# Forum More Stuff Go to Whoa!  My new workshop

## atregent

It's taken longer than I'd hoped, and cost more than I thought, but I've finally got all the permits, reports and plans I need to start building my workshop! 
Well, that's not quite true yet. I'm still waiting for the council to send me the asset protection permit, but close enough. 
So hopefully, by the end of the year, I'll have a nice new 6.3m x 4m concrete slab and timber frame workshop, with a colorbond roof. 
First step is the finish clearing and levelling the site, ready for concrete. 
Let the fun begin!

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## zacnelson

What's the deal with the asset protection permit?  I get my building permit a few months ago for an extension I'm doing, and started immediately the next day.  About 3 weeks later I got a letter in the mail from the council saying I had to pay a $300 bond for asset protection of the crossover, and a $75 crossover inspection fee.  This was after I had allowed numerous heavy vehicles to use my cross over.  Now that I have paid the 2 fees, I haven't heard a single thing from the council, they haven't posted me a receipt, and they haven't phoned to do the inspection or anything.  Surely they would need to inspect the cross over first so they can verify which damage was already there before the works took place?  Anyway surely I'm not expected to put off any building until after they've inspected the cross over?  Using that logic I would still not be able to begin!  Meanwhile, I'm nearly finished building the whole thing!

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## atregent

According to the letter the council sent me, there is a hefty fine if you start work without the permit. I had to call them because I wasn't starting right away, and was told that the initial inspection was done when the first letter was sent. I haven't started yet, but I plan on taking photos of the existing damage (there's a big crack up the middle of the crossing, and a couple of bits missing from the curb) before I start. 
The asset protection permit arrived in the mail last Friday, so I'm all good to go. Pity I've got no money left now though...

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## atregent

I finally managed to get out and make a start on things yesterday. I learned that I'm not as fit as I used to be!  There was a concrete slab covering about half of the area that I'd broken up a few weeks ago. Thankfully they did a really dodgy job and it wasn't too hard.  Yesterday I started digging the trenches for the footings, managed to get 3 of the four done. Hopefully I'll get the last one done today and some of the formwork set in place.  Anyone want some dirt?

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## atregent

Got a bit more done over the weekend, finished putting the formwork together. It's in place and the levels are right, but I won't peg it all down until I've finished digging out the rest of the foundations just in case I need to make some minor adjustements.  So next weekend, I've got some serious shovel action to look forward to....

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## leeton

Goodluck atregent....with this rain and forecast to continue all week, I reckon you may be inside next weekend..or up to your armpits in mud.. :Cry:

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## atregent

Dirt is big! 
I decided to bite the bullet and order in a 3m³ skip to get rid of some of the soil I've been digging out. For some reason, I though 3m would be plenty, and I'd even be able to get rid of some other stuff. Silly me. 
So now I've brought forward another project on my list, raised garden beds along the back fence for a veggie garden. Hopefully that will give me somewhere to put the rest of the dirt. It will also mean, for the first time, I'll be able to grow some decent veggies this season.

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## atregent

I've just about finished my side project of the raised garden bed, although, that has now created a lot more work for me, as I need to prepare it all for veggie planting. Unfortunately, the soil is pretty ordinary and will need a lot of organic matter mixed in with it. But that's a job for another weekend. 
But, now that I've got somewhere to put all the excavated dirt, work on the foundations can continue! 
I managed to get the site flat, with just a little bit left to dig out, which I can take care of next weekend. Unfortunately, the wet weather has made my formwork timber go a bit wonky, but that's not really surprising since I haven't actually pegged it in yet. At least I know my levels are right though.

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## Bloss

> Dirt is big!

