Last month's slab pour at 6am was a disaster from start to finish

I showed up at a job site in Phoenix last month at 5:45am ready to pour a 30x40 garage slab. The truck was late by an hour because the driver took a wrong turn. Then the concrete started setting up faster than I expected because it was already 90 degrees by 8am. My finisher buddy had to run to get more water while I was out there on my knees trying to keep the edges from crusting over. We ended up having to call in a second pump truck that cost me an extra $350 out of pocket. The owner was watching from his window the whole time just shaking his head. Has anyone else had a Friday pour turn into a total nightmare because of heat and scheduling?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_miles20d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain. Had a similar meltdown in July where the driver showed up two hours late and the mix was already flash-setting by the time we got it placed. Why do these jobs always turn into a race against the sun?

kevin_west20d ago

Was the ready mix plant aware of your pour time when they scheduled the delivery? I have found that if you don't call and confirm with the dispatcher the morning of, they will bump you for the big commercial jobs without a second thought. It is frustrating because a two hour delay in July heat is basically a guarantee you will have cold joints and finishing problems. Did you end up having to saw cut the slab sooner than planned to keep the random cracks from running?

the_amy19d ago

Respectfully, I gotta push back on this one. Planning a slab pour in Phoenix in the summer without a concrete retarder in the mix is asking for trouble. You should have told the plant to add a retarder when you ordered, especially for a Friday pour when you KNOW delivery can slide. The extra water your buddy ran for probably hurt the strength more than it helped the finish. Honestly, the truck being late sucks, but the real issue here is that you didn't plan for the heat factor from the get-go.