You are excited! You have been looking forward to your new slab for so long… Now your contractor says we have to wait???  They may be right. Let’s look at a few scenarios where postponing the pour is the right thing to do.

RAIN:
When rain is in the forecast your Contractor will be a little more on edge. He or she has a call to make. Can we risk it? Now if the forecast is at 100% and your Contractor orders the mud… you hired the wrong Contractor. That’s easy though.. what about a 20%-30% chance? Your Contractor might bring some poly sheeting along and roll the dice. If it starts raining they cover it right away and work between showers. If you have a roof line especially with no gutters though the best bet is to wait for a dry forecast. The water coming off of a roof will even damage the finish through the plastic.

WIND:
Wind happens. Unfortunately wind is a mortal enemy of concrete. Your Contractor most likely has a surface retarder and finishing aids on hand for windy days. They may also be able to set up a barrier to keep wind from destroying your slab. They also may call you and let you know they are going to postpone the pour because of wind…. Looks like you picked a good one… say thank you.

HEAT:
Here in Tucson if we had to wait for the weather to cool down we would never get anything done. We have misters on the concrete trucks to keep the drum cool, we put ice in the load to fool the concrete into being more cooperative and we use a managery of chemicals and additives to gain an edge.

So when would it be ok for your Contractor to push just for a little heat?

“There was a problem at the plant and the mud will be an hour late…”
That may not sound terrible to the untrained ear but every second is precious to a contractor who is particular about the way your slab turns out.

“The lead finisher called in sick.”
The lead finisher is often the glue that holds the finishing operation together. He or she is the conductor of an operation that is all about timing.

“Early concrete isn’t available.”
In busy times we sometimes need to schedule 2 weeks out. Hopefully your Contractor was booked far enough out that your concrete was ordered long before they showed up on site.  If not you may end up waiting for a while which is way better than having your concrete poured at 8 am in 100 degree heat.

In a lot of cases it’s better to be safe than sorry. Pick a reputable contractor and believe in them. The good ones will always make decisions in your best interest.