Author Topic: Getting through 12" of concrete  (Read 8198 times)

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #25 on: 12 May, 2014, 10:27:26 am »
Not a bad idea, Vince.

I can make an exploratory hole at the side to see what happens - if a jet of water comes in I'll blame you . . .
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #26 on: 12 May, 2014, 10:28:52 am »
Is it practical to consider infilling the ex-pond pit with clay?

Well you see it is over 7ft deep

'kin ell :o

that'll be a "no" then
Indeed. Getting in and out requires a rope hung from one of the 3"x5" steel beams that are handily overhead.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

jogler

  • mojo operandi
Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #27 on: 12 May, 2014, 10:39:47 am »
This was a pond?
More likely a rocket launching silo or a nuclear waste shaft ::-)

Woofage

  • Tofu-eating Wokerati
  • Ain't no hooves on my bike.
Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #28 on: 12 May, 2014, 10:51:18 am »
Use it as a rain water store?
Pen Pusher

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #29 on: 12 May, 2014, 10:54:03 am »
For the entire neighborhood?  It hold about 17 000 litres and takes up over a 1/4 of the garden.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #30 on: 12 May, 2014, 11:11:14 am »
You should be able to dig a soak away at the side of the pond liner avoiding the clay.

Which soakaway would have to be deep enough to penetrate the clay layer?
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #31 on: 12 May, 2014, 11:19:59 am »
I don't think it would need to - the clay layer is quite a long way down, possibly below the general water table. I just need drainage that will stop the whole thing from filling up with water.

Will measure up the overflow pipe (which actually goes to the lowest point in the pond) to see how big a pump I can feed down it - from memory, the pipe has an 8" internal diameter.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Vince

  • Can't climb; won't climb
Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #32 on: 12 May, 2014, 11:22:19 am »
Presumably the whole garden isn't under water so the clay layer is limited to either the vicinity of the pond or part of the way through the current depth of the pond. From just below ground level it would also be possible to pipe the water away to the normal land drain, no pumps or sumps needed.

X-posted with mrcharly.
216km from Marsh Gibbon

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #33 on: 12 May, 2014, 11:24:04 am »
Was it a swimming pool?
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #34 on: 12 May, 2014, 11:39:30 am »
We semi-seriously discussed using it as a swimming pool. There is a concrete pit (4ftx12ftx3ft) adjacent to it with all pipework (and power) needed for a filtration system. I was up for making it a salt-water pool. However everyone else would demand heating.
The steel posts and beams around this (I think the pond builder was going to make a pergola and had access to free steel + a welder) would allow easy construction of a diving deck. Just need to board it, add a ladder and done. My second suggestion of a sundeck was also vetoed, I don't know why. One of the children wanted a rope slide from their bedroom window.

<i>Marmite slave</i>

CommuteTooFar

  • Inadequate Randonneur
Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #35 on: 12 May, 2014, 02:15:03 pm »
Perhaps this 'pond' is a construction to prevent your house subsiding into a small sinkhole.  :demon:

Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #36 on: 12 May, 2014, 02:28:15 pm »
Cracked it. It's a retractable swimming pool.  Are any of the wall lights indoors suspiciously wobbly? Do the eyes in portraits light up when the phone rings? Do you have a row of palm trees controlled by hydraulics?
There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can
"overhaul" it, or you can ride it.  (Jerome K Jerome)

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #37 on: 12 May, 2014, 02:38:51 pm »
Cracked it. It's a retractable swimming pool.  Are any of the wall lights indoors suspiciously wobbly? Do the eyes in portraits light up when the phone rings? Do you have a row of palm trees controlled by hydraulics?
Don't be ridiculous. This is Yorkshire.

There are three ceramic ducks on the wall that seem to rotate. In the living room there is a beer pump handle that isn't connected to a keg.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #38 on: 12 May, 2014, 04:03:10 pm »
So you are going to fill it with sand and rubble you say?

My suggestion is that you do precisely that. As you fill it with the sand and rubble, go over it with a whacker every foot depth to get it nice and firm  until it is level filled to within say 12 inches of the rim (you'll want a nice strong platform).  Blind the surface with sand, lay a DP membrane overall then level fill with concrete.   It probably will fill with water underneath the 'raft' so you might provide a bit of overflow pipe or else just let if go where it will.   

Sorted.
Move Faster and Bake Things

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #39 on: 12 May, 2014, 04:07:01 pm »
So you are going to fill it with sand and rubble you say?

