Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Floor next stage
Another busy day today getting the floor ready for the concrete delivery Thursday morning.
On top of the hardcore and sand layer we finished yesterday we placed the DPC and large polystyrene sheets. The damp proof course is basically a huge plastic sheet. Each sheet of polystyrene insulation is 2cm thick and two layers are placed on top of each other at right angles to cover any gaps. It was worth the extra effort to ensure the sand layer was flat as the polystyrene sheets are very brittle and any potholes would have caused a problem whilst you are walking around over the sheets.
Unexpectedly a delivery lorry turned up during the morning with 2 3000 litre septic tanks and the various pumps, pipework and stuff for my sewage system. A week earlier than expected. Hopefully they should start on the filter beds in the garden rather than digging large holes in front of the house, otherwise the concrete mixer is going to have a real problem on Thursday. The delivery driver thought they might start installing the tanks Thursday or Friday. We'll have to see.
By the end of the afternoon we had the metal mesh laid on the insulation and I had laid out the electric cables and pipework that will be buried under the concrete. Both the electric cables and plastic water pipes are encased in a plastic conduit (gaine). The water pipes all run from point-to-point without any joints and are fed from a large manifold (nourice). Each conduit is tied to the metal grill with scrap wire to prevent it floating up to the surface of the concrete. It is also fixed to the wall with a push in plastic bracket. The idea of running cabling and pipe under the floor is mostly for convenience. You could run everything from the fuse box, or water main, above ground but getting around doorways gets a bit tricky.
So, tomorrow I've got to fix some wooden battens across the floor at the correct level for the concrete floor. With a straight edge we should be able to shuffle across the battens and get everything flat and level.
| 8:17:23 PM
brittany
renovation
Floor next stage
