Do It Yourself

Successful concreting is a four-step process:

STEP 1: PREPARATION & PLANNING

• Sub grade must be compacted and free of standing water

• Forms must be secure and capable of with standing load pressure of fresh concrete

• We recommend that you place you order for delivery providing as much advance notice as possible

• Arrange enough help to place and finish concrete

• Under 150 square feet of finished surface area: Minimum of two (2) people

• Add one (1) person for each additional 200 square feet of finished surface area

• Arrange pick up or delivery of rental finishing tools and equipment at supply store

• Assign specific responsibilities to helpers before concrete arrives (I.e. who; screeds, bull floats, washes tools, etc.)

• Provide acceptable access for delivery:

• Pathway must be of stable soil (support of up to 80,000 pounds)

• Pathway must be at least ten (10) feet wide and fourteen (14) feet high

• The discharge chutes can reach approximately sixteen (16) feet

• Determine what type of control joints will be used to control cracking; hand tooled or saw cut

TIPS:

• Concrete used for residential applications should be at least four (4) inches thick

• Placement of control joints should be determined in the planning step

• Control joints should be placed no more than ten (10) feet apart

• Sections should be square or nearly so

• The joint depth should be at least ¼ the thickness of the concrete

• Avoid creating triangles or odd shaped panels when placing joints

STEP 2: PLACEMENT

• Concrete must be discharged as close to final position as possible (eliminate “dragging” concrete long distances)

• Concrete must be discharged in a timely fashion upon arriving to the job site

• During the placement process, follow these easy steps:

• Strike off or “screed” the concrete to the proper elevation or form height with a wood or magnesium straight edge

• Immediately after striking off and before bleed water appears, the concrete must be bull floated

• After bull floating, no finishing practices must take place until bleed water has completely evaporated

STEP 3: FINISHING

Simplified; finishing is the process of texturing. If you choose to hand tool the control joints, this must be completed before the final texture is applied. Texturing is broke down into the following categories:

• A broom or brush finish is recommended for exterior applications that require maximum skid resistance such as; sidewalks and driveways

• To achieve a broom finish; simply push or pull the concrete broom across the concrete when it reaches the desired consistency; timing is a judgement call based on desired depth of broom texture

• A porous trowel finish is recommended for exterior applications that require minimal skid resistance such as; patios and porches

• To achieve a porous trowel finish; trowel the concrete when it reaches a consistency that your weight but leaves footprints approximately ¼” deep

• A hard trowel finish is recommended for interior applications that require a non porous surface such as; shop floors and basement floors

• To achieve a hard trowel finish; the concrete must be finished with a power trowel available for rental at the supply store

• For decorative or architectural finishes we recommend that you hire a qualified concrete contractor that specialized in decorative concrete

STEP 4: CURING

Curing (see definition) is probably the most neglected step in the concreting process, but is proven to be the most important step. To ensure that the concrete reaches its maximum specified strength and proves durable to resist damage by freeze-thaw cycles and deicing chemicals, the concrete must be cured. Properly curing concrete is your insurance policy to a long lasting structure. The curing process must start as soon as the concrete will accept the curing process without damage to the surface. Choose one of following good curing practices for your concrete project;

• Wet curing is the process of keeping the concrete surface in a saturated condition; typically a garden sprinkler is used to keep the surface wet

• Application of a concrete curing and sealing compound; this compound can be applied using a paint roller or a typical garden air sprayer and can be purchased in our supply store.

THE DO NOT’S:

• Do not apply water to surface of concrete during finishing operations

• Do not exercise and finishing practices while bleed water is present

• Do not over work the finished surface (this will cause destruction of the internal air void system necessary to resist damage due to freeze-thaw cycles and deicing chemicals)

• Do not use concrete designed for interior applications on exterior applications

HOW TO PLACE AN ORDER…

To a novice concrete craftsman, the thought of placing an order may be intimidating. At Eagle Ready-Mix we specialize in making it easy. Our dispatch staff is very knowledgeable, patient and believes that there is no such thing as a dumb question. To ready yourself for placing an order, know the answers to the following questions; and we will think you’re a seasoned veteran.

YOUR NAME

PROPERTY ADDRESS and/or DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS

PHONE NUMBER

PAYMENT METHOD (cash, check, or credit card)

IN SERVICE USE (driveway, garage floor, etc.)

QUANTITY IN CUBIC YARDS (we can compute or use our online concrete calculator)

MIX DESCRIPTION (bag or performance and preferred coarse aggregate; limestone or gravel)

ACCELERATOR OR VALUE ADD PRODUCTS (fiber reinforcement, etc.)

EXTRA SUPPLIES (do-it-yourself kit, reinforcement bar, etc.)

SLUMP (typically 4 to 6 inches)

RATE OF DELIVERY (if order is greater than 10 cubic yards)

DATE OF DELIVERY

TIME OF DELIVERY

To learn more visit our Technical Services or contact us.