me again!

[thekingiam]

i was wondering what to use to pack around the edges of earthing pit, obviously not all the crap i have dug up.
some peat of a kind? which type would be best? or just get the job done.

 

[Guitarist]

Pea shingle would be good. Will allow water down the hole too.

 

[Strima]

It looks to me like it's mainly ballast and concrete so like for like when replacing it. If you start packing 'peat' in after a bit of rain and a couple of weeks it will have disappeared into the hole leaving you wide open for a personal injury claim when granny visits, trips over it and breaks her hip.

3x ballast, 2x sharp sand and 1x cement should give you a good enough mix to fill that.

 

[Swicade]

As Strima says concrete it back in. Anything else (peat/soil/peagravel/etc) will overtime sink leaveing a trip hazard.

 

[thekingiam]

its my familys property so no chance of a claim for tripping etc. i would rather a better earth protection and can always top up with pea shingle.
if it starts becoming a problem i could always fill in later on.

 

[alarm man]

depends on what the finished area will be id just fill in with concrete to keep the pit secure,nice job by the way.

 

[Strima]

its my familys property so no chance of a claim for tripping etc. i would rather a better earth protection and can always top up with pea shingle.
if it starts becoming a problem i could always fill in later on.

Don't be too sure.

Although you may not seem concerned you have weakened the path and over time it very well may start to collapse around the edges, also water ingress close to the building will, again over time, start to soften the earth in turn effecting the foundations. I would urge you to rethink it.

 

[Swicade]

Claim or not i'd be more concerned by leaveing a job with a potential trip hazard in a pathway.

Pea gravel will allow water down the hole but i fail to see what real benefit this would be (as from the quality of the job i'd assume you've got the best earth you can get abit of water wont help that much).

At least it concreted and left in the same condition (path wise) as it was before you put the pit you'll no for sure there's no future trip hazard at all.

Another way to look at it is would your part P assesssor be happy if he saw a trip hazard sat there around the pit?

 

[madseb]

in this situation i would have to do like for like, and drop some cement around the surrounding edge. would blend it in with the rest of the surface.
also the regs state that the earth electordes, should be protected against soil drying and freezing.

im sure that a concrete shield would help to insulate against this.

 

[Guitarist]

Not sure why everyone is obsessing about an alleged trip hazard. It is against a building, and besides, every house I've ever owned/visited has had literally dozens of levels in the garden and pathways including flowerbeds, brickweave paths, patios, raised beds, drain covers....
Pea shingle filled to the level of the concrete won't create a hazard any more than having gravel on your drive!!!

 

[cbw]

Why would a concrete 'shield' protect from drying out of the rod???

Quite the oposite in my mind......

I like the idea of a bit of pea shingle.

 

[madseb]

but a bag of concrete probably costs what a couple of bags of pea shingle cost? and takes as much time to make good after packing/compressing?

 

[cbw]

But drys the rod out..........................................

 

[madseb]

wel my theory is that pea shingle would allow voids within the plastic outer casing of the earth rod ispection pit to be compromised.
as concrete is self leveling and would push all air to the surface when compacted and leveled out.
in turn the only moisture would be able to get in through the access panel. (apart from the actuall earth rod itself)

or am i reading to far into this.

personall preferance i would concrete it back in.

 

[madseb]

ive completely read that wrong i do applogise. i blame the magners

 

[Guitarist]

Btw, I'm not against concreting it in. Was just a quick thought that if you tidy up the edges and wack a bag of shingle in, it would allow water in whilst allowing further maintenance if necessary.

 

[madseb]

in that case my solution would be to do what had first had crossed my mind (although after reading the regs and interpriting them incorectly) i would fill with pea shingle and cap with concrete to keep the cosmetic appeal of the driveway aswell as allowing for moisture to saturate the earth rod, and prevent it from drying out.


ill admit when im worng, every days a school day..
also dont deal with tt systems much, so forgive my ignorance.

 

[jimmymac]

My biggest concern is that the shovel is a 'trip hazard'.....

 

[Swicade]

Surely the length of the earth rod cancel's out any concerns about drying out?

as always pro's and cons with everything and no hard set rules (as usual) so we all do things in different ways.

 

[Knobhead]

Good point Swicade,
I hope it’s not one of the dreaded “twigs”. At a good depth drying out shouldn’t be a problem so could be made good with concrete. Not so deep then you will need something pervious.