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Concrete Base Questions

Calimori

Calimori

Staff member
10 Years
Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Messages
4,374
Location
Bedfordshure, UK
Time for the Base

I over think these things, research, plan, feel unsure and then leave it which is getting me nowhere. But I have this place to give me advice so please help.

My pinball hut is going to be 5.5 x 4m (~ 18 x 13ft)
I have been advices to give additional space to ensure the cabin sits properly even if it isn't actually square. This will also fill the space and help with water run off.
I have been recommended to lay a base of 6 x 5m which will fill the space available. A base of approximately 6 inches or 15cm was recommended so around 5m3 (cubed).
Are these recommendations correct?

Quote 1:
I have a rough quote for around £1800 to lay just the concrete based on £6 a square foot but not saying what the depth would be.

Quote 2:
I have a firm quote of £2807 to do the entire job from another company:
  • Ground area for base to be levelled to ensure solid base.
  • Timber shuttering to be used to form edging around concrete.
  • DP membrane to be laid over ground area and metal mash to be laid in concrete.
  • Pump concrete to lay a 4 to 6 inch thick base.
Quote 2 might also get some other work and I would get the base and preparation work for £2485. Or pay £685 for someone to do a lot more work.

I won't be doing this myself as I don't have anyone to assist and it will break me, plus I have loads of other jobs I am doing.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
 
Think @Paul and @Dave Bishop had some prices for ready mix so that will give you an idea on how much they are charging for labour.

I had a 6 x 4 metre base put down last year and cost a lot less than you have been quoted but you are down saarrff!! :D
 
I dug my base and then just hired a mixer
3 of us layed the slab in a day.
From memory it was 200 for the concrete sand.
Put the cabin up the next weekend and was amazed how easy it was, 2 of us in 2 days with lots of breaks :)
The cabin was easier than lego
 
Good luck with this.

Once i get rid of the concrete asbestos garage in the garden i'll be doing the same thing, hopefully as cheaply as possible without looking appalling.

Shame we're not in sync otherwise i could've been much more help!
 
mission65 said:
I dug my base and then just hired a mixer
3 of us layed the slab in a day.
From memory it was 200 for the concrete sand.
Click to expand...

Looks like I am paying for the lack of friends :(.
Your quote shows that I am paying largely for other peoples work and not the materials. Also removal of materials is an issue, I can't get a skip into my garden. I am not sure I could get a concrete mixer in either.

Monkeyboypaul said:
Good luck with this.

Once i get rid of the concrete asbestos garage in the garden i'll be doing the same thing, hopefully as cheaply as possible without looking appalling.

Shame we're not in sync otherwise i could've been much more help!
Click to expand...

My remit is to have something that looks highly presentable. This is because my main garden is at the side not the back of the house with the main entrance opposite so it can't be avoided. To have it at the back would have meant it would have to be in a tree and apparently there are rules about tree houses (plus TPO's).
So I am going for this:
http://www.buylogcabinsdirect.co.uk...-cabins-charentes-44mm-shingle-roof-log-cabin
 
Think the first quote is expensive Geoff and the second is extortionate!!

Last year I got a quote for a 6 x 4 m base, hire of digger to clear it all out, skip/removal of soil, road stone/ballast/hardcore (mention hardcore and @cooldan will be there to help, probably fetch some along with him), hire of wacker plate/vibrator (dan rushes along again :p), shuttering, mesh and ready mix/laying it £1200. Which I thought was expensive and got it done for a lot cheaper than that. Not sure exactly how much but got the builder who was doing the kitchen extension to do it.

He already had mixer so no cost there plus he isn't vat registered so all materials put on account for me at trade prices, mixed by hand rather than ready mix, sand and gravel £28 per bulk bag + vat, cement £3.50 + vat per bag, some wood for shuttering £20/30 +vat, steel mesh x3 sheets £20/25 ea + vat, builder £17 per hour, labourer £10 per hour, total cost well under £1K

Problem I found is that it is only a relatively small/hard graft job and a lot just couldn't be bothered to quote/want the job unlike years ago when loads of people would do 'guvvy' jobs.

If I was closer would be down to give you a hand.
 
Calimori said:
Looks like I am paying for the lack of friends :(.
Your quote shows that I am paying largely for other peoples work and not the materials. Also removal of materials is an issue, I can't get a skip into my garden. I am not sure I could get a concrete mixer in either.



Don't you have barrows down there Geoff? :)
Click to expand...
 
I also meant to say that I had a concrete base laid for my log cabin that was part of a larger garden project (a lot of excavation and levelling), but I seem to recall it was about an extra £500 for a 3m x 4m x 6" thick base. As they were landscaping specialists they had their own mini-digger and I didn't have to pay for disposal of the soil because I just spread it out in the woods that back onto my house. They mixed the concrete in a mixer and built the wooden shuttering out of scrap they had.
 
