Had a batch of concrete turn on me last Tuesday in Nashville

We poured a small patio slab and within 20 minutes the surface started turning dark and crusty, like it was flash setting. Turns out the driver mixed in hot water from a boiler instead of the truck's tank. Anyone else ever deal with a bad batch from the plant and have to tear it out the same day?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica13015d ago

Got the same thing happen to me on a job in Knoxville last fall. Driver swore up and down he used cold water but the batch got up to 95 degrees and went stiff in twenty minutes. Here's what nobody talks about: check if your ready mix plant has a water chiller on site. Alot of these smaller yards don't have one and they'll use hot boiler water for washing out trucks, then that water sits in the tank and messes up the next batch. Had to rip out a 12x16 slab and the concrete guy who poured it swore he'd never order from that plant again. It's not just about the hot water though, sometimes it's the cement itself being too fresh from the mill.

thomas_torres15d ago

You check the cement mill date before you pour?

jamie94015d ago

Nah, I gotta disagree a little here. Hot water in the mix is definitely bad but I've seen jobs go sideways 'cause the crew wasn't moving fast enough or they added too much water on site to make it workable. Always sucks when a pour goes bad though, especially having to rip it out same day.