other corners may have been cut. Damn, I'm catastrophising again.

The volumetric was comparable at £140 m3