Thursday was my allocated day to finish the concrete cover on the Bio-digester dome and I woke up to another rainy day! Having more than once called myself a resourceful chappie I got to and set up a tarp to cover the bio-digester so that I could proceed regardless.
The applying of the concrete to finish covering the dome.
Between the showers and four mixes later Im pretty happy with the end result. I will need to make up a cement render mix to tidy up the edge. This will be easier and be a more presentable finish than trying to do it with with the concrete mix.
I felt that doing the pour without a formwork was going to be easier than setting up a formwork.Its a bit of a wobbly edged curve! I used a 45 mm piece of timber to gauge the concrete depth as I worked my way around.
The finished pour nicely smoothed off.
I was lucky that the rains were steady and there was minimal wind so we ended up with successful finish and no disaster. Mind you I was stressing and am still hoping that its not too heavy for the dome.That would be a big disaster!! Its okay Tom- concrete is stronger under compression. Time will tell.
all good, Tom
©2016 Tom Kendall; permeco.org, incorporating Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast, simplicity, permaculture, self reliance and homesteading, bio-digster concrete pour.
Author: Tom Kendall
Tom is a lifelong agriculturalist and co-founder of the Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast Inc. His site "Maungaraeeda" is a Permaculture Demonstration and Education Site. He is a Permaculture Educator and Consultant, and has a wealth of knowledge about how to be truly sustainable. Water management strategies, alternative fuel generation, animal systems and numerous other Permaculture Designed Solutions are his speciality.