we were laying a concrete garage floor on the hottest day of the year so far and just as we started to tamper the finish - the engine of the tamper unit died - we had a panic to get the job finished before the concrete went off
@@hudsoninbury So, not only do you not have the proper tools for the job, you cannot hire reliable people for the job. You are in the wrong business unless your business is creating "how not to do concrete properly," videos.
@@hudsoninbury mate ya had no idea what you were doing you should all ways have back up tools if ya machine breaks just screed it. that was a disgrace to concretors and all trades people out there you give the rest of us a bad name when you cowboys come in and do shit work like this the arrogance and gal of your comment above says volume. very shameful feel sorry for the home owner that now has to come home and look at that garage floor the first thing they will see as they drive there car on to it and they'll just be thinking yuck every time they come home very disappointing cowboys are out there but oh well
A little wetter and 2 men on a board without the up and down stuff, but they obviously don't do this for a living with the yard rakes and all. Looking around I wondered why they put anything new in there at all but when you consider the guy raising the chute with a hand crank I guess it is a very poor place.
@@tireddtd4444 very poor place made me laugh 😂. It's in the UK so not the poorest of places. This was painful to watch. We don't use concrete here like in America, for outdoor drives, patios ect. You guys over there are a different level to our concrete guys
As a construction guy nearly my whole life (62years),I've seen it all. Broke down trucks,equipment, men,pouring rain, freezing temperatures, scorching hot weather. Your ability to improvise and finish the job is a testament to your skills. All the naysayers must live in a perfect world.
20 yrs. as a TxDOT Inspector of new construction over Hwy. & Bridges; Iv'e witnessed this much from each & every contractor... ''You say you will rise to the occasion. But you are wrong. You will descend only to the depth of your mastery.'' As clearly these two seasoned men have!
Wow, my condolences, this can be really stressful. Well you estimated the amount accurately and pulled off a good surface. The lesson I learned from this is to run the motorized equipment the day before at high speed for a few minutes to see if you can induce a failure then and not when the real action begins. Congrats to all of you for staying level headed and pulling this off
This popped up on my recommended list. It took me all of 37 seconds to see that this project was quickly headed south when the unloading of the concrete started in the middle of the worksite with only 2 people to move it around.
The ground was driveable on all sides, why didn't they clear the few things on the long edge and drive the truck back and forth to save a lot of work? I don't know how heavy one of the beams from the vibrator are, but surely pulling one of those across would have been easier too? Hopefully they didn't over work the top, or add much water to the top ruining it and causing spalling. Since it will be inside it will probably last. Good video to warn to plan the delivery better, and have contingencies in place.
Im a retired Journeyman Roofer/Waterproofer who spent 34 years with local #149 Detroit ,ive managed projects as large as the $12 million dollar Detroit Diesel roof lift shown on Modern Marvels & can be seem on youtube under " Raising the Roof Detroit Diesel " ,i think the foreman is top notch in making the decision to say screw the machine,shut down other areas of the job & bring everybody together to go hands on ,ive been in situations where i had 50 men working off of 2 pumps and both pumps hydraulics go bad & ended up giving 30 men squeegees instead of messing with broken down sprayers . Good job guys .
I worked for a concrete company years ago. 10 yards for a 2 car garage floor. Old man’s crew never showed up for work. Felt sorry for the guy.... put my boots on and helped him... first time I ever got a $250 tip. He said that’s what he was going to pay his labors.... he invited me back for dinner and a bunch of beers that night. Dam his wife could cook!!!! We were friends for many years. Not bad for an hours worth of work!
My crew never showed and gave me “the ole dicken” on a 11 yard basement pour that had to be done off the wheelbarrow. No forms all lazer wet screed grade. the homeowner helped wheelbarrowing and cleaned tools while I wheeled a little, and I successfully poured and finished 40,000 lbs of concrete. slight sloped basement with support beams everywhere, from a wheelbarrow and with a 2x4. Experience and determination goes very far. Whene the guys weren’t there yet and the truck showed up, I started wheeling and the homeowner knew there was a problem. 2.5 hours later it was done. The truck time fee was a couple hundred but I saved on the labor costs. Not by choice.
The lorry driver operator had not a clue , or seemed to enjoy watching them struggle, he never advised them he could add water to make the job so easy for them. The prat also of loaded, the entire load in one go in the middle, as he knew he was dealing with novices who had not a clue , and he could rush of to another job and leave them with a fast curing concrete.
@@patrickmullman191 Yes he could have spread the concrete more evenly over the job, instead of dumping in lot in the middle, but there should have been more experienced men two was never enough, the old ways are better than those new fangled concrete finishing tools
@@patrickmullman191 Lorry, what country is that lol. As for adding water. Obviously many dont know but that reduces the strength of the concrete. From what I see is a bunch of idiots.
