Ready mix concrete for Foundations & Groundworks projects

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Concrete for Foundations & Groundworks applications

Various footings and groundworks can require a variety of strengths depending on intended use and ground conditions, please ask for advice to assist you making the right choice for your project.

Top Tips :
Footings
Single skin wall SMC 180
Double Skin wall SMC 200

People may choose to add walls into their garden to either create level differences or ornamental walls around patios.

If you are using the wall as a retainer (to hold soil back from one level to another) it is always best to install a double skinned wall to help with retaining the weight of the soil behind it as sometimes a single skin wall may not be strong enough.

Once you know the thickness of the wall you need to build dig a trench a further 150 wider than the thickness of the wall you plan to build.
With the plan to have 75mm of the footing sticking out at the rear of the wall and 75mm to the front of the wall.

The top of the footing needs to finish a minimum of 50 mm below the finished level of the prosed ground around it so it can be covered over at a later date.
The depth of the footing depends on ground conditions and size of the wall.
The softer the ground the deeper the footing and the bigger the wall the deeper the footing.

As each job is different you will need to seek advice from a builder or excavate the chosen area to such a point that you come across good solid ground.
Once the chosen depth and width has been excavated it is an idea to use thin wooden or steel pegs that are placed about meter apart and knocked into the ground to the depth of the required concrete.

You can ensure all the pegs are level by using a spirit level (on a straight piece of timber if not long enough) and from the start of the footing where you ensure your first peg is at the right level, you work your way along the trench resting the spirit level on each peg and knocking the peg into the ground until it is level with the previous one.
Now you can fill the trench with concrete knowing that when the concrete is up to the level of the pegs it will be level all the way round