580 replies to this topic

[Ryan313]

I don't know a lot about concrete, but I know the basics and I agree the mix looks wrong, but it could be the sprinkler that is making it look off.

 

Sorry to hear you are going over budget, but once you are out working in the shop you will forget all about it!

[larrybl]

I asked about a wire mat, he said the top may be too thin for that and said the concrete would be stout enough at a 9 sack mix. At this point I will leave it to the contractor expertice.

[boyscout862]

Thanks for the double-quote Sawdust!!  The driver is the cause of every bad pour I've ever experienced.  (ANGER & Adrenaline!!)  
 
If it's a good & experienced driver, things go like clockwork!  It is a lot of work and you get pumped up doing it for sure..
 
I've been in on many floor/sidewalk/basement/ pours and that is just the way things have gone in my experience..  
 
To some folks it may cause what you are talking about for sure..  So please don't get angry with me on a Friday night.. OK??
 
**PS-  Coming over the hill from Florence KY and seeing your hometown @ night is a beautiful sight brother!  Done it many times coming back from visiting our grand kids in Tenn..

Sometimes its the driver but also it can be on partial loads like this one that he delivered 3 yards to someone else first. That meant that your mud got to cook in the truck. I used to go by the time of the batching but then learned that they can be rigged. For personal pours I order full truck loads and have a bunch of forms for 2' x 2' x 4' blocks. When I'm lucky, I end up with my work and a block or two. I do it myself because I worked with many professionals but they didn't meet my standards. "Good enough" usually wasn't. Good Luck, Rick

[Sawdust]

Thanks for the double-quote Sawdust!!  The driver is the cause of every bad pour I've ever experienced.  (ANGER & Adrenaline!!)

 

If it's a good & experienced driver, things go like clockwork!  It is a lot of work and you get pumped up doing it for sure..

 

I've been in on many floor/sidewalk/basement/ pours and that is just the way things have gone in my experience..  

 

To some folks it may cause what you are talking about for sure..  So please don't get angry with me on a Friday night.. OK??

 

**PS-  Coming over the hill from Florence KY and seeing your hometown @ night is a beautiful sight brother!  Done it many times coming back from visiting our grand kids in Tenn..

Sorry for the dbl quote that was an accident & I couldn't delete one of them. Definitely not mad. The only concrete I do is footers for an addition....I leave that area up to you pros. I know many times I have tipped my driver well especially when the mix was just what I wanted. I agree I think a bad load was the culprit here. I think if he gets a statement from his new contractor blaming the mix he should get some money back...hopefully.

[shorty]

 said the concrete would be stout enough at a 9 sack mix. At this point I will leave it to the contractor expertice.

I am curious what mix he is calling a 9 sack mix? I never heard of a mix called that before. I kind of guess that it might be a regional term.

[Robert Webb]

9 sack mix is a concrete terminology......basically means that there are 9- 94#  bag of Portland cement in each cubic yard of concrete.  That is  a LOT of cement.  A typical commercial mix is only a "6 bag" mix and will have a yield strength of  3000-3500psi when properly cured.  You mentioned putting wire reinforcement in the top coat............Wire is not going to prevent it from cracking.........the ONLY thing that it is going to do is stop it from SEPARATING once it cracks.  If you ANYONE EVER tells you that they can prevent concrete from cracking by putting wire or fibermesh in the concrete............tell them that you dont need their services!

 

 

Pouring concrete is THE ONLY job that I have ever had that you cant walk away from once you start.  As we used to say, "when the mud hits the ground, its all Asses and Elbows"  I have been on the receiving end of several HOT loads and I can tell you from experience, it is a HANDFUL for someone that KNOWS what they are doing!!

 

I have been in a lot of different aspects of the concrete business from the batch plant to putting it on the ground........................Dont miss it at ALL. 

 

Here is a little story to make you feel a little bit better.  Back when I was probably 20-21 years of age I was working with my step dad in his concrete construction business.  Well Hank Jr came to town on a Thursday night and I BEGGED for them to loan me the money to go to the concert ( I was broke because it was mid week.....lol)  They agreed that I could go as long as I promised to roll out of bed when the alarm went off (I was living at home at the time) and be ready to roll out on time.  Well I went to the concert with EVERY intention of being a good little boy and being home before MiDNIGHT..............well as we all know, all good intentions usually go hairwire.  I ran into a female friend at the concert and she had a FIFTH of Brass Monkey hid in her purse.  Needless to say, by the time the concert was over, we were all feeling PRETTY DARN GOOD.  After the concert was over, we decided to hit a party at a friend of mine's house, that was a HUGE mistake.  Before I knew it, it was 3am!  I finally got in the bed about 4 and the alarm went off at 6.  Well as if that werent bad enough, as I was leaving the house, the step dad gives me an address and tells me that the concrete will be there in about 30 minutes.  I roll up on the job and find about a 4500 square foot house slab staring me in the face.  It took us a couple of hours to get the concrete on the ground and to the point that we could sit back and wait on it for a little bit before we put the troweling machine on it.  After we got it laid down, the old man loads up ALL OF THE HELP but me and one of the other finishers and says........"See ya at the house tonight"  This would have been bad enough in the cool months of the year.............but no.......this was in July or August.  Needless to say, I was one WORN OUT A$$ when I got home that night about 9pm.  For those of you that have never been around fresh concrete, it sets up by means of a CHEMICAL REACTION and not by the heat in the air.  Once it starts to set, there is NO STOPPING IT.  Well, that chemical reaction produces a great deal of heat and if you are on top on that concrete slab in the middle of August, you are getting BAKED from the top by the sun and from the bottom by the concrete!  Moral of this story................NEVER EVER EVER got to a concert and stay out late when you are scheduled to pour concrete the next morning!

[larrybl]

I moved the wood into the other shed to get it out of the sun. still can store the tractors there too. And installed a new antenna for the Wife's TV. Now too hot to do anything else.

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[larrybl]

Feeling a little better, abet a little lighter in the pocket book. Need to keep it wet till the sun goes down. I'll post more pictures later.

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 
• 

[Ryan313]

Looks fantastic! I am glad it is fixed!

[twostep]

Looking much better! Good luck!

[HDWildBill]

Yep it looks much much better. Glad you got it fixed.

[MH81]

I was wondering how you made out. Glad to hear its capped. Now to wait until its cured.

[Robert Webb]

Larry, the LONGER that you can keep the concrete WET, the better that it will cure.  The faster that it dries out, the lower the final strength will be.  Not trying to freak you out or scare you but just the plain old facts.  If you have a piece of Polyethylene that will cover it, wet it down good, put the poly over it and let it sit for about a week.    If will probably be stronger than you will ever have to worry about even if you dont keep it wet.

[OkieGt]

Larry, the LONGER that you can keep the concrete WET, the better that it will cure.  The faster that it dries out, the lower the final strength will be.  Not trying to freak you out or scare you but just the plain old facts.  If you have a piece of Polyethylene that will cover it, wet it down good, put the poly over it and let it sit for about a week.    If will probably be stronger than you will ever have to worry about even if you dont keep it wet.

DITTO/DITTO