We laid the new concrete floor in the outbuilding yesterday.  The concrete (around 2.5 tonnes) was due to arrive at 3pm, but eventually got here at 5:30pm (shortly after we had packed up our tools and decided to go down the pub!).  Once it arrived, we had little choice but to lay the floor.  In the end, it only took about an hour, but it was at the end of the day and it felt like a very long hour.

Earlier in the day, I had laid some rubble at the far end of the floor in an attempt to level it up a bit.  We want the finished floor level to be higher than the drive outside (so water doesn’t run in) and sloping slightly to the front (so if water does get it, it will flow out).  I use the rubble to level up the worst of the floor and then put some crushed stone on top (about 1 tonne).  This was then compacted with  a Wacker plate rented from a local hire shop.  Then we put down some Visqueen damproof membrane and then a couple of tonnes of concrete on top.  The concrete came from Hi Spec concrete in Huddersfield.  The machine mixes the concrete on site and we were fortunate to be able to shoot it straight into the outbuilding.  There was still a lot of shovelling to do to get it into all the right places, but shooting the concrete right in makes life a lot easier.

The finish is pretty good and at the end of the day, it is a shed!  However, pride kicks in and you want to make it look the best you can.

The original floor in the outbuilding sloped to the back. To correct this, I put some rubble at the back and some old stone slates at the front. Then covered it with crushed stone which was then compacted. This corrected the floor level as well as helping raise the finished floor level above the drive outside.

The original floor in the outbuilding sloped to the back. To correct this, I put some rubble at the back and some old stone slates at the front. Then covered it with crushed stone which was then compacted. This corrected the floor level as well as helping raise the finished floor level above the drive outside.

There is a layer of rubble underneath the crushed stone that has helped level out the floor. This now needs to be compacted before the damp proof membrane is put down and the concrete laid. The finished floor level needs to be just a tad higher than the drive outside (this will stop water running in).

There is a layer of rubble underneath the crushed stone that has helped level out the floor. This now needs to be compacted before the damp proof membrane is put down and the concrete laid. The finished floor level needs to be just a tad higher than the drive outside (this will stop water running in).

One of the pictures off one of our security cameras. The concrete is mixed as it is delivered by the machine. The concrete is metered so you only have to pay for what you use. We thought we only needed about 1 cubic meter, in the end we required 1.75 cubic meters! If you order it the traditional way, you would over order to guarantee that you have enough to finish the job. This isn't great but it is better than being short! However, it does mean that you frequently have surplus concrete to get rid of at the end of the job.

One of the pictures off one of our security cameras. The concrete is mixed as it is delivered by the machine. The concrete is metered so you only have to pay for what you use. We thought we only needed about 1 cubic meter, in the end we required 1.75 cubic meters! If you order it the traditional way, you would over order to guarantee that you have enough to finish the job. This isn’t great but it is better than being short! However, it does mean that you frequently have surplus concrete to get rid of at the end of the job.

We used some battens along the wall to mark the top of the finished floor level. This is a piece of timber along the front to create the step into the shed. This should be dry enough tomorrow to walk on.

We used some battens along the wall to mark the top of the finished floor level. This is a piece of timber along the front to create the step into the shed. This should be dry enough tomorrow to walk on.