A Solid Foundation

In goes the concrete!

Nothing glamorous here, just toil at the mixer!

I was thinking about reinforcing the slab with some rebar, but decided against it. Probably over-engineering…

Although, while researching laying concrete foundations, I read about ‘ponding’ (very appropriate!) the concrete by covering it with water while it cures. This prevents the concrete dehydrating (the curing of concrete is a chemical reaction that requires water – it doesn’t ‘dry out’) which can prevent cracks and fissures forming.

Once the concrete had gone off enough and had become hard to the touch (about 2 hours) I filled the hole with about an inch of water. As the substrate at that level was clay, it stayed in there quite nicely. I had to top it up the following morning and again about 10 hours later, and by then I was satisfied that the base was cured enough to start working on.

Sadly I didn’t take any pictures of the ‘pond’.