Prep To Pour Concrete Floor

Properly preparing the subsurface helps to limit the potential for cracks in the finished concrete slab.

Prep to pour concrete floor. Pour the fresh concrete over the floor then go over it with a 1 4 gauge rake to bring it level image 2. Concrete is porous so you need to erect a concrete slab where drainage is not an issue. Mix the concrete according to the directions with a mixing bit on a heavy duty drill image 1. In this video we show you how to pour your basic 16 x 12 concrete slab.

Methods used for preparing the ground for concrete placement depend on the job. Building codes used to stipulate that the floor of an attached garage be four inches lower than the floor level of the house. Preparation is the most important aspect of pouring a concrete slab. Today s residential building code does not include this requirement.

You can sometimes get a truck to pour concrete straight into your form. Subsurface water can cause the ground the flex creating stress cracks in the cement. Otherwise load it into wheelbarrows and tilt them into the form until the high point is reached. The types of projects include foundations industrial and commercial floors roads and highways and other exterior slab on grade hardscapes.

The rationale for requiring this little step was that it would prevent spilled gasoline gasoline vapors and carbon monoxide from getting inside the house. The concrete was poured over the toilet collar flange and will be cut out later. Just prior to placing the concrete you may also want to place a moisture barrier. While doing this enlist some helpers to spread out the concrete with shovels rakes and come alongs which is a special concrete rake.

A concrete slab on which a building is erected is a fairly simple concrete pour but it takes more work in creating the forms needed to hold the concrete. The construction sequence starts with the removal of surface vegetation and topsoil excavation of high areas of grade. If you have to level a sloped site or bring in a lot of fill hire an excavator for a day to help prepare the site. How to pour a concrete slab.

For more on this see vapor barriers for concrete slabs. Pour the concrete into the mold. Mix it until it is the consistency of a thick pancake batter. For interior floors the best location is usually between the base course and the concrete.

We go over all the necessary steps for your concrete slab to come out perfect. Then figure on spending a day building the forms and another pouring the slab. Learn more about proper subgrade preparation for commercial floors and driveways.