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Average number of trench concrete blocks per day


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24 minutes ago, iMCaan said:

We're going to have even number of courses of blocks. The site slopes from front to back so will backfill to raise ground level.

 

 

Did you retain the trench excavation subsoil on site? I ask because the gradient will require a lot of soil/hardcore to make up the level. Similar work on a property near required 200 tons of hardcore.

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4 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

Did you retain the trench excavation subsoil on site? I ask because the gradient will require a lot of soil/hardcore to make up the level. Similar work on a property near required 200 tons of hardcore.

 

Like the time I needed 40 tons of hardcore for my garage!

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Just now, markc said:

And allocate sudden there’s is progress to be seen … and the workmanship looks pretty good.

 

True but I hope the finished level will be improved in a following course of regular inner blocks before the floor beams are lifted in. Trench blocks are difficult to level because the large seat area means the blocks do not respond well to leveling taps.

 

Does anyone think the 3rd course of trench blocks is a mistake? If a 4th course of regular medium blocks is required to take the point loads of floor beams the FFL/DPC is going to be way above ground. Maybe the front door is approached via a castle drawbridge!

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No, I didn't retain any subsoil as the sub contractor said it was no good. It had too many roots. 

 

9 minutes ago, markc said:

And all of a  sudden …there’s is progress to be seen … and the workmanship looks pretty good.

Big relief smile on my face.

 

13 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

I see a string line, hooray.

Get them to fill the perpend joints. The wall is supposed to be solid.

Nice bond joint at cross wall: not many would do that.

Great. I told them to use as much mortar as they like. I want to foundations to be as solid as possible.

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1 minute ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

True but I hope the finished level will be improved in a following course of regular inner blocks before the floor beams are lifted in. Trench blocks are difficult to level because the large seat area means the blocks do not respond well to leveling taps.

 

Does anyone think the 3rd course of trench blocks is a mistake? If a 4th course of regular medium blocks is required to take the point loads of floor beams the FFL/DPC is going to be way above ground. Maybe the front door is approached via a castle drawbridge!

 

The site slopes from the footpath towards the back. If I remember correctly, the site engineer said there's about 1.5meter difference.

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4 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

The guy in the shorts has done well not to fall in.  Was this knock down and new build?

 

At one stage he almost did :) but was very hard worker.

 

The site had houses on there but they were demolished,  years before I purchased it.

 

The whole street has houses, and there are houses either side of the build site. Also,  new builds further down the street, but it still took me over 8 years to get the planning approved. All thanks to the architect (lazy) and damn councillors. The architect was a nightmare.

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

I wonder how many answering on here have ever been in a situation like this trying to do this job. 

Screams to me that there’s a lot of armchair bricklayers popping up. 

 

I'm novice and I welcome constructive input. Never know what will be beneficial.

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30 minutes ago, iMCaan said:

 

The site slopes from the footpath towards the back. If I remember correctly, the site engineer said there's about 1.5meter difference.

 

 

Crikey that is a lot of back filling. You have a tricky financial equation to get right between rapid progress with footing blocks now and later backfilling cost v. Switching gear now and using regular facing bricks lower down and thus saving on hardcore later on.

 

How close to the rear of the house can a laden lorry dump a 20 ton load of hardcore get? You will need a mid size digger for a few days for the back filling, hopefully before autumn weather softens the ground.

Edited by epsilonGreedy
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55 minutes ago, iMCaan said:

No, I didn't retain any subsoil as the sub contractor said it was no good. It had too many roots. 

 

Big relief smile on my face.

 

Great. I told them to use as much mortar as they like. I want to foundations to be as solid as possible.

If you have 1.5M to build up you need all you can get, I would have kept that (I did on my own build)  No point paying for muck away and then again to get more muck in.  It only needs to be good soil for the top, plenty space to loose rubbish soil in a 1.5M buildup.

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49 minutes ago, ProDave said:

If you have 1.5M to build up you need all you can get, I would have kept that (I did on my own build)  No point paying for muck away and then again to get more muck in.  It only needs to be good soil for the top, plenty space to loose rubbish soil in a 1.5M buildup.

Good advise but 3 months late :) 

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25 minutes ago, iMCaan said:

Oh boy. We have placed some hardcore so that a lorry could get to the back. Delivery lorries and hiab have gone to almost back of the site.

 

 

I hate to rain on your recent sprint of progress but it is not too late to knock off the 3rd row of trench blocks along the rear 3rd of the footings while the mortar is still green. The cost of rebuilding that footing course as a cavity wall with regular blocks and facing bricks might be smaller than raising the land an additional 225mm along 20m linear meters of external wall. 

 

Just two additional points. Aerated trench blocks do not like freeze thaw cycles so need to be clearly below ground level. Also would a 1.5m high rampart along the rear wall frustrate garden landscape plans?

 

Presumably your architect thought all this through so providing you are not deviating from his plan you can ignore internet experts. Do you need mobility ramps at all external doors?

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3 hours ago, saveasteading said:

.Get them to fill the perpend joints.

I be in favour of leaving a quite a few perpends open for drainage. I recall an extension being built and the ground water was literally squirting out of a perpend when soil was excavated. The original building was a ground bearing slab too. I was amazed. Understand it did so for days after. No damp in the original building either

Edited by Gordo
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Unfortunately, the site slopes quite a lot from the road towards the back of the house. We purposely raised the FGFL  because the driveway was too steep, from front wall to road. We probably don't have much choice but to backfill.

 

We're not using Aerated trench blocks. These are just concrete blocks .

 

Yes, mobility ramps are planning condition.

 

Hopefully, putting a French drain around the outside of the house will capture the rain water and redirect it. Thus, stop charging the water table beneath the house (thanks YouTube content creators). Therefore, no water to come up from the ground.

 

There was no ground water since excavating the footings in October.  We had heavy rain a week ago and some snow which I think has charged the water table. Hopefully, putting the French drain will resolve the issue.

 

 

 

 

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