You are here : Home > The Do-It-Yourself Corner > Construction of a concrete driveway, stairs, patio, and sidewalk
 |
| Introduction |
| Concrete Constructions |
| Useful Tips |
| Advanced Tips |
| Gallery |
 |
Be ready to place, finish, and cure the concrete when the mobile concrete mixer arrives. The concrete must be placed into the forms and compacted or consolidated less than an hour and a half after the water has been added to the mixture. In warm weather, this time period is even shorter.
Water the ground and the forms right before placing the concrete. This way, the concrete will retain its water and will be of better quality. However, there should be no puddles of water or soft muddy areas in the subgrade when the concrete is placed.
You will need a good wheelbarrow to transport the concrete from the bottom of the truck's chute to where it will be placed. You can rent one from a local construction equipment rental company. The mixer-truck is very heavy and should not back up on a driveway or sidewalk. If you are working in an area that is especially hard to reach, ask the concrete supplier to give you advice on what transportation techniques to use. Placing and finishing the concrete is extremely demanding work, so it's a good idea to have several strong men on the work site.
Fill the forms right to the top. To compact concrete by hand, use a square spade to tamp down the concrete in the forms. Then slide a rigid board across the top of the forms using a back and forth movement to grade the surface of the concrete and cut it to the desired height.
Repeat this operation a second time to smooth out any bumps that might be there. Before this second pass, you should add concrete to fill in any low areas in order to obtain a uniform surface ready for finishing operations.
Mechanical compacting equipment is usually made up of a vibrator attached to a pair of floats.
