CONCRETE PAVING
There are many important things to be concerned with whenever concrete is poured. I shall list some of them, beginning with what I feel are the most important.
1. Know the weather. Concrete behaves differently for each extreme of weather. If it’s going to rain, find something else to do on that day. I have been caught more times than I want to remember pouring when it rained afterwards. No matter how good your finisher is, he can’t do you a good job in the rain, and the concrete strength is going to be lessened because of the dilution by water on the surface. Pouring footings with some chance of rain is not the same as pouring a finished product before a rain. If the temperature is dropping below frost following a pour, it can be done with the use of a drying agent. This cost extra money, and doesn’t always render the desired results. If the weather is extremely hot, the concrete is going to need more water than is desired just to make it workable for the finishers.
2. Have enough help to do the work. This sounds simple enough, but an extra two men is much better than one man short. I have been caught with too little help and concrete on the job, with nothing to do but put it down and fight. Concrete doesn’t abide by your time, but its own. On the farm we knew that when the corn was ready to pull for eating and putting in the freezer, we had to get it. It wasn’t a job you could allow to go until you had time. Concrete is the same way. At least with the corn, we knew we had two or three days. Based on the weather, concrete can set before you can get a drink of water. Limit the amount of concrete you are pouring to the number of people you have. If you are doing flat work ( driveways, sidewalks, decks ), three or four people ( who know what they are doing ) ten to twenty cubic yards easily in moderate to hot weather. If you plan to pour 100 yards, that number would increase to six or eight. My suggestion is to contract with a reputable concrete contractor for any large pour you might attempt.
3. Be sure the area you are pouring has sufficient compaction to hold the weight of the traffic that will come. Concrete is tough stuff, but won’t last with inferior material beneath. Most residential work makes it cost prohibitive to have compaction tests run for driveways and the like, but, if there is any doubt as to the compaction, it may be necessary to compact with a vibratory roller.
4. Know where the water will go when the concrete is poured. You don’t want a bird bath when it rains. No outside pour should be flat. Use a level, transit level, or laser level to determine which way to turn the water.
5. Order enough concrete to do the work. If you come up short on a pour and have to wait for more, you have a cold joint where the materials will set up differently and cause a weakened area. This is true especially in hot weather. Calculating concrete is based on area x thickness. Most sidewalks are 4” thick, and paving can be 4” to 6” or more. For residential, high traffic areas with heavy loads, I recommend 6”.
For other articles on concrete try here.
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