As a Superintendent/Project Manager of 40 years this was, all in all, not a disastrous job. Concrete didn’t seem that hot... was manageable. The one possible issue I could see was screeding with the long scaffold pole. Too flimsy. Might have left a crown on the slab, but you have to do with what you have. Most importantly, everybody kept their cool. On a side note, the crew I used to use for up to 60,000sf (600+-cy) pours, didn’t have mechanical power screeds. Everything was done with a laser spot leveler and 20’ mag screeds. Then, power finishing trowels. On the large slabs, ride-on power trowels were used. Started these big pours at 4-5am. Usually, all went well... but, there were some days.
Martin O'Donnell I agree with you sir, I was in construction for close to 40 years, and sometimes things just don't work the way we hoped it would. But with some common sense like those guys have we made the best out of the worst. I always told the negative brainless ones that it's much easier to drive a vehicle from the back seat than from behind the wheel.
Happened to me. Hot day, on my own. The concrete truck driver was in a hurry to get to the next job, so dumped the concrete in a big pile and left. I was left with a hell of a job!
Been building since 1988. You guys recovered well and just got on with it like us British do. There are many paths to the top of the mountain but once there the view is the same. Bet you all went to the pub afterwards or had a hot bath and an early night. Well done
from the looks of it, you guys did a very good job with what you had. unfortunate that the mud took off so quickly. another 30min prior with that bull float would have made the flat work turn out super. still, good job!
I poured concrete for over 30 years. I’m not trying to be a downer here, but the first problem was only having 2 guys to pull that much concrete with when you unloaded it in the middle of the floor. Those two guys weren’t working fast enough to keep up with it. If I did it today, I might not be in good enough shape to pull it quickly enough. Every foot, every inch matters. Get that truck as close to the back of that garage as you can. Then, even though you had the big screed machine. You still didn’t have enough help to pull it with. That machine isn’t designed to pull weight. It is designed to level it with the vibration, but when you have the material too high, it won’t pull it. You have to pull it. One guy in the middle of the machine isn’t enough. Two guys with rakes plus one guy in the middle all working together could probably do it. Hopefully, you saved it because starting over again is a real pain.
Good Save. Staying positive saved the day. Shit happens. Didn't panic. Made the best out of what could have been an expensive pain in the ass equipment failure. And big balls of steel for posting it
At least you showed how hard it is to pour concrete. I have pour 500 yards with no problems and then had 8 yard pours kick our ass. Number one thing to have when pouring concrete manpower. But these guys stuck it out but the slab never got finished. No power trowel, no one hand troweling just a bull float and you can still see the rocks . And this one reason I don’t pour concrete anymore because I’m one of those old guys. LOL
Glad it came out in the end. In Arizona I always poured early in the morning, made sure the mix was good and wet, used a manual or roller tamper and a bull float (what you call a remote float) to get a decent top for the finish trowels. And you can NEVER have too many bodies there...........just in case.
We poured a 37 yard driveway today, stamped the walkway , broom finished, cobblestone apron stamped. Beautiful.we did not use the methods in this video.
If you’re doing jobs like that you better make damn sure your equipment is going to work or better have good back-up. They probably never look at that motor. Reminds me of guys I once worked for. Don’t fix anything until it breaks in the middle of a job.
@@hudsoninbury Is it me or should you at least start it up. Warm it ? So when you have product, you can successfully work. Also, this method of get r done to avoid failure. The end product is compromised... 20/20 hindsight. I know.... Ever see a parachute jumper walk thru hes routine on solid ground. Then jumps
You know who your REAL mates are when it comes to pouring a concrete floor, especially one this size. You needed at least three guys with shovels and three with barrows (or more) seeing as the mix was dumped in the middle. you'll know next time of course but overall you did really well I think, given the problems. My back was aching just watching the video.
Why not start the pour at one end, start compacting and floating right away as you move towards the finished end. Makes no sense to dump everything in the middle. As soon as it's out of that truck it's a time game.
@@kaic9712 the vibrating does 2 things : helps break up & compact clumps and helps remove trapped air. You'll definitely know the difference both in your slumps and overall finished appearence. As for motorized screets I think they are kinda lame for small areas. In this situation they could of added an admixture called duracem to extend the working time by about an 45 to 60min, just in case. As for screeting just go old scool, it will work
I worked as a builder's off-sider for a few years. Pour day was always "game on" day. Fuel operated equipment was always checked and run the day before to ensure it was in working order. Exposed finish slabs were always poured first thing in the morning. Ideally concrete on site and flowing by 7am. Hiring a pump with operator would make this job easily done by 2 guys who can concentrate on actually finishing the concrete. A few hours of hard work in the morning, then you'd be on easy Street for the rest of the day. Also, if you don't have a 2.4m, 3m, or 3.6m long hand screed in your truck as a back up, your asking for trouble.
