Getting Ready To Pour Concrete

We go over all the necessary steps for your concrete slab to come out perfect.

Getting ready to pour concrete.

While doing this enlist some helpers to spread out the concrete with shovels rakes and come alongs which is a special concrete rake. Don t let new concrete get too cold. Otherwise load it into wheelbarrows and tilt them into the form until the high point is reached. The concrete slab course will teach you all you need to know about forming the concrete slab and getting it ready for the pour.

Concrete is porous so you need to erect a concrete slab where drainage is not an issue. In this video we show you how to pour your basic 16 x 12 concrete slab. Preparation is the most important aspect of pouring a concrete slab. The wall we built was a weekend long project and an exhausting one at that.

It s time to have a truck come to deliver and pour your concrete. You made it to the final step of this complex process. After all it s quicker and the runny concrete is easier to pour. Start by placing concrete in the concrete forms farthest from the truck.

You ll need several strong helpers because you need to work fast. Get ready to pour. Properly preparing the subsurface helps to limit the potential for cracks in the finished concrete slab. If the mixed concrete looks like the mix in step 9 it s ready to pour.

If the ground is mostly clay an additional 2 inches of depth is needed to hold gravel which will aid in drainage. The ground should be dug to a depth of 3 to 5 inches with a trench dug on either side. Reschedule delivery if it is hot windy or rainy. Materials tools and site.

Slabs that develop cracks are probably the biggest headache and the folks who pour such slabs are prone to say things like concrete is always going to crack don t believe it. How to build a concrete wall prep work. The best time to pour concrete is when temperatures are expected to remain above 50 degrees for five to seven days but plans can go awry with the arrival of. I have a 6 step process i use when i form my slabs.

It took a day to rip out the old collapsing retaining wall to dig farther into the hill to provide room for the backfill gravel and to help unload materials. It will walk you through pouring the concrete slab. It s tempting to just squirt water into the dry concrete mix with a hose and mix up a soupy batch of concrete. Subsurface water can cause the ground the flex creating stress cracks in the cement.

Otherwise mix in additional dry mix or water until you get the right consistency. Making a concrete surface level is best accomplished if the subsurface is properly prepared beforehand. Good concrete slabs in garages will hold up to all of the weight they need to bear through hot and cold weather and for many long years with little if any evidence.