Garden gym advice

[AF11]

I have a 4x4m decking area which I never use so I’ve decided to build a gym on it (timber frame).

I’ve been quoted around £1k to fill the 22cm deep void with concrete and rebar.

I can’t help feeling that it’s totally overkill. Do I really need a slab of concrete almost 1ft thick for a simple home gym?

[bennno]

Advice would be to

Make it smaller than 4x4 metres
To keep the height below 2.5m
To keep it at least a metre from your boundary

Without those (+more) it will need planning and / or building regs.

[AF11]

Currently failing on all of those points!!

My garden is rectangle and the decking is in the corner, so it borders 2 neighbours fences. It’s not possible to locate it anywhere else, certainly not 1m away from both fences.

I already have a metal gazebo that’s been there for years without any issues. The area doesn’t block any sunlight or views apart from into my own garden.

Edited by AF11 on Thursday 20th June 21:11

Edited by AF11 on Thursday 20th June 21:30

[bennno]

In which case it’ll need planning and building regs, plus it’ll have to be made of substantially non combustible materials.

There’s a famous thread on here that was very similar and ended up in tears.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common...

[AF11]

Thanks, to be honest I would have made sure it complied with regs before I built it.

I can’t situate it away from the boundary so I have no option but to comply with whatever the rules happen to be.

For now however I just need to know about the foundations. Once that is done I can build the structure in line with the regulations (with or without planning depending on size).

[bennno]

If anything 22cm is a bit thin, about 4m of readymix is £450-500, plus reinforcement grid will be £100-£120.

Plus shuttering, plus prep time, can a mixer pour directly, or does it all need to be barrowed? Takes time to smooth it.

[Promised Land]

220mm is not nearly a foot, it is nearer 9 inches.

Standard slabs are between 150-200mm so it is not overkill as such and in places will probably be nearer 200mm.

But you're not just paying for concrete and reinforcing, you have materials for shuttering and also time to build it, then pour the concrete, access? How far from the kerb side are they taking it, or is it pumped in for that price.

Then hanging around for hours waiting to get a float finish on it. then striking the shutter a day or two later and taking everything away from site, skip?

Can one be sited on your property or is a licence needed for a roadside spot.

I would say from being in the trade it is not a bad quote at all.

[AF11]

Apologies I should have been clearer.

The £1k is just for the concrete and rebar, although it does include pumping.

Everything else such as waste, waiting around etc is covered by a seperate labour charge. So the £1k is purely for the actual concrete itself.

[Onespeeder]

Be a bit careful here.

If you need to comply with building regulations then the foundations will need to comply as a very significant part of that. To do that they will have to take into account the bearing capacity of the bearing strata, the loads imposed by the building, whether or not insulation will be needed (my guess is that it will unless you have an unheated gym and may be even then), the proximity of trees etc.. This is entirely sensible as you will not want to erect a building that then fails in the (near) future.

I am not an engineer but a 220 mm flat slab without edge beams does not feel to me likely to comply although I know nothing of the loads or ground. I think that some advice from a structural engineer before spending thousands would be wise.

[AF11]

Thanks, I will get all of that checked out.

Ultimately I don’t mind paying for the concrete if it’s necessary but my first thoughts were that it’s overkill.

I should add that I’m not planning on building some elaborate solid structure. It will essentially be a couple of steps up from a shed.

Edited by AF11 on Thursday 20th June 23:43

[sherman]

Your neighbours will hate you everytime you drop your weights in your shed on to a concrete floor.
The noise willbe something you need to consider.

[LooneyTunes]

AF11 said:

Apologies I should have been clearer.

The £1k is just for the concrete and rebar, although it does include pumping.

Everything else such as waste, waiting around etc is covered by a seperate labour charge. So the £1k is purely for the actual concrete itself.

If there’s some MOT1 sub base going down you’re not going to end up with 220mm of concrete. But you probably don’t need it anyway, especially if there’s rebar going in.

16m2 @150mm = 2.6 cubic metres. Based on last week’s invoice that’s cost me £330+ vat on a volumetric delivery for c40.

Pumping that amount (even if it was 4 cube) is a bit of a mickey take unless the land is really awkward. Wouldn’t take long to barrow.

Two sheets of A193 mesh is probably £60-70 + vat?

You’d probably pay a bit more if you don’t have accounts with builders merchants but it looks like there’s a bit of margin being added to the materials you’ve been quoted.

[NumBMW]

sherman said:

Your neighbours will hate you everytime you drop your weights in your shed on to a concrete floor.
The noise willbe something you need to consider.

I’d guess the floor will be covered!
Gym matting is excellent at reducing such noise.

[Boom78]

Question: why do you need an expensive and very permanent reinforced concrete slab put down for an outdoor gym? Sounds like overkill.

Couldn’t you just level and patio the area? That way it’s multi use and if you get bored of the gym it can be used for sipping cold summer drinks instead. A patio could easily handle 100kg+ bench set up, machines and free weights.

[sherman]

NumBMW said:

sherman said:

Your neighbours will hate you everytime you drop your weights in your shed on to a concrete floor.
The noise willbe something you need to consider.

I’d guess the floor will be covered!
Gym matting is excellent at reducing such noise.

Not in a shed

[smokey mow]

AF11 said:

I should add that I’m not planning on building some elaborate solid structure. It will essentially be a couple of steps up from a shed.

Then design it so that it is exempt from the Building Regulation.

What you might consider it to be may not necessarily agree with what the building regulations require you to do. the regulations only consider one standard of construction and posh shed isn’t it.

[AF11]

NumBMW said:

sherman said:

Your neighbours will hate you everytime you drop your weights in your shed on to a concrete floor.
The noise willbe something you need to consider.

I’d guess the floor will be covered!
Gym matting is excellent at reducing such noise.

That’s correct, concrete will be fully covered with insulation and matting, and sealed around the edges where the frame meets.

[AF11]

LooneyTunes said:

If there’s some MOT1 sub base going down you’re not going to end up with 220mm of concrete. But you probably don’t need it anyway, especially if there’s rebar going in.

16m2 @150mm = 2.6 cubic metres. Based on last week’s invoice that’s cost me £330+ vat on a volumetric delivery for c40.

Pumping that amount (even if it was 4 cube) is a bit of a mickey take unless the land is really awkward. Wouldn’t take long to barrow.

Two sheets of A193 mesh is probably £60-70 + vat?

You’d probably pay a bit more if you don’t have accounts with builders merchants but it looks like there’s a bit of margin being added to the materials you’ve been quoted.

He’s filling only with concrete as far as I’m away, it works out just under 4m3. It was his suggestion to pump it if possible to speed things up.

He’s also using rebar rather than mesh, which I think is different and more expensive.

[AF11]

Boom78 said:

Question: why do you need an expensive and very permanent reinforced concrete slab put down for an outdoor gym? Sounds like overkill.

Couldn’t you just level and patio the area? That way it’s multi use and if you get bored of the gym it can be used for sipping cold summer drinks instead. A patio could easily handle 100kg+ bench set up, machines and free weights.

My decking has rotted so I want to remove and fill the area in anyway, might as well make it solid so I can use it for anything in future. It has to be covered as well due to uk weather, so some type of wood building makes sense.

[Promised Land]

AF11 said:

My decking has rotted so I want to remove and fill the area in anyway, might as well make it solid so I can use it for anything in future. It has to be covered as well due to uk weather, so some type of wood building makes sense.

You’ll still need a layer of mot1 under your slab though, so probably help you to put that in so you only require 150mm of the grey stuff, then get a mix it on site wagon so you don’t have any other to get rid off after.