Just realized most concrete jobs fail because of water, not mix ratio

I was reading through ACI documents last night and found out that over 80% of concrete cracking issues come from too much water on site. Not bad aggregate or weak cement, just guys adding water to make it easier to work. Now I'm wondering, do we really need that high slump or are we just making more work for ourselves down the line? My foreman always says wet concrete is easy concrete, but those repair bills tell a different story. Who here has seen a slab fail years later because someone dumped a hose in the truck? That stat really changed how I look at my water reducer usage.

2 comments

2 Comments

wyatt5137d ago

Gotta disagree with you there man. I've seen way more slabs crack from people trying to work with a stiff mix that they can't consolidate properly. You end up with honeycombing and rock pockets that hold water and then you're really in trouble. If your guys are dumping a hose in the truck without checking, that's a training problem not a water problem. I've poured plenty of 5 inch slump jobs that held up fine for 20 years because the guys knew when to call for a reload instead of playing chemist on site. Just seems like the real killer is bad judgment on the ground no matter what the slump is.

evaperez7d ago

That wet mix works GREAT until a form blows out and you're standing there watching your slab run down the street.