Yes. Concrete is placed all year round. The challenge in winter is to protect the concrete and the surfaced beneath and beside it. This is done with protective thermal blankets.

Yes. Special care must be taken to protect walls and surrounding areas, but the result provides a unique and attractive alternative to other flooring options.

Concrete can be placed using any one of several methods: concrete pump, conveyer belt, crane and bucket or by a chute directly from the truck. A boom pump is far and away the easiest method using a 3" or 2.5" reducer in the hose to reduce the concrete velocity. Question: What kind of vibrator should be used? An electric vibrator with a 1-inch to 1.25 inch head and a 12-14 foot shaft.

Yes, the Tuff Cable is secured to 6" by 6" 4 gauge wire remesh available at any large home improvement store. The cement is then poured as usual.

We build our countertops in our shop, where we can control the conditions, and keep the countertops in our possession while it is curing and until it is adequately sealed.

We do not recommend pouring new concrete over old because the new layer of concrete will crack in the same location as the old layer. It is best to remove the old concrete and replace it.

It depends. First of all, there is no getting around the fact that the ideal temperature range for pouring concrete is 40? to 80? F. However, high quality concrete work can be done at temperatures above that range. High temperatures cause concrete to set faster. Strong winds and low humidity can also cause problems with plastic shrinkage and drying shrinkage cracks, even at moderate temperatures.

Normal concrete is designed with a flowable workability, which means it can be conveyed to the pour site using smooth rounded chutes and still maintain its composition and not segregate. Adding more water to make it pourable usually causes segregation, not to mention the adverse effects of the additional water on the strength of the concrete. To make concrete more flowable or "pourable", without adversely affecting the strength, one would add a Super Plasticizer admixutre.

The form that produces the six-foot high walls requires approximately 8.5 cubic yards of concrete per casting.

Freshly poured concrete contains a tremendous amount of moisture (A 10' x 10' x 4" area of concrete contains approximately 24 gallons of water). As the concrete cures, much of this water is liberated into the air, increasing the relative humidity and vapor pressure within the building. Ventilation is the simplest way to reduce humidity and vapor pressure and also lower the probability of condensation related problems.

Pre-pour planning and special precautions are required to assure successful placement of concrete in hot weather. These precautions may include lowering material temperatures, utilization of retarding admixtures, rapid transport and placement, and proper curing. See ACI Committee report 305 on Hot Weather Concreting.

Yes. This is done with a polymer modified cement product which creates a build from ¼ to ¾ of an inch thick. Then is colored and stamped just like your new stamped concrete.

No. Gypsum concrete is considered a subfloor. That means you must cover it with a finished flooring product such as wood, carpet or tile. In a newly constructed garage, you can pour concrete slab over the heat tube for a radiant floor system.

Yes, this is often done. Actually, we prefer to do it this way. Not only does it give you a better finish to your building, it also serves to further anchor your building to the ground.

Concrete is a commonly requested material. To be honest, we don't know much about gluing to concrete. You could check with some building sites. Cement is the adhesive that holds concrete together. It will take some research on our part but we are thinking about doing concrete. A very cool and specialized glue! It does its job then you can roll it into ball and ... well, have a ball with it. The glue that is used for "tip ins" (magazine jargon) is referred to as a Peel and Stick glue.

Even the coldest, snowiest winters do not pose a problem. In fact, Canada is home to a significant percentage of the world's Stamped Concrete installations.