Pages

jeudi 13 juillet 2017

Things To Know When Using Concrete Slabs Efficiently

By Frank Foster


Concrete slabs are structural elements common in modern building that are used often for constructing floors and ceilings reinforced by steel. Thinner ones can be used in paving the exterior on crawl space and under the slabs of main floor. They could either be supported with foundations or placed directly on subsoil for most domestic and industrial structures.

Most contractors choose them for their attractive and durable surface that could be easily maintained and their inexpensiveness. Your company might be one among the users of concrete slabs Mandeville meant for your construction projects. Here are some things to know in helping your projects in cities like Mandeville, LA to be built with quality.

First, remove all rocks, soft soils and vegetation so that the slabs are uniformly supported when put there. Place the concrete on firm, undisturbed ground if ever possible so that it could stay in place properly. Set forms so their surfaces would slope for at least two percent in providing adequate drainage to the area after.

Use a lumber with the same thickness as specified for the slab as scratch template having stakes on its top surface attached. A string line can be placed also across its top of the forms to ensure proper thickness. Get a concrete with an entrained air if the flatwork will be exposed to freezing, deicing chemicals and thawing.

Minimum cementitious materials should be specified and relate it with the maximum aggregate size for ensuring a good finish and durability. Control water additions with the truck and high slump concretes should not be used. The reason is that high slump mixtures could become detrimental and will result in an increased warping because of the upper portion having greater paste content than the lower portion.

Wet concretes should not be allowed to stay in contact with your skin, enter boots or saturate clothing while placing or finishing them. Strike the surface off while you keep a small amount in front of straightedge in filling in low spots. This would help in preventing birdbaths from forming on the finished surface when they dry.

Darby and bullfloat are to be used before the concretes begin to bleed on the surface or excess moisture will appear in leveling the ridge and filling voids. And any finishing operation should not be done if bleed water is present still. Dust drying cement is inadvisable when you need to soak up the bleed water.

Use groover for making contraction joints during the time concretes are currently fresh with the depth being a quarter of how thick they are. Early cut saw and conventional one could be used in sawing joints that is preventing cracks when done early. Entrained air concretes should not be troweled hard as this may cause deterioration on the surface.

After completing the finishing operation then start curing the concrete immediately with different methods available depending on the season. Wet curing methods should be used when the area have thawing and freezing cycles and you placed them during fall. This allows them to dry before the arrival of first freeze and deicing agents are not advisable at the first winter.




About the Author:



Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire

 
Blogger Templates