Some Common Mistakes You Could Be Making While Concreting During the Winters!

Construction work often takes years to get completed! Regardless of the passing seasons, the work shall continue in full force without stopping. This includes laying down bricks, pouring the concretes and doing everything else -- even when it’s hot summer days or severe chilled winter afternoons. And though summer days don’t impact the materials of a construction project much, winters are relatively harsh on them -- and hence the work becomes more difficult during the winter months.

The most essential component needed for any construction work is concrete. And it’s the one that gets easily affected with the freezing climate. And freezing of concretes isn’t short of a mishap at the construction site. Almost everything comes to a standstill because of it, and this can even continue for months if there’s a mistake in handling it properly.

Some drastic mistakes that shouldn’t be happening with concrete during winter!

Though concreting during winter can be an extremely tough task, PumpSafe concrete pumping in Auckland guarantees a safer and convenient process of pouring concrete by their expert workers trained for such harsh weather. Opting for this prevents any of the below listed mistakes you could be making in dealing with your concrete during winters.

Allowing the concrete mixture to freeze — One of the biggest mistakes you could be making while dealing with concrete is letting it freeze in the chilling temperature. Mostly fresh concrete can freeze under or at minus 4 degree centigrade, and this frozen concrete means cracks in the final structure and weak layer of the same. The solution here can be to let it remain warm at around 10 degree Celsius or above through a thermal blanket so that it can maintain its proper consistency.

Using cold tools on it — Using chilled or cold equipment or tools on the concrete is the same as using it at chilled temperature or on a cold ground. All these have the same results — it affects your concrete badly, leading it to crack and show issues in the final outcome. You should ensure to warm the equipment to at least 30 degrees or above before using them on the concrete.

Pouring concrete on frozen ground — If you are pouring concrete on frozen ground then you are again making a grave mistake. This again leads to variations in proper settlement of the layer affecting the longevity of the concrete. Try waiting for the ground to get back to a little higher temperature or use a heater to do the same.

Sealing the concrete when it’s cold — Concrete sealing is an important part of its laying. But if you do so when it’s still very cold, we are afraid you are going to face serious issues later. Ensure not to seal if it’s still snowing and freezing cold in the area or make proper use of heaters.

Improper monitoring of temperature during winters — If you aren’t keeping an eye on the temperature and aren’t controlling it when required, you’ll not develop adequate strength of the concrete. This could lead to issues like freezing of the mixture at an early stage, lack of compressive strength and inadequate protection of the structure. You could use a good heater to maintain the concrete’s temperature and easily avoid these issues.

Apart from all these, you should also try to finish the work in the daylight as much as you can. It will help if you complete the main task before the temperature further falls as the day ends. If you are caring about all these factors, and taking proper precautions, your concrete would not give you any issues for years to come.