Do you know if its cheaper to buy ready mixed or make my own? I need about a square metre and will have a go if its a better option.
:)

What do you need it for?

there's usually more than one way to skin a cat ;)

Cheaper to mix your own up if you only need a metre as there would be a part load charge as well.

a cubic metre of concrete is £120 +.thats a metre square by a metre deep obviously.
anything less is better to buy bags of readymix.

a cubic metre of concrete is £120 +.thats a metre square by a metre deep obviously.
anything less is better to buy bags of readymix.

Most if not all places would put a part load charge on top of that as well - usually £15-£20 for every extra metre that could have been on the truck and they usually hold 6-8m3.

Oooh Strix, you're sort of on the right track, I have a bit of a pet cemetary at the bottom of our garden with a few of my long lost but loved pets. We're thinking of moving and I hate the thought of them being disturbed, so I thought a bit of concrete would keep them safe. Does that sound :loopy: ?

Anyway, thank you to the 'lads' (I assume you are as its a sort of man type question to reply to) I think at that price I'll get down to Wickes.

:)

So long as it's going to be hardstanding for a very nice bench or something :thumbsup: otherwise you might find you are creating an unsaleable 'feature' in your garden, then you could have saved yourself the bother because you won't be moving anyway ;)

Do you know if its cheaper to buy ready mixed or make my own? I need about a square metre and will have a go if its a better option.
:)
a square meter weighs half a ton !!!!!!!! think about it,thats a lot of mixing

I'd be getting ready mix every time. Nobody has that much enthusiasm for a shovel.

a square meter weighs half a ton !!!!!!!! think about it,thats a lot of mixing

Even if it's 1mm thick? ;)

I'm guessing you mean 1 meter cubed weights 0.5 ton, and the OP meant concrete to cover a square metre.

Assuming utah doesn't want a pad more than 100mm thick (usual concrete 'pad' depth) then the OP needs 0.1 metre cubed.

I'm hoping my maths is right cos I'm about to embark on very first bit of DIY concreting. Just reading up on shims, formwork, mattocks, builder's lines, hardcore etc :huh: ... the Yellow Pages is looking enticing right about now....

no ,its not to cover a square metre,its ordered by the metre,what depth you spread it to is your own affair,but imm deep wont take any weight,but it would cover a long drive :hihi:

What do you need it for?

there's usually more than one way to skin a cat ;)

i wouldnt use cat
its not as strong as concrete, and smells worse after a while

Yes, but he doesn't want to skin it, he wants to bury it!!!!

no ,its not to cover a square metre,its ordered by the metre,what depth you spread it to is your own affair,but imm deep wont take any weight,but it would cover a long drive :hihi:
Its ordered by the cubic metre.

How do you know how much a square metre of concrete will weigh if you don't know how deep it is?

Like I said, I'm guessing you mean a cubic metre of concrete weighs 0.5 ton.

If utah wants to make a pad 100mm thick and 1m square then its 1m x 1m x 0.1m = 0.1 cubic metre. That aint gonna weigh 0.5 ton. At least I hope not or my DIY project is screwed.

A cubic metre weighs half a tonne??? didnt realise concrete weighed less than water.....thought it would weigh more than half tonne.

Crikey, who'd a thought concrete could attract so many viewings lol. I think I'm going for a bag or two to do myself..well, when I say myself I mean I'll 'assist' hubby :hihi: It can't be a metre deep cos thats about how far the animals are so just enough to put a few flower pots on really.

Thanks guys :)

A cubic metre weighs half a tonne??? didnt realise concrete weighed less than water.....thought it would weigh more than half tonne.
Your right, a cubic metre of concrete weighs around 2400kg

Your right, a cubic metre of concrete weighs around 2400kg


think about it. water weighs much more than concrete water contains no air bubbles. i see this thread is losing the plot a little

If that figure is correct then concrete weighs about 2.4 times more than water.

I was wondering why a thread about concrete had already made 2 pages, and now I know.

think about it.

I did. I asked a civil engineer who has 25 years experience and then googled it to confirm his facts
This is what I found (http://www.pavement.com/PavTech/Tech/Glossary/C.html):-

Concrete, Normal-weight
Concrete having a unit weight of approximately 2400 kg/m3 made with aggregates of normal weight.

Try putting iron mesh (the stuff with the 4"-5" squared holes) in it to reinforce it.
That should stop anyone putting a sledgehammer through it :)