I know how it feels When a slab or concrete blows up (goes off fast ) it sucks makes it that much harder to fix good you guys saved it a screed board or rod stick is always the best that’s what we use out in Southern California hood vid guys
Here in Australia we pour on very hot days. We use pumps even on small jobs like this. If not we barrow the concrete until we can reach with chutes. I know these drivers want to just dump it, but it's better to pay waiting time and place the concrete where it's wanted and level as you go. Also a laser level helps. Tamper sounds like it's running lean. But it's done now so maybe next time.
Wow! Pretty good recovery from a horrible situation. My only suggestion would have been to 1. have more bodies and wheelbarrows to get the back placed faster before dumping a huge pile in the middle. On hot days, you can never have too many guys to get the pour placed. 2. Break the screeding job up into lanes by using one or more of the scaffold poles to use in the center to reduce your screed length and use a screed that didn't have so much flex. Or 3. Always have hand screeds or straight lumber as a backup to be ready to go old school. On larger pours, we would drive grade stakes on a grid pattern spaced a bit shorter than our hand screeds and hand float to the stake and pull them. Then, using those spots, screed between them to establish a line on grade, then use that grade line and screed from it to the wall. Basically breaking the job up into small squares. It goes pretty fast that way. But again, great recovery. Obviously not as you wanted it, but valiant effort. Cheers!
@@agonzalesXQ Yes, and it wasn't enough. When it's hot like that, concrete can get away from you in minutes. While you can salvage a decent looking job out of a bad situation like this, all too often, crews will resort to spray more water on the surface to work up more paste. This reduces surface strength and increases crazing, surface cracking, and spalling. Structurally, it will normally be fine, but if allowed to dry prematurely, curling can also occur. Having additional bodies, even if only to run wheelbarrows and fetch tools can make a huge difference in the work load for the placers and finishers. I've seen really good small crews do great. But when a major tool like a power screed goes down, you have to replace it with something. That something is muscle and bodies. I know some crews who will pick up day laborers as insurance on days like this just in case things get dicey.
Did very well to get it as good as they did. Made the best of a bad situation. With the 'big mistake' title I thought the concrete was going to set whilst it was still in a mound in the middle. Now THAT would've been a disaster!!
That was not " Stiff " by any means. Too wet but that helped in the end. Concrete should pile 24" or more out of the shoot, but that's when you don't have to move half the load by hand.
In the past we did some fairly big amateur slabs for our own use.Barn floors,reinforce cellar walls, usually slabs. We always built wooden chutes before and had saw horses to place,them here and there. Sometimes we could chain them to extend the truck chutes. We did hoe a lot to reinforce that cellar wall in a 1830 house I redid. Drivers usually pitched in if we were short handed.Sometimes they supervised.Best driver we ever had was a very attractive American Indian girl from northern Maine. Really goodloo king and muscular.She hooked her own chutes, no help wanted thank you. Haven't done much conc work in a while. The old crew is scattered and old. Good luck.
Hey guys I’m an old wall guy. Concrete is a cool thing. I have helped with a fair amount of floors too. You can do lots with it, but they should have had a couple more guys to try to pour that out. Too much for two guys to do
I'm sorry but I noticed a lot of mistakes right off the bat. Once I saw you starting the pour in the center I knew things weren't going to end well. For the hottest day of the year that slump looked really dry as well. In my experience (only 4 years) it was always better to have it a little wet than too dry. Always better to have extra time if everything doesn't go to plan which it never goes smoothly. You were running the screeter with the choke on too which is why the engine killed itself like that. The gasoline and oxygen levels were off. Good on you guys for saving it to the best of your abilities and making a comeback. It takes a real man to show his mistakes publicly and admit her doesn't know everything. I've done driveways twice the size with hand screeter, come alongs, floats and the works. It's shitty work but it can be rewarding
I know can you imagine look at all that big huge construction going on next door they couldn't have just walked next door and used a 2x4 I could have done all that by myself with my eyes closed
I haven’t gone through the comments but there would be a lot of ppl with lots of negative comments. Concreting is a hard f@&ken job. Hats off to you for showing a job that I guess failed to complete to the best of your ability. Not every job is perfect. Only advise for you is to always use experienced tradesman who can actually move quickly in these situations when the shit hits the fan.
I'm so spoiled, here we have the 'advance' front dumper concrete trucks, they drive around the slab where they can and chute the concrete that it makes a 2 man floating team have easy work. At least the engine didn't throw a rod and spew oil all over the new slab!
It's happened to the best of us, normally when your being filmed , or clients are watching. Should of had a few vibrating poker's there , would of helped level, and a must to get the concrete round the steel.
