If you’re looking to get a structure converted, this is the stage where you need to be most careful. Why? once the concrete is settled, there’s pretty much nothing you can do, unless you want to remove it and start over, which is expensive.
Scamming concrete contractors know this, and that’s why they won’t hesitate to scam you.
In this read, we’re going to tell you how unprofessional concrete contractors operate in the field, and how you can spot the best in the field for peace of mind.
Altering the constituent ratio
For each concrete grade, there’s going to be a characteristic strength. With the characteristic strength comes a mixed design where all the numerical calculations can be found. We all know just how important it is to know this document by heart. But that problem won’t be there in residential concretes; that shouldn’t them a chance to increase the water content or lower the cement to go cheap, but we’re talking about scamming.
The use of low-quality materials
Let us assume that the constituent ratio was found to be perfectly fine, but that’s just the surface. Once you go a few layers deep into assessing the quality, you might find how the aggregate size is different, how the sand has not been cleaned, and how the used cement wasn’t in the powder form. But that’s cheap for them when the situation comes us, even if sabotages the strength of the concrete.
Disregarding ideal mixing conditions
Concrete is not like making fruit juice. Some of the concretes should be made under very specific conditions, for example, specific temperatures. Most of the concrete contractors who work on the basic level do not have the machinery to fulfill these requirements. But since higher grade concretes are always going to be expensive, they wouldn’t say no to a tender.
Pouring everything at once
There’s always a pouring process that doesn’t cause cold joints. In fact, some method statements in construction sites specify the free fall height from the concrete pipe as well. So, if your contractors aren’t caring about the pouring process, they’re trying to scam you.
How can you spot better concrete contractors?
In Melbourne, there’s only a handful of reliable concrete contractors. One of the strongest telltale signs is when the company deals with both commercial and residential projects. Because when they work on commercial projects, they know their concretes are going to be evaluated by QA/QC engineers, and they don’t want their concretes rejected – this forces them to produce nothing but the best.
So, if they do produce the best concrete for commercial projects, wouldn’t it shine their name when they bring the same quality tothe residential sector?
In conclusion
What we want you to see is that while it may be convenient to the lazy contractors, your structure will be at peril if you do not have the best onboard. Now that you know how the scam contractors and how to filter out a solution, it won’t be all too hard to get a better concreting job done in the 2020s.