Nedreud said:
Need to add on the optional extras to match the one @Calimori was looking at (double-glazing, 19mm flooring and roof shingles) which takes the total up to £4008.99. Not a massive different but £240 is a couple of pinball machines to some of us! ;)
Click to expand...

Well spotted however I did add everything to spec it the same but it appears that when you link it the specs don't appear it reverts back to standard :mad:

Personally I wouldn't bother with the floorboards I would just source some hd chipboard or whatever it is called these days as is easier to lay and makes a lot better job :)

So that puts it at £3624.99
 
Hi I did all the ground work with a friend who is amazing at digging he levelled it all out for me, and I ordered a ready mix lorry I'll dig out the company name and filled and levelled, I'll ask my friend if he's free as could be cheaper think the whole base cost me 900 ish mainly due to the dam skip hire!
 
The cabin I liked too can be snagged for £3599 so looks the same price.
I can't really have a skip because there is nowhere to put it. My garden is on a plateau on a hill, so wheel barrows are the only way in and out, the route is also hard work.
Tell me more about your friend Scottydoesntknow as I am happy to pay the money for the help.
 
Calimori said:
The cabin I liked too can be snagged for £3599 so looks the same price.
I can't really have a skip because there is nowhere to put it. My garden is on a plateau on a hill, so wheel barrows are the only way in and out, the route is also hard work.
Tell me more about your friend Scottydoesntknow as I am happy to pay the money for the help.
Click to expand...
Cool I'll send him a text haven't caught up with him for a while so will let you know asap
 
I find building work a nightmare. Everyone has "flexible" pricing ie first time buyers/ general punters face a minefield. And it is the definitive bodge it and scarper profession. So many people I know have had jobs like this done and then a year later the inadequacies of the job reveal themselves (no damp course, damp course not high enough, too little concrete, wrong concrete mix .......)

Is there a builder you can trust ? Someone down the pub you know ? He should be able to tell you the "real" cost for this job. And tell you how it should be done properly. Offer him a couple of pints to cost it up, even if he is too busy to do it himself. I have used a "proper" builder to build outbuildings and a garage for me, he was expensive but excellent. I now pick his brain for free when I have little jobs like this that he has no interest in doing.

Construction work, digger hire, concrete etc is actually surprisingly cheap - the problem is that everyone in the industry tries to hide this from you. And the whole industry is based on repeat purchasers securing big discounts to list prices.

So you need to get to the real price to then know what you should be paying.
 
We have a lot of work for a builder over the next few years. I like the guy who quoted the full job and he was recommended. This and another job would be a way of testing if the person is trustworthy to project manage the other work.
But I could drop this bit from his list and save a lot of money. However, I only have the weekends free. Taking time off work is not an option and there is so much other work here to do.
Can you get a cement mixer in a Honda Jazz?
I am chasing a company who might be able to pump it in and see if they can pump up hill.
 
Calimori said:
if it looks wrong I won't have testicles.
Click to expand...
Same here. She's designing mine though. "You want room for how many games??"

The upside of having an Architect for a wife is the free building design work.
The downside is they're not rich like Grand Designs would have you believe, so we can't actually afford to build anything she designs. Think i might have to sell TAF on this one...
 
Last edited:
Hi
As a builder myself I would check the make up of the ground first I usually dig down about 450mm put some terram down then 300mm type 1 then vapour barrier or dpm always a 150 mm concrete base with 8mm mesh.
The cost for materials I pay up in Scotland is usually about £10 a ton for type 1, £150 a week for mini digger including dropping off and pick up, £130 for 8 yard skip,for concrete I use a company that comes and mixes at job £130 for first m3 and about £80 every m3 after,mesh is about £25 a 3.6x2.0m sheet,terram I get a full roll a just cut off what I need for each job usually forget about adding it to the price of the job,labour would be between £400 and £500 depending on access, where skip is etc.

Hope this gives you an idea but prices might be more where you are.

Cheers Brian
 
Pharo said:
Hi
As a builder myself I would check the make up of the ground first I usually dig down about 450mm put some terram down then 300mm type 1 then vapour barrier or dpm always a 150 mm concrete base with 8mm mesh.
The cost for materials I pay up in Scotland is usually about £10 a ton for type 1, £150 a week for mini digger including dropping off and pick up, £130 for 8 yard skip,for concrete I use a company that comes and mixes at job £130 for first m3 and about £80 every m3 after,mesh is about £25 a 3.6x2.0m sheet,terram I get a full roll a just cut off what I need for each job usually forget about adding it to the price of the job,labour would be between £400 and £500 depending on access, where skip is etc.

Hope this gives you an idea but prices might be more where you are.

Cheers Brian
Click to expand...

Nice :cool: :thumbs:
 
Looks like you are getting a posse together Geoff.
A few more and you should be good to go, if you were not as far away I would be up to giving a hand.
 
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