Here are ten contractor tips that will help your pour go smoothly.
- Order concrete at least 2 days in advance (when ordering 100+ yards, let dispatch know several days in advance). Order an extra 10% of concrete in anticipation of uneven ground, spillage, or expansion of forms.
- Be prepared to give detailed directions – street address, zip code, cross streets, phone number, remember to include special instructions, for example backing in or heading in, and landmarks.
- If there is a change in the order or slow down on the jobsite please notify dispatch at least one in a half hours in advance.
- Do not use excess water to create a higher slump mixture this could result in cracking. Ask dispatch for water reducer to create a higher slump, better concrete, and to maximize strength and durability.
- Have one person in charge of giving directions and helping trucks back into the jobsite.
- When driver arrives to jobsite make sure you communicate any unusual ground specifications (examples-soft road, drain field, low wires) and confirm hand signals for the pour. We only guarantee delivery at the curb line, delivery over the curb line is the owner’s responsibility.
- When pouring exterior flatwork, it is a good idea to use a 4000 psi air entrained concrete mix.
- Always cure the concrete, ask dispatch about more details. Proper Curing methods are the final step for a long lasting durable project.
- Stay off slab for 3 days, or as determined by mix design and or prepared subgrade and weather.
- When cutting joints in the flatwork, remember to make squares, not rectangles, whenever possible and that each cut should be 2 ½ feet apart for each inch of thickness (if the slab is 4 inches deep like the typical slab, a joint should be cut every 10 feet; the depth of the cut or controlled joint must be a ¼ inch of the depth of the slab; for example if the slab is 4 inches deep the cut must be 1 inch).
