The Two C's

The Two C's

How To Ready A Site For Residential Concrete Work

by Floyd Dunn

Homeowners and contractors often hire residential concrete construction firms to handle projects. If you're planning residential concrete work, it's wise to have your site ready. The company handling the job will appreciate it if you do these five things in advance of their arrival.

All About That Base

Most residential concrete goes on or into the ground, and a solid and stable base is essential. This is particularly the case in cold regions where loose soil can encourage the concrete to shift as the temperature changes.

Ideally, you can have the contractors engineering your site compact the existing ground and prepare it for residential concrete work. Some sites are too sandy or gravelly for that to succeed. In those cases, it's wise to bring in appropriate soil for the purpose and compact it. Speak with your residential concrete construction contractor early in your project to learn what they'd like to see.

Measure Twice So the Contractor Pours Once

Figure out precisely where the concrete will need to go. Look through your plans and make sure everything lines up. Walk through the area of the property where the contractor will be pouring the concrete. Measure it and use stakes and strings to mark the boundaries. Remember, the concrete will go inside the lines, so always account for that depth when calculating where things like foundations and walls will go.

Slope

Especially if you're going to have concrete outdoors, plan for slope to encourage water to run off. You will want to have one-eighth of an inch of slope for every foot of distance. Otherwise, there is a risk the water will pool. The same logic applies to indoor slabs for basements, and the only difference is sending the water to a drain hole.

If the site doesn't have much slop, you may need to build it up to create some. Similarly, a bit of removal may work in some locations.

Establish the Requirements

Concrete comes in many mixtures. This is great because it allows concrete contractors to mix whatever you'll need for your project. However, they need to know what your requirements will be. Generally, walls require more pourable concrete. Slabs may benefit from a dry and more compact mixture, especially if you're going to place lots of weight on them.

Access

Some locations can be tricky to access. If possible, try to provide a path so the contractors can place equipment close to the worksite. Many construction companies build temporary roads into properties for access.


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The Two C's

Welcome to a blog about the two C's. The two C's, as you might have already guessed are construction and contractors. These words are closely related. "Construction" refers to the art and science of building something. That something could be anything from a shed to a sidewalk. "Contractors" are the people who do the building. There are general contractors who do all sorts of building work, and then there are specialists who do work such as plumbing, electrical work, and drywall. Stop by and read a few articles when you have the time, and we promise you'll learn more about these two C's.

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