What makes good quality concrete?
There are several basic requirements for good quality concrete: • Good materials (cement, aggregate admixtures and water) • Proper proportioning of these materials (see below) • Thorough mixing • Skillful placing and finishing • Proper curing Proportioning is simply deciding how much of each ingredient will be put in the concrete. A temptation to use too much water generally results from an effort to make placing operations easier for the contractor. Overly wet concrete flows into the forms more readily and is easier to compact and strike off. Everything about overly wet concrete is easier—except the maintenance problems that will begin to appear on a surface that could just as easily have been trouble-free for many years.
