Partyraum Part 3

Here's the next installment of operation Partyraum (which, according to Eileen, will no longer be called Partyraum when I'm finished). Quite a lot of work has gone on since Partyraum Part 2, mostly on Saturdays and evenings. At the end of Partyraum Part 2 I had removed the upper layers and was getting ready to level. I decided to dig down much further to remove all organic material. When I started I was at 120cm on the laser. This means that when a measuring stick (2m long) is held vertically to the ground, the laser hits it at 120cm. I dug down until the laser hit it at 150cm. All of the clay was wheelbarrowed out and piled high. Compressed (i.e. in the ground) that is about 17 cubic metres. Uncompressed (i.e. dug up and wheelbarrowed out), probably about 20 cubic metres. Luckily enough, two of the neighbours needed fill, so I didn't have to get Hilger to pick up the clay in containers. So much for getting material out - now I had to get it back in.

The plan for the floor was to fill in up to 122cm with 'Frostschutzkies', which is basically gravel from the floor of a river or lake. When compressed it is the best protection against frost coming up from below (which would only really happen during a prolonged really cold winter). After the Frostschutzkies, a thin layer of sand and cement to level and clean, then 8cm of XPS insulation (extruded polystyrene, which is pressure resistant and waterproof), then a 0.2mm plastic sheet, then 12cm of concrete (with rebar mesh at 6cm).

Hilger brought the Frostschutzkies - altogether 31 tonnes, which I also had to wheelbarrow in. Sven helped me with the second load. The Frostschutzkies had to be compressed with a 'Whacker' (which I think is a misnomer for 'Wacker', which is the company that made them first) every couple of centimetres. A heavier whacker would probably do it all in one go, but I would never have got it in the door. As it was, I could pull the 80kg whacker down OSB boards.

As of right now, all of the above is finished, the rebar is in, the pipes are laid (so I can pull electric cables through once the concrete is set). The concrete is coming tomorrow. 6.5 cubic metres are ordered, which should be enough - should actually be a bit too much, so I dug the foundation for the rest of the granite kerbs so I have somewhere to put any excess concrete.