Often we see the end results of a nice walkway or foundation for a building, but don’t see the “invisible” hand that guides the success. J. Davis is here to share wisdom and advice to a successful concrete project with four helpful Davis Doctrine tips just for you or your company.

1. Cold Joint Prevention

Cold joints occur when the first pour of concrete sets up before the next pour is placed. Delays in pours can prevent the concrete from intermixing and opens the material up to honeycombing and water seepage. This creates structural integrity issues that can cost the customer more time and money to restore, and affect the timelines of other surrounding projects that are dependent on the concrete formation. Make sure you have enough material and labor to keep the project smooth and full enough to prevent this from happening.

2. Properly Handle Washout

A good way to keep your jobsite cleaner and inspection worthy is to perform concrete waste management. You can prevent the discharge of pollutants to stormwater by conducting washout off-site or performing on-site washout in a designated area (concrete washout BMP). We at J. Davis Inc. maintain that teaching employees and subcontractors how to properly capture washout is an effective way to keep jobsites sanitary and looking good. Should contractor materials not be available, a kid’s sized pool can be an effective washout basin.

3. Concrete Consistency

When dealing with concrete mixer trucks, you need to ensure that whether you are the crew member or the foreman on the job, that the mix is good before pouring. The mix in the truck should have gone through 70 to 100 revolutions. The revolutions are counted only after all the ingredients, including water, are in the drum. Before every pour there should be a consistency check by the foreman or an experienced mason on the job.

4. Estimate Accurately and Reasonably

Creating estimates that are accurate, or even account for possible foreseeable variables, can save time and money. Make sure that you are coordinating properly, double-checking your calculations, and communicating with everyone necessary. While you can include an overage percentage to cover variables like potentially not having enough concrete, it is not the answer to every problem, and can cause a business to lose work due to competitive pricing. Ensure you have the right partners for the job and maintain attention to detail.