Sitting and lamenting over the prices of ready-made concrete slabs, everything other than the ugly gray 30x30 tiles is too expensive and I don't want them. I would have liked to have 50x50 smooth concrete slabs and have been wondering if it would be economically feasible to cast them myself.
I have 32 square meters, maybe more, that I want to lay behind the house's terrace, and 9 square meters in front of the garage. I probably have 50-70 sqm of leftover reinforcement that I could use as well.
So what I need is a cement mixer, mortar, and molds. I'm also wondering what type of concrete it should be, should it be fine concrete, and should it be mixed with gravel?
I am also wondering if it would be possible to cast it as one large slab and create lines in it so it looks like 50x50 tiles? It's probably possible, and the lines should work as crack relief or whatever it's called so that if they crack, it happens in the line and isn't noticeable. But is it worth doing it yourself in that case, or should one rent a concrete truck? Has anyone done something similar?
We have gravel and then sand laid down on the places where the slabs will go, I've heard it's not optimal to cast on sand, but maybe one could place a mat underneath, or old greenhouse plastic? The latter we were thinking about placing under the slabs to prevent growth between the joints.
I have 32 square meters, maybe more, that I want to lay behind the house's terrace, and 9 square meters in front of the garage. I probably have 50-70 sqm of leftover reinforcement that I could use as well.
So what I need is a cement mixer, mortar, and molds. I'm also wondering what type of concrete it should be, should it be fine concrete, and should it be mixed with gravel?
I am also wondering if it would be possible to cast it as one large slab and create lines in it so it looks like 50x50 tiles? It's probably possible, and the lines should work as crack relief or whatever it's called so that if they crack, it happens in the line and isn't noticeable. But is it worth doing it yourself in that case, or should one rent a concrete truck? Has anyone done something similar?
We have gravel and then sand laid down on the places where the slabs will go, I've heard it's not optimal to cast on sand, but maybe one could place a mat underneath, or old greenhouse plastic? The latter we were thinking about placing under the slabs to prevent growth between the joints.
I read here that you should keep the form for several days, which is problematic:
https://www.byggahus.se/forum/byggmaterial-byggteknik/165819-gjuta-plattor-sjalv.html
It would be best if you could cast, remove the form, and let it dry without, then make another one, so you can mass-produce at a faster pace. You might be able to make 8 in that case, so you could handle 8 slabs at a time, if you let it dry for 2 days, it would be worth one square a day in production.
https://www.byggahus.se/forum/byggmaterial-byggteknik/165819-gjuta-plattor-sjalv.html
It would be best if you could cast, remove the form, and let it dry without, then make another one, so you can mass-produce at a faster pace. You might be able to make 8 in that case, so you could handle 8 slabs at a time, if you let it dry for 2 days, it would be worth one square a day in production.
Google "patterned concrete."
It looks just like any other tiles, but it's cast in a single piece (concrete slab) and then patterns are added in the concrete. You can get it in any shapes and colors you want.
If done correctly with preparation, reinforcement, etc., you get a garden path/driveway that is never affected by settling, frost heave, weeds in the joints, etc.
If you don't want to do it yourself, you can naturally hire a company. I think most firms that work with concrete can help you with this. Here in the city, for example, Skanska has advertised that they offer this service. I have no idea what it costs, but it's probably expensive...
However, it sounds like you're willing to do it yourself? Check around a bit on the search results. You're sure to get some inspiration and ideas. I did anyway.
It looks just like any other tiles, but it's cast in a single piece (concrete slab) and then patterns are added in the concrete. You can get it in any shapes and colors you want.
If done correctly with preparation, reinforcement, etc., you get a garden path/driveway that is never affected by settling, frost heave, weeds in the joints, etc.
If you don't want to do it yourself, you can naturally hire a company. I think most firms that work with concrete can help you with this. Here in the city, for example, Skanska has advertised that they offer this service. I have no idea what it costs, but it's probably expensive...
However, it sounds like you're willing to do it yourself? Check around a bit on the search results. You're sure to get some inspiration and ideas. I did anyway.
Here is something to read about slab casting:
https://www.byggahus.se/forum/byggmaterial-byggteknik/165819-gjuta-plattor-sjalv.html
http://gds.se/betong/saa-har-latt-gjuter-du-egna-plattor
http://www.dinbyggare.se/communicate/artiklar/article.aspx?id=5193
http://myhome.aftonbladet.se/stories/guider/sa-lagger-du-eget-utegolv-av-betong.html
https://www.byggahus.se/forum/byggmaterial-byggteknik/165819-gjuta-plattor-sjalv.html
http://gds.se/betong/saa-har-latt-gjuter-du-egna-plattor
http://www.dinbyggare.se/communicate/artiklar/article.aspx?id=5193
http://myhome.aftonbladet.se/stories/guider/sa-lagger-du-eget-utegolv-av-betong.html
I feel like I've been Googling and looking around for several days, so I thought I had reached the point where I had basic questions to ask. The images you get when you Google patterned concrete are nice, but I don't know how to achieve those effects without expensive equipment or professional help.
If I were to buy concrete, the plan would probably be to do all the work myself, with them just coming to pour it for me.
What I think I've read is that it might not be more expensive to cast a whole slab compared to buying a concrete mixer, building forms, and struggling with this for a month. It depends on how the manufacturing process goes; if it were possible to cast a slab and lift the form away, you would save time and materials. If it has to dry in the form for several days, it becomes much more complicated.
If I were to buy concrete, the plan would probably be to do all the work myself, with them just coming to pour it for me.
What I think I've read is that it might not be more expensive to cast a whole slab compared to buying a concrete mixer, building forms, and struggling with this for a month. It depends on how the manufacturing process goes; if it were possible to cast a slab and lift the form away, you would save time and materials. If it has to dry in the form for several days, it becomes much more complicated.
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Maybe renting is enough?
This company, for example, offers rental of templates:
http://www.betonggolv.se/goer-det-sjaelv
Check with a concrete company near you if you can rent. If you buy concrete from them, maybe it's not impossible?
This company, for example, offers rental of templates:
http://www.betonggolv.se/goer-det-sjaelv
Check with a concrete company near you if you can rent. If you buy concrete from them, maybe it's not impossible?