Concrete washout facilities

[flanagaj]

To date, the bricklayers and myself included have simply washed mixers out and discarded the washout water onto the ground.  I am curious as to what others do as most of the options available for capturing washout are for large sites where they can have dedicated washout bins and recycle the water.  For a domestic self build, that approach is not obviously not viable.

We don't have any water courses / drains in the vicinity and water table is 60ft below.   

[Mr Punter]

For concrete I use a sheet of 18mm OSB and some 4 x 2 to form a tray, lined with polythene.  Let the concrete go off, then break it up and use it as hardcore.

[flanagaj]

36 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

For concrete I use a sheet of 18mm OSB and some 4 x 2 to form a tray, lined with polythene.  Let the concrete go off, then break it up and use it as hardcore.

Ok, thanks.  What about washout water from mixers and concrete readymix trucks?

[Mr Punter]

Just now, flanagaj said:

Ok, thanks.  What about washout water from mixers and concrete readymix trucks?

 

Just get them to hover over your tray and crap the contents out.  It is a bit messy but it will be fine.  Water dries up, concrete sets and can be broken up.

[Conor]

I made sure the washout area was a spot that would be later paved / concreted over. Each time there was a dump of concrete or cement, I'd rake it out flat and level. Ended up covering a good 20m²+ and 100mm+ thick by the time we were done. Concrete pumps produce a lot of waste!

[JohnMo]

We had huge pumping lorry 4 times, so a lot of wash water and unused concrete. Basically got it dumped on our driveway, then broke up before it fully set where it was bit thick. All of it is under our drive way.

[ToughButterCup]

Washout is useful. Now, 5 years later, I find myself wishing we had more.

 

We built a 10 by 8 , and 6 inch deep lined pit. The resulting washout area became a useful base for all sorts of things during the build after concreting. And then, when broken up it was piled up out of the way.

 

We found a use for very last bit of it. 

[saveasteading]

2 hours ago, ToughButterCup said:

We found a use for very last bit of it. 

You are a manager. You had space too?

[Gone West]

We just used bulk bags, which all the excess concrete and washout went into. Excess water drained out of the bottom.

[saveasteading]

18 minutes ago, Gone West said:

bulk bags,

Great idea. Did you deliberately make the leftovers ultra wet to avoid  a solid lump?

[Gone West]

Just now, saveasteading said:

Did you deliberately make the leftovers ultra wet to avoid  a solid lump?

No, the team laying the concrete asked where they could put the excess and washout, and we had bulk bags lying around. There wasn't that much really.

 

[saveasteading]

Then you broke up the concrete for hardcore?

 

I wish we could return the big bags and they were recycled. Or the material didn't turn to plastic dust if you try to reuse them.

[Spinny]

Don't worry, your builder will take good care of this issue...

 

(It certainly won't be dumped on your drive and left for 3 months before a labourer breaks it up with a sledgehammer and SDS drill. 🤪

[ToughButterCup]

3 hours ago, saveasteading said:

You are a manager. You had space too?

 

Manager ?

In reality I'm the resident labourer, and got fed up falling over stuff left behind by others. So the role evolved into - every day- clearing up after everyone else. 

Clearing up is a very necessary job: bit like oiling the cogs in a  machine. Clearing up wet concrete has to be done at the time - but mostly you cant do that. So it needs planning for. @TerryE's suggestion saved my sanity. I would have blown a fuse if I'd been faced with @Spinny's ermmm, dump

 

We have about half an acre, so a good few nooks and crannies . House is about 10 by 10m

I think it was @TerryE who -years ago - suggested self builders make a storage plan - so I did.  Very glad we did TBH.

Edited 2 hours ago by ToughButterCup