Can-Do-Concrete, LLC

Let's talk about crack.
And not the kind that gets more work done. I'm talking about cracked concrete. The not fun kind of crack.

It’s one of our guarantees. Concrete will crack. And to understand why we will have to go into a bit of detail. So to keep this from becoming way too long of a post, I will break it down into several posts over the next month or so.

First we have to do a quick overview of what concrete is. Concrete is one of the oldest forms of construction material, dating back to the days of the Romans. In essence it is a simple material, just small rocks, sand, some limestone powder called Portland cement, and water. Of course nowadays we have lots of other additives that we can put in but for now we’ll just focus on the basics. When all of these ingredients are mixed together, they start a chemical reaction between the cement powder and the water. This reaction forms a crystalline lattice which binds the rock and sand together. Once hardened it becomes known as concrete, the foundation of the modern world.

Now this is a very quick overview of what concrete is, but it will serve our purpose. Practical Engineering on YouTube has a great series on concrete if you want to learn more.

Because of the crystalline structure of concrete, it has extremely high compressive strength. Generally, we use a 4000PSI mix on our flatwork. This means at 28 days the concrete should reach a compression strength of at least 4000 psi, which is more than enough for any car or pickup and most rvs. But while it has high compressive strength, it is weak when it comes to tensile strength. Meaning it is inflexible.

Think of a piece of chalk. If you stand it up and try to crush it, it is hard to break. But if you turn it on its side and bend it just a little, it will snap.

And herein lies the problem, we live in a flexible world. The ground moves, buildings move, and we move things we shouldn’t sometimes. All of this affects concrete and in next week's post I'll go over the most common type of movement that cracks concrete.

If you have cracked concrete or want to add onto your existing driveway patio or house, give us a call.
We do replacements and new patios, driveways, barn floors, sidewalks and everything else. Or if you're looking at building a new house, we do foundations, excavations and everything in between.

Call us today for a free estimate. Pat 303-808-6819.

Hello all, back for yet another concrete fact.

Today's topic: The Three Guarantees Of Concrete.

1. It will get hard.
Pretty self explanatory, unless something goes horribly wrong with the concrete mix, concrete starts as a fluid and ends as a solid.

2. It will crack.
It maybe surprising to hear but all concrete cracks. It does not matter how thick or how much steel you put in it, eventually it will crack. This is due to the very nature of concrete. It is an inflexible material placed on flexible ground. Think of chalk, it is tough to crush but easy to snap. We take measures to help prevent cracking and to control where it cracks including ground prep, rebar, and by placing control joints in the most likely places. I'll do a deep dive on cracking in another post.

3. No one will steal it.
There is a reason you have to pay someone to remove it. It's hard to find a buyer.

Have a project you are looking to get done? Give us a call today. No job too small or too large. Patios, driveways, and all kind of flatwork. Foundations, new houses, add on's, steel buildings and sheds. Excavations and all types of dirt work. Over 40 years of experience on the corridor.

Call Pat today, 303808-6819