  Common mistake for novices - usually you have to double the volume and add a bit more when working out the disposable volume of an excavation as you are aerating it considerably as you dig it out. Your work looks to be coming along well too.  :2thumbsup:  
Be sure to support those form boards well - under-estimating the weight & force of concrete is another common error of DIYers (and even many tradies). Better to have too many pegs than too few - if it starts to deform under the weight of the wet concrete you will not get it straight. You have the house wall to brace from on that side, but you need to use some angled struts out to some pegs against some waling boards (or just plenty of pegs with a brace at 45 degrees from top out to another peg in the ground) on the other edge and sides. 
For your pour you need mates, gum boots & garden rakes to spread the concrete. For a shed like that I would have a rebated ledge around the edge so that the walls sit down below the floor level - achieved by just having a suitably sized batten running all around the inside top edge of the form, but no doubt you are using plans for the slab that suit whatever style of shed you are building.

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## atregent

Once I've pegged all the formwork in place and reinforced it, I was planning on backfilling it with any left over sand, since it's mostly lower than ground level at the moment. 
I am indeed working of plans. The end result will be a timber frame, weatherboard clad, colorbond roof workshop! (Hopefully!)

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## atregent

I have a couple of other projects on the go at the moment, so things have been going a bit slowly with the workshop.  I managed to finish levelling out the site last weekend, I can't begin to describe how happy I am that that part is finally done.   Now I can turn my attention to straightening up the formwork. I only managed to get two of the sides sorted today, but it's all progress I suppose!   I'm almost 100% sure that it's all level, and the corners are in the right spot to make it square, but I can finalise all that next weekend.

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## atregent

I actually feel like I'm getting somewhere now!  
The formwork is all pegged into place, straight and level. I'm 10mm out across the diagonals, but I don't think that's enough to warrant unpegging things for. Trenches for the edge beams are all dug out to specification, and the levelling sand is starting to go down, which I will be able to finish next weekend (I didn't have quite enough, I suspect the meter that I bought was a bit on the light side, but that's not such a bad thing, my car was struggling a little with what I had) 
I also ventured out to buy all the reinforcing mesh, chairs, and other bits and pieces. That's being delivered during the week, but I can't put that down until the first inspection is done, so that will have to wait till the following weekend.

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## atregent

I picked up the rest of the packing sand that I needed yesterday, and I think I'm finally ready for inspection number one!  All my reinforcing steel arrived during the week too, so if all goes well with inspection number one, it'll just be a matter of placing the reo, then it's time for inspection number two.  Concrete will go down, hopefully, on October 18th (first saturday after payday!). I still need to add some more bracing to the top of the formwork so that it doesn't blow out when the concrete goes in, but that'll have to wait till next weekend.  I decided that I should also put up some barrier mesh to stop my new best friend from doing his own excavations. We rescued a dog from the RSPCA a couple of weeks ago, and he really likes to 'help out' in the garden...

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## atregent

First inspection done and passed!!   :2thumbsup:   The inspector turned up, had a look at the site, took a walk around the trenches for the edge beams, and announced "yep, that all looks good". Took a total of about a minute!  Now I REALLY feel like I'm making some progress  :Biggrin:

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## atregent

Had a productive day on Saturday, got the polythene and reinforcing all in place. I'm finally starting to get a feel for how big it's going to be.  Laying the polythene was a bit trickier than I thought it would be, the plastic is quite thick (200um) and stiff when it's cold. That makes it kinda hard to wrap into the corners neatly. It's also hard when half of the site is in the sun which softens up the plastic and makes it expand. Once I got it all down, the dog decided to get excited and run right across the middle of it, leaving a number of groupings of claw holes.   The steel was pretty easy to get in place, only punctured the plastic in a couple of places, a few more pieces of tape sorted that out though. I'm hoping that having the steel in place will deter the dog from exploring it, I didn't get around to putting the barrier plastic back up.  So now everything is in place, sealed up, and slowly filling with rain....

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## atregent

Second inspection: Complete and passed!  I'm pretty sure it was even quicker than the first one. He had a quick walk around the reo, and proclaimed "that all looks good, it's not going anywhere"  So I'm all ready for concrete!

