I had a nice surprise this morning to find that our foreman, Kan, had managed to get the shuttering in place more quickly than planned and so had already poured the first batch of columns. By the end of the day, the rest had been poured.
All final stage columns cast
It is important that freshly poured concrete is kept from drying out too quickly during the 'curing' period This is because the full bond between all of the ingredients will not be achieved if it is left to dry out of its own accord, leading to a weaker structure with a greater tendency to crack. With the columns, this is achieved by wrapping them in plastic, thus preventing evaporation of moisture. With the beams and slabs, it is done my periodically spraying them with water to ensure they stay wet. Now that the columns have been cast, another method has been employed on the second floor slab known as ponding. In this case, a sand wall has been formed around the edge of the slab and the slab flooded.
Ponding of second floor slab
All final stage columns castIt is important that freshly poured concrete is kept from drying out too quickly during the 'curing' period This is because the full bond between all of the ingredients will not be achieved if it is left to dry out of its own accord, leading to a weaker structure with a greater tendency to crack. With the columns, this is achieved by wrapping them in plastic, thus preventing evaporation of moisture. With the beams and slabs, it is done my periodically spraying them with water to ensure they stay wet. Now that the columns have been cast, another method has been employed on the second floor slab known as ponding. In this case, a sand wall has been formed around the edge of the slab and the slab flooded.
Ponding of second floor slab