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Pouring a 40x60 slab in 95 degree heat last Tuesday, learned more in one day than my first 6 months
Had a commercial pour out on Route 9 in Fredericksburg, 40x60, 6 inch slab. Forecast said 88 but the truck thermometer read 95 by 10am. We had two guys on screeds and one on the bull float, and I was running the power trowel solo for the first time on a pour that size.
First mistake, we started the pour at 7:30 thinking we had time. By the time the last truck rolled in at 10:15, the first section was already going off on us. You could see the bleed water disappearing faster than we could work it. Second mistake, I had my trowel blades pitched too flat on the first pass and ended up dragging cream instead of floating it.
What saved us was the old timer on the crew, Ray, he's been finishing since the 80s. He told me to stop trying to be perfect on the first pass and just get the surface flat, then come back. He also had us wet down the forms and the subgrade before the trucks showed up, which I never would have thought to do.
We ended up with a decent finish but you can see a few trowel marks in the corner where the sun hit hardest. Boss said it was fine for a warehouse floor but I know it's not my best work.
Question for guys who pour in the summer, do you change your mix at all when it's pushing 95, or just add retarder and deal with it? We didn't add anything and I'm wondering if that was the problem.
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