Hell of a thing to go wrong. Sometimes we'd use a boom truck on large slabs, and segment into 8' or 6' wide sections, then hand-rod and strike. Looks like you had a good save though!
Why so many downvotes? This kind of work is hard as hell and beats your body to a pulp escpecially in the summer. Things break and things go wrong. I always feel during a concrete pour you can always use 3 or 4 more hands and when you start falling behind its no time to take a break.
That’s no failure. The task was to pour a quality job and that’s what they did. They were prepared with alternate equipment and manpower to get it done with WORK. You guys were great.
9:05 wow hahaha! what the heck do these guys think the giant rolling pin will do. I think their best hope would have been to hose it down with water and get a trowel in every guys hand, would probably still have to redo it anyway.
I love how someone elses misfortune brings out all the experts on youtube, get the engine serviced occasionally, also keep the crap out of the fuel tank.
I am an expert at installing concrete. Their method was doomed to fail. They were way behind the curve. Concrete is a perishable. On a hot day they poured out way too much before they dropped back. Painful to watch.
I knew there was going to be a problem the minute I saw only 2 men placing the concrete, 2 men can't place it fast enough before it starts setting. Normally, we start placing at the back wall and move forward, not in the middle of slab. I have never seen such a tamper/screeding contraption either. And why wasn't someone hand troweling long before the screed was even placed? Thanks to videos like this I am happy that we use completely different methods of concrete placing & finishing in Canada. Too much room for error here, and most clients allow us zero errors when it comes to their concrete... we like to get paid.
Check that fuel shutoff valve, sounds like it used up the fuel in the bowl then died. Those pull cords are easy to replace too, I used a boot string once when I was really desperate lol. Those older guys deserve a cold beer! Cheers!
No mistakes- Murphy’s Law showed up- U can test ride that machine so many times & it shuts the bed at the worst time possible- Sucks, but u pulled through with good ol hard work. Beers for the crew after.
Nothing like hiring finishers who dont know what they're doing. Should have used the float from the beginning, and why was everybody standing around most of the time
A wooden rake would have taken care of it without all the fuss. Working too slow for concrete. I've never seen screed work like that. Not enough handles for a bull float? Far too leisurely.
No need to dig it out again , you could simply just sand and cement semi dry screed it, about 60mm, 30N, and the finish would be much superior to a concrete finish as just as durable, and looks brilliant when painted with non slip paint.
Always have a back-up machine which I'm sure you do now. Also, work with a greater sense of urgency or have more people helping. The problem was 100% not the engine or the hot day. It was failure to plan. You knew you had only one engine and chose not to buy a backup and you knew, or should have known the near exact weather forecast ahead of the pour. Glad to see you were still able to pull it off. It was a good lesson to post.
Great video! I know the feeling of things not working out the way you had planned. But it happens to everyone in this business. I think y’all did a very fine job of adapting and conquering. Maybe it didn’t turn out exactly like you wanted, but from what I see, it looks good enough to serve its purpose. Good luck on your future jobs 🤘
Wow such ineptitude and lack of knowledge is mindboggling. They have no clue what they are doing. I've worked with some of the most successful companies in Arizona and Hawaii was a supervisor for our company after being the foreman. And oh my God that is painful to watch.
I wonder how many who commented have never laid concrete themselves. Of course behind the monitor I had a lot of good ideas as well how I would have done it much better :-p. Respect to the guys to jump in and rescue the job!
I know that everyone on here is judging and commenting on what they would've done, so here's my take. I think you guys needed more bodies to pull mud, more experienced hands to lay down the concrete and a back up for the screed, like a 2x4, and poured a lil wetter maybe talk to your redi-mix plant about add-a- slump to help on hotter days. I'm sure after this you guys seen your mistakes and will address and correct them on your next pour. I tell my guys that the hardest part on concrete is pouring and screeding. Goodluck with your future projects. Oh yea, and there are some comments about watching Concrete Ninja and Texas Barndominiums pours. Check them out, over learned from others my whole life. I've done this 25 years and still am eager and ready to learn from others. ✌
Guys I got my ass chewed by my commander when I made the mistake of saying lets pour the concrete. He yelled saying you don’t pour concrete you place concrete. Go figure! Lol.
Because they have low I.q. They didn't even move the bricks and blocks all around so they could tamp. Dumped a load of concrete in the middle to then push wheelbarrows through 🤣
People have always got an answer when their not doing the job... You did the best you could with what you had thank GOD the scaffold pole was long enough.
hudsoninbury if your guys didnt show up why would you use other trade persons to do this job. Your comment shows your lack of professionalism. I would have eighter called others that know the job or cancelled until I could have an experienced crew on hand
After my first comment about planning it out etc I want to say respect for sticking it out and sorting it, it’s happened to us all , fair play for showing it, bet you was knackered, well done
