Showerthought: That week in July when everything went wrong vs last week when nothing did

Honestly, I had a week back in July that was an absolute nightmare. We poured a big driveway in Augusta and the temp hit 97 degrees, plus the mix was way too dry from the plant. It started cracking before we even got the broom finish on and we had to tear out a 20 foot section the next day. Cost me about $800 in extra labor and material. Then last week we did a similar size pour in 72 degree weather with a perfect slump and it was the smoothest day I've had in months. Crew was happy, homeowner was happy, and we finished two hours early. Has anyone else noticed how much the weather alone can make or break your whole week on a job?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_max26d ago

The weather is just an excuse though. Good crews and proper planning handle whatever conditions get thrown at them. You had a bad batch from the plant and that's on your supplier, not the temperature.

kim.xena18d ago

yeah exactly, last spring i had a job where we planned everything around a specific window and then a freak hailstorm came out of nowhere. we had tarps ready and everything but the ground was just too wet and cold after that, the soil compaction went all wrong and we had to wait three days for it to dry out. sometimes you just cant fight the sky, no matter how good your crew is or how much you planned ahead.

ben20626d ago

nah man i get what youre saying but sometimes the weather really does screw things up no matter how good you are. ive seen crews that are top notch get totally wrecked by a sudden cold snap that made the pour set wrong. you can plan all you want but when the concrete freezes before you can finish it, thats not on the supplier. theres no way to fix that in the moment.