Poxy Weather

[Smiffy]

Up in Buckinghamshire was very surprised to find the water table about a meter down.
Sussex a couple of weeks ago and 1.5m trenches where drying out what little moisture was in the clay so fast that if you didn't dig to the correct depth in one go you had a 300mm solid crust in the bottom of the trench on day 2

 

[Giles]

Ordered these for lads, will likely rain from now on….

 

[V8Druid]

Ordered these for lads, will likely rain from now on….

and stick 'em under the tap every hour or so .... the evaporation'll cool them

 

[V8Druid]

31 in the shade here ... been like it last three days - 28 before that .... waaaaaaay too hot for a Druid - even a healthy one ... 's killing me ATM

 

[V8Druid]

Likewise here in NE Essex - top 1m or so (usually clay and sandy loam) is rock hard and dry.
A few days ago, I had to dig a hole to bury a horse ready for when the vet is called....
....knowing how tough it was going to be for my mini, I set aside a whole day.
But got it ready by lunchtime after hitting slightly moist stuff below about 1.7m
BUT my biggest concern is the Wild Fire Risk
Met Office Warning
Many of our neighbours have got overgrown poxy conifer type hedges right up to their sheds and houses

will go up like Roman candles, with a bit of flame

 

[Giles]

Kerbing all day in direct sun brutal

New rock awning just arrived so if this heatwave continues we’ve got some shade

 

[DaveDCB]

Kerbing all day in direct sun brutal

New rock awning just arrived so if this heatwave continues we’ve got some shade

You had the comedy act (short and tall) on the walls? Been considering a gazebo to keep us out of the sun/rain.. the last one we had up on a windy day ended up 3lifts up on the scaffold

 

[bobthebuilder]

Kerbing all day in direct sun brutal

New rock awning just arrived so if this heatwave continues we’ve got some shade

not being funny ,but will the concrete be alright ? ie dry before it sets ?
we try to keep away from mixing stuff in this weather as it fails normally

 

[Giles]

You had the comedy act (short and tall) on the walls? Been considering a gazebo to keep us out of the sun/rain.. the last one we had up on a windy day ended up 3lifts up on the scaffold

Trust volunteers taking for ever on walls not Tom and joe, my lads would have done it in 2 weeks vs 15 or so now,

 

[Giles]

not being funny ,but will the concrete be alright ? ie dry before it sets ?
we try to keep away from mixing stuff in this weather as it fails normally

Dry before it Sets?

No it’ll be fine we kept it moist and sprayed it with water. Only kerb haunch, volumetric dropped it at 7am was setting up by 9 lol 3m3 was a bit ambitious ended up using some as mot on road base

 

[bobthebuilder]

Cement needs moisture to set ,in hot weather the moisture evaporates very quickly .thus the concrete /mortar or whatever mix you use drys before it sets

 

[DaveDCB]

Let’s use the correct terminology… concrete ‘cures’ not ‘sets’

 

[Bri963]

Let’s use the correct terminology… concrete ‘cures’ not ‘sets’

It sets, then it cures - hence “quick setting” cement.

 

[Canal Navvy]

It sets, then it cures - hence “quick setting” cement.

And if the initial set is interrupted by drying out or freezing the cured strength will never be as good as it should have been ( a non fully hydrated bond is theoretically stronger but the difficulty of compaction negates this)

 

[Smiffy]

And if the initial set is interrupted by drying out or freezing the cured strength will never be as good as it should have been ( a non fully hydrated bond is theoretically stronger but the difficulty of compaction negates this)

Kerb mix is never wet enough to properly set anyway though it goes hard but is always crumbly. And add the fact every time it starts getting hard you knock it about with the machine once it has already started its initial set.
Added to that in the winter we have been known not to add any water at all as it will set hard enough off the moisture in the ground and if you add water combined with rain and puddles you end up watching all the cement run down the road and trying to pay kerbs on wet ballast

 

[bobthebuilder]

Let’s use the correct terminology… concrete ‘cures’ not ‘sets’

smartarse

 

[Giles]

It’s a splay on national trust holiday let not m1 if the Chelsea tractors can’t navigate 10m wide one way track Then I’ll redo them. We kept them moist and added extra water to the mix and as we left wet everything down again

 

[Lynchy]

Three or four inches of rain,thunder, lightning,not best time to be on pontoon in canal,roads flooded through north London,same as last year,drains blocked

 

[V8Druid]

BIL doing his bathroom ATM .... put the old bath outside and had a down pour for an hour Monday evening ... 90+mm of rain in said bath after the deluge .... major flooding in his area in the aftermath.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Have to say I'm surprised...had a drop on Sunday .nowt since... Still green as anything tho so no complaints. Could just do with a nights worth to set the grass off for 4th cut tho..