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## atregent

After having greatly underestimated the physical effort involved (and perhaps greatly overestimated how fit I am), the concrete is done.   Unfortunately, by the time I got to the end (which will actually be the front) of the slab, I was running on about 2% energy and things were starting to set up. Final result is that I'm not overly happy with the finish.  I figure I have a couple of options (possibly more).  1. Hire someone who does concrete polishing to take a smidge off the top and smooth things out. Or 2. Get some sort of self levelling stuff and let it do it's thing.  There's pros and cons to both. If I go the concrete polisher, it will be smooth, but not necessarily level, and probably not cheap. The self levelling stuff will, I assume, be level and smooth, but may not take the punnishment of a workshop floor.  Does anyone else have some other suggestions, or comments about the two options I have come up with?

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## Metal Head

Hi Anthony, 
I just came across your thread by chance but I appreciate the time and pictures you have supplied along the way :2thumbsup: . I will certainly now be following its progress until its eventual conclusion. It certainly given me food for thought given that I have similar things to do in the coming year, so it will be beneficial to learn from your experiences both good and bad :Wink: . 
Cheers
MH (Who Lives In The Northern Suburbs)

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## zacnelson

What was the problem?  Did you have a concrete truck deliver the concrete, or did you mix it yourself?  I'm surprised that it had started setting before you were finished...  
I'd be interested to know a little more about the details of the pouring/screeding/float/trowelling, your experiences could prove very helpful for the rest of us

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## Ronaldo451

_Final result is that I'm not overly happy with the finish_  I am a perfectionist until I have to move on to the next task, ie I do the best I can until the effort is rewarded with increasingly diminished returns. Once you start to get the walls up, roof on and workhop fitted out I reckon you current misgivings about the floor will subside as you face new challenges and excitement in the following stages...its just the floor and its significance will decrease as you have other things to occupy your thoughts.   That said, if it continues to really be an annoyance, can you put some sort of covering (that is easy to sweep and keep clean) over it - vinyl, floorboards, masonite?

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## atregent

I think I'm finally ready to talk about it  :Rolleyes:   I got the concrete premixed from Boral (who I am very happy to recommend, the driver of the first truck even grabbed a shovel and helped me spread it out a bit!). I needed 4m3 in total, in two deliveries of 2m3 (that's as much as will fit in a mini mix truck, and that's as big a truck as will fit up the driveway).  Looking back, there's a couple of things I would have done differently. I requested the trucks come about 30 mins apart, 60-90 mins would have been more realistic. I also should have asked for the mix to be a little bit wetter, so I had a bit more time to spread it. Oh, and a decent breakfast.  My screed rail was a 4.2m long piece of framing pine, which covered the entire width of the slab. I also picked up an electric vibrator off eBay quite cheap and hired a bull float for the weekend. It all started out quite well, concrete placed, vibrated, screeded and floated. Then the day started to heat up, I started to slow down, and things started to get harder. By the end of it, I could harly move!  It's all covered up at the moment curing, so I guess I'll see how bad the finish is next weekend when I unwrap it and remove the formwork. My initial thoughts are to continue with the construction and lay some self levelling compound when I'm finished.

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## kombiman

some of the self leveling compounds are 80 mpa, much harder than concrete.  My only comment from using them is that they are hell slippery when wet.  Then falling @@@@ up onto concrete is not to be recommended,  I have been since told that white sand can be mixed in to aid traction.  I just laid carpet over it.

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## atregent

80mpa, that's huge! I think that may end up costing a bit though, I've been searching through the forums and it seems that self levelling compound is somewhere between $30 and $50 a bag. To get a 5mm layer will take about 10 bags... 
I did have another though though. I could add a 15-20mm strip of timber around the top of the formwork, mix up a few barrow loads of cement (or concrete with a fine aggregate), pour it in, screed it out, and hope for the best. Does that sound like a terrible idea?

