First concrete transitions at Downside DIY

Downside DIY / Winter 2023–24

First
Transitions

Concrete quarter / DIY buildScroll ↓

01 / The first attempt

The first attempt at some concrete transitions was made towards the end of 2023. We started with ply shuttering, reclaimed landscape gardener waste and block work.

Mix.
Trowel.
Skate.

First transitionsDownside DIY

02 / The structure

The coping had some welded anchor bolts to tie it into the rebar structure, and then the final surface was added beginning of January 2024, just as the weather got proper frosty.

Concrete was mixed with shovels on a ply sheet, everyone chipped in their knowledge and past experience.

StartedLate 2023

SurfaceJanuary 2024

StructureRebar + block work

ConcreteMixed by hand

03 / The finish

We all had a go at troweling and polishing the surface, aiming to keep the radius even and smooth. The results were pretty good.

It was cold and winter, but now we had our first bit of undercover transition to skate.

04 / What we learned

Looking back, the transition is probably tighter and steeper than we had envisaged, but that made it more fun and more of a challenge.

Some ridiculous things have been done, the surface has needed some repairs, but was a great project. A first for most. What’s next?!

Build
log

10 images

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FirstTransitions

Buildlog

First
Transitions

Build
log