Sunday 30 October 2016

More Civil Engineering in the orchard

We constructed a concrete socket and cantilever beam for the gate post in the orchard today. Thankfully we had help from the volunteer team in mixing the cubic metre of concrete needed for the task. We'd hired an electric cement mixer to assist us Our portable 110V generator provided the power. Whilst the volunteer team had no previous experience of making concrete after a brief demonstration by the management, they were soon enthusiastically hurling shovel loads of aggregate and cement into the mixer, most of which was on target.

During the week, we'd dug the trench and post socket hole. I then fabricated the reinforced steel frame work and fixed it in place in the trench and socket hole. First thing this morning I fixed a steel post socket in place within the rebar. I then used a quarter bag of Quickcrete to fix the socket in a true vertical position. After 30 minutes were were then ready to pour the concrete.

The work was completed within three hours, leaving us with the task of tidying up and loading the vehicles with the equipment. We'll leave the concrete to cure for a month before attempting to mount the gate.

Edit:31/10/16 With our typical luck the weather is turning colder. Let's hope the concrete cures enough to avoid frost damage.

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