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## raff

> 80mpa, that's huge! I think that may end up costing a bit though, I've been searching through the forums and it seems that self levelling compound is somewhere between $30 and $50 a bag. To get a 5mm layer will take about 10 bags... 
> I did have another though though. I could add a 15-20mm strip of timber around the top of the formwork, mix up a few barrow loads of cement (or concrete with a fine aggregate), pour it in, screed it out, and hope for the best. Does that sound like a terrible idea?

  I wouldnt! A 15-20mm mix of 'normal' mpa concrete onto existing already set concrete will crack in no time imo! It would also be hard to screed such a small depth over a wide distance without breaking it up into sections. 
I would be grinding rather than adding if anything. Either way to get a smooth and level surface wont be cheap not matter what you do.  :Doh:  
Tackling 4 cu m solo is a huge effort- way too much for one bloke imo! I laid 4cu m in pathways and got 2 mates and a couple of decent bull floats and the job was still a big few hours. 
I guess plan out which part of the floor will be used (ie- not covered by benches etc) and see if it really worth the cost.  
If it is level enough and just a bit of a rough surface perhaps consider tiling or flag pavers on a small bed of sand if really desparate??

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## PlasterPro

Great thread *atregent*
love the effort your going to giving us warts and all reports!
seems like fun

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## PlasterPro

> For a shed like that I would have a rebated ledge around the edge so that the walls sit down below the floor level - achieved by just having a suitably sized batten running all around the inside top edge of the form, but no doubt you are using plans for the slab that suit whatever style of shed you are building.

  old boss could you please add some further explainition (for the mentally challenged :Confused: )
as what I take it to mean is have a piece of timber at a 90 degree angle to the formwork the try to fill up and under it? doesn`t seem right I must be missing something.
cheers

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## jatt

Mate I did a 6 x 5 metre slab with a mate last year.  Day was cold, so it took ages to set.  Got to the point where I was loosing the lite, so just left it.  Its flat enuf for the job, the shed is on top.  Not a brillant job, but after running a few cars over it, most folks probably wouldnt notice the imperfections.  Its a shed, I'm sure u will soon damage the surface enuf with wear & tear.

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## atregent

> old boss could you please add some further explainition (for the mentally challenged)
> as what I take it to mean is have a piece of timber at a 90 degree angle to the formwork the try to fill up and under it? doesn`t seem right I must be missing something.
> cheers

  Your mental image is right. It means the walls of the shed sit just below the finished level of the floor, so it makes it a lot harder for any water to get in. The concrete will fill up underneath easily enough with some well directed shovel jiggling, even better if you use a concrete vibrator.

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## PlasterPro

> Your mental image is right. It means the walls of the shed sit just below the finished level of the floor, so it makes it a lot harder for any water to get in. The concrete will fill up underneath easily enough with some well directed shovel jiggling, even better if you use a concrete vibrator.

  cheers 
thought it would be hard to get concrete up and under, but guess not. thanks again.

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## atregent

Well, I unwrapped the slab and removed the formwork this weekend. I would say that I'm about 70% happy with it. 
There's a few dodgy patches, but overall, it's reasonably flat and quite level. I was thinking about hiring a concrete polisher/grinder thing on the weekend and giving it a once over. I was planning on painting it anyway, so as long as I can find something suitable to fill the rough spots, it should come up ok. Hopefully. 
(the wonky old clothes line all but gone too, I just need to dig out it's 'stump')

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## atregent

I hired a concrete grinder and gave it my best. I'm pleased to say that it was quite easy and I'm quite happy with the results! 
It did take a while, maybe 2 or 3 hours to do, but the guys at the hire shop did tell me it was a slow process. At least by being a slow process, there's less chance of making things worse. There are still a few low points, but I don't really want to take any more off. I can sort that out with something when the job's done and I'm ready to paint it. 
The down side is, I now have a wheelbarrow full of very fine concrete dust that I need to get rid of somehow...