My suggestion is that you do precisely that. As you fill it with the sand and rubble, go over it with a whacker every foot depth to get it nice and firm  until it is level filled to within say 12 inches of the rim (you'll want a nice strong platform).  Blind the surface with sand, lay a DP membrane overall then level fill with concrete.   It probably will fill with water underneath the 'raft' so you might provide a bit of overflow pipe or else just let if go where it will.   

Sorted.
Overflow to where?

I probably wasn't clear; MrsC wants this converting to a sunken seating area - sunken by about 3ft below ground level at the lowest. So water will enter and needs to be given a route out.

It's possible that I could drill holes in the sides and insert drainage pipes. I'll be investigating that at sometime.

Still, I need to remove water from the main structure, or it will just stink. Stagnant water with lord knows what small debris etc. ugh.

<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #40 on: 12 May, 2014, 04:17:18 pm »
I'd a similar problem at the back of our barn. A bit of rain and we got a lake plus a stream flowing through the building.  Unfortunately it is solid rock and there is nowhere for the water to go. It did seep through it very slowly, took over a week to go down much.

First I retiled the back slope letting all the bust tiles fall in the pit above the solid rock.  Only c.45cm deep probably. Then I put guttering up so the roof water could flow away.  Finally I put geotextile over the tile layer and topped it with soil seeded with grass.  That was a few years ago and not even torrential rain can make the ground soggy.  The inside of barn is lovely and dry too.

In another area where I left rock exposed I noticed it became porous after a very cold winter with long periods c -11°C.  Guess frozen water cracks exposed rock.
Move Faster and Bake Things

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #41 on: 12 May, 2014, 06:40:03 pm »
I was surprised - excavators (mini diggers) not too pricey per day (£70)...  http://www.tvehireandsales.co.uk/DIGGERK8.asp?Product_ID=63&ProductType_ID=9&ProductCat_TypeID=16
Mind you, not sure it'd have enough reach down (with drill rather than bucket) for 7ft depth, or power for 12" concrete.   
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #42 on: 12 May, 2014, 08:37:18 pm »
plus I'd have to lift it over a 9ft wall to get it into the garden.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #43 on: 12 May, 2014, 09:56:06 pm »
You can get folding diggers for confined spaces ...

(Tracks move under the body of the machine to let it get through a gap as narrow as a standard doorframe.)

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #44 on: 12 May, 2014, 10:11:31 pm »
plus I'd have to lift it over a 9ft wall to get it into the garden.

Get a digger. Knock a whole in the wall with it.  :thumbsup:
It is simpler than it looks.

fuzzy

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #45 on: 28 May, 2014, 10:10:25 am »
A couple of yeras ago I removed a 12 ft by 6 ft concrete slab from the front of Fuzzy Towers. I hired an electric breaker for the task similar to this and for a similar cost.

It stated up to about 6" of concrete but some bits were thicker. I'm sure you could do the job you need with this type of kit.

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #46 on: 28 May, 2014, 11:04:40 pm »
According to a programme the other night, you need one of these.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #47 on: 08 February, 2019, 01:35:18 pm »
I found this thread while looking for a different answer (drilling some small holes into a concrete floor), but now I need closure.

How did you resolve this? Was the answer 'more concrete'? Or to move? Or did you decide that, actually, Mrs C was the problem?
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #48 on: 08 February, 2019, 02:38:59 pm »
I found this thread while looking for a different answer (drilling some small holes into a concrete floor), but now I need closure.

How did you resolve this? Was the answer 'more concrete'? Or to move? Or did you decide that, actually, Mrs C was the problem?
If there weren't bones under the concrete before, there are now?  :o

Or did it turn out to be a portal to another dimension? A lost world of prehistoric creatures ordinaries and boneshakers?
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Getting through 12" of concrete
« Reply #49 on: 11 February, 2019, 03:54:39 pm »
I found this thread while looking for a different answer (drilling some small holes into a concrete floor), but now I need closure.

How did you resolve this? Was the answer 'more concrete'? Or to move? Or did you decide that, actually, Mrs C was the problem?
Sorry, didn't see your reply.

I drilled about 30 holes through the concrete, with a large SDS drill (40mm bit about 400mm long). Filled bottom 3ft with rubble. Conveniently a house up the road was demolishing stuff, so I barrowed away a load of their rubble. Covered that with a garden mesh. Then barrowed in sand; 4 dumpy bags of the stuff.

Never got round to building the steps down to this.
<i>Marmite slave</i>