On Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:33:23 -0600, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:


wrote:
I was watching a concrete delivery yesterday and got to wondering -
what happens with the concrete that is left over in the truck? I
suppose they keep the truck turning with some extra water so it
doesn't solidify into a solid block, but then what? Does it get used
for something, or do they just have to find a place to dump it?

There are two things they'll do with it. If you let them, they will dump
any excess on your property where you want. I have 20 acres, and lots of
places with low spots or potholes that need filling, so it's a benefit to
me to have them put it there.

The other thing they do is transport the remainder to a "washout" site.
Companies will pay to have the trucks come rinse out their barrels in a
pit. That leftover is mixed with a little dirt, and over-wet, then
stirred frequently enough to prevent its becoming a solid block. People
then pay to have "washout" delivered as roadbase material and fill under
new slabs. It's a superior base, that eventually hardens to about
2000psi soil-cement concrete.


With most ready-mix companies, the drivers _have_ to wash down before
they go on the road -- they're required to, to maintain the equipment.
So whether or not they dump the excess, they still need a place to wash
the chute and the face of the auger.

It's only a little bit of a mess, but you have to put up with that.

A lot of auto wrecking yards and other industrial sites have paved
their lots with leftover truckloads of concrete like that - you could
do the same thing on a farm with paving the access roads. Just put
out the word to the concrete yard that you want some, and have some of
your workers ready to drop what they're doing and place and finish it
as needed.

If it's for a parking area or a farm road you only need to make
temporary forms to hold it till it sets up, screed it off level and
give it a rudimentary float and jitterbug job to get the aggregate
down.

Though it would look a lot better if you had a Power Trowel to hit it
with some hard-troweled finishing after it has an hour or two to set
up, and/or a brush finish if it's on any sort of slope. And give it a
quick coat of curing sealer with a garden sprayer.

Oh, and a bunch of traffic cones so nobody drives on the new slab till
it's had a day or two to cure.

-- Bruce --