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## atregent

After much searching, I finally managed to find a yard that had the MGP12 timber that I was looking for. It was on the other side of town, but compared to the prices I was quoted around here, I'm not complaining! Ended up costing $3.50/lm. And a big thanks to the guys at Mahoneys Timber in Campbellfield, who bundled up the timber I needed, strapped it, and loaded it on to my trailer. 
The only hiccup I had was on Sunday afternoon when my good ol' GMC nail gun sprung a leak. I pulled it apart, wiped it out a bit, put it back together and back into action! Must've just had a bit of crud in one of the seals or something. If not for the thread I stripped, it would have been completely painless... 
And, I've decided that I'm going to use some sort of timber sheet for the flooring, much kinder to my feet and any tool that might get dropped on it. Not sure if I should put it down first and put the frame on it, or wait till I'm done and lay it inside the frame.

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## zacnelson

Your framing looks to be very neatly built

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## atregent

Thanks. I spent many hours planing it out and drawing it up in a cad program. Definately time well spent, as I was able to refer to the drawings, measure and cut all the timber to length (and angle for the end wall), then assemble in one go.

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## AIRMAN

What are you cladding it with? I'm guessing your going to clad the back wall prior to putting it up as that gap between your shed and what I assume is the neighbors shed doesn't look big enough to fit down.

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## atregent

The back wall is about 150mm from the neighbours garage, so I'll be finishing it on the ground then standing it up in place. For the back wall I was going to use 6mm Durasheet or 7.5mm Duratex. I'm not sure the extra for Duratex would be worth it though, as it's pretty well protected. Having said that, I'm waiting for a return phone call with pricing of both options, so if it's not too much more, I may as well go the extra 1.5mm. 
I haven't quite decided on the cladding for the rest of it. We're planning some more renos to the house and will be recladding it and want to use the same product, so it's a decision we need to be 100% happy with. At the moment I'm leaning toward something like Scyon Linea fiber cement weatherboard.

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## atregent

Didn't get much done this weekend, the weather was terrible (actually, the rain was really good, so I shouldn't complain).  The back wall is finished and ready to be lifted into place. I ended up going with the 7.5mm duratex, it was only a couple of dollars more per sheet than the 6mm duratex. The joins have been sealed and a couple of thick coats of paint applied.  Now all I need is the local footy club to help me lift it up. I really underestimated how heavy it would be.

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## atregent

So the back wall proved to be even heavier than I though. A couple of friends came around on Friday night to give me a hand to lift it up, but it was even too heavy for that.  After a bit of Googling, I came up with the solution. A wall lift jack. The one I saw on youtube had an electric motor on the top, but I opted for a simpler option and bought a manual boat winch. There were a few initial setup issues, but once I got that ironed out, it was plain sailing. Quite proud of myself actually!  All that remains of the wall framing is a few bits a pieces here and there, make sure everything is square and plumb, then I can anchor it to the slab and move on to the roof.

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## atregent

It's been a while since anything much of note has happened (something about Christmas), but it's starting to look like a workshop now! 
With the wall framing done, it was time to move on to the roof. I had a cunning plan. Once the rafters were all cut to length, notched and attached, I nailed some sheets of ply on top. Primarily to make it a but weatherproof, but will also give me a better looking ceiling once the Colorbond goes on. 
The door is only temporary. I started off with a tarp strung across it, but it kept flapping about in the wind and drove me crazy.  
Between the ply and the foil wrap (and some clear plastic where the window goes), it feels like a real workshop from the inside. I've even put it to a bit of use, making some cabinets for the study. 
I've got a few little bits of framing left to do, then it's on to the roof and cladding. 
And a window. Which should probably go in before the weatherboards go on...

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## kombiman

Out of interest I reckon it would have been best to go flush with the neighbour, if allowed.  That clearance doesnt allow for any access if something nests or dies there.

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## atregent

I assume that was as close as I was allowed to go with the construction type I chose. Any closer and I'd've been digging into the neighbours foundations (I guess being neat with your concrete is optional) There's about 175mm gap, so enough room to get a big stick down there if I need to get something out.

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## Uncle Bob

> Out of interest I reckon it would have been best to go flush with the neighbour, if allowed.  That clearance doesnt allow for any access if something nests or dies there.

  That's what I would've done, just to save on the expense of the materials.
Looks great though mate, you're doing a Sterling job there.

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## blak

Great thread mate and great looking shed.
Im so envious!
Ive got the DA approved for mine, but currently snagged on the building permit.

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## astroADF

Terrific thread! Keep us posted; I'm keen to see the end result.

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## atregent

Thanks for the words of encouragement, it's starting to feel like I'll never get it finished. I've started doing a drafting course and that takes up most of my spare time these days. 
When I think about it, there's only about 4 things left to tick off the list: Window, Doors, Cladding, and a roof. 
The roof is going to be the big one, I've been given a rough ballpark of $2500 for supply, install, and connect the stormwater. But, I suppose I really should get that done sooner rather than later, especially with winter coming (not that it ever rains in Melbourne any more...)

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## atregent

It's been a while, but I finally made some more progress on the workshop.  The weatherboards are BGC NuLine fibre cement. At 14mm, they're quite a bit thicker than other boards, but I think they were worth the extra money, and the workshop is a sort of prototype for the exterior renovation of the house.  The only issue with them is the cutting. I bought a fibre-cut blade, but soon realised that was not designed to cut sheets that thick. Cut a couple of boards with an old hand saw, which is about as many as it could handle. Ended up using my tile cutter, worked a treat, and because it's a wet saw, it kept the dust at bay.  Originally I was going to get a double glazed window, but that was going to cost far to much, so I ended up getting a simple aluminium frame, 6mm toughened glass number from Stegbar.  Slowly, but surely, I'm getting there....

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## Vernonv

Anthony,
What sort of blade did you use in the wet saw?

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## atregent

It's a little GMC number, I just used the blade that came with it, so I assume it's nothing special, just a cheapo tile cutting blade.

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## Vernonv

> It's a little GMC number, I just used the blade that came with it, so I assume it's nothing special, just a cheapo tile cutting blade.

  Ok, so is it a continuous rim diamond blade?

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## atregent

That sounds about right. It does the job really well. The only challenge is to slide a 4.2m long plank through the blade without jamming the motor...

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## rod1949

Looks like you have been having a good time and learning a few things on the way.  But I haven't read anything pertaining to white ant treatment in either chemical or physical barriers.  Has anything been done?

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## atregent

I hadn't actually thought about that to be honest, there was no mention of it in the plans. 
But, flicking through the BCA, having a 75mm exposed slab edge is considered an acceptible barrier, so I'm in the clear!

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## rod1949

Well goodluck mate cause as soon as you turn your back they will be up the side of the slab and having a good time and then when the slab develops a crack they'll be in like flynn and then theres the wall against the other property that you can't see.  Sorry I don't mean to be a kill joy.

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## atregent

Are termites that much of an issue in my area? If they are, we potentially have bigger issues ahead of us, since there's nothing that I can see in the way of protection for the house. We had it checked out before we bought it four years ago, and they said we were fine. Haven't really given it any thought since then.

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## rod1949

Now dont take this the wrong way, but surely youre not that naive to thing your location is immune from termites? They move through the soil and can/do strike any where they please. Its a risk we all live with.   An example is, last week I was at a mates industrial workshop complex (he owns) concrete floors and concrete tilt up walls. He had just finished demolishing an internal office (timber framed). The timber was riddled with termite attack. I said to him it looks like they beat you he said yes they came up through a dyna bolt and being an industrial building he didnt have any termite treatment done before the slab was poured.

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## atregent

I don't for one minute think that I am immune from anything, but, as with everything, I would imagine that some areas are more prone to attack than others. 
Given that there was no mention of termite control in the approved plans, and that I fall under the BCAs definition of acceptable barriers, I should be alert, but not alarmed.

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