We can do slabs of all shapes and sizes for all purposes. We are concreters., that’s what we do. IF you want to build a house, or any building, you’ll need a slab. If you want a basketball court, you’ll need a slab. If you want a driveway, and outdoor space, even just to get rid of dirty areas guess what? That’s right, you’ll need a slab. This is the bread and butter of what concreters do and we do it well, even if we do say so ourselves.
Almost every building you walk over has a concrete slab as its basic foundation providing the literal basic of our modern day architecture and thus, our way of life (okay we promise not to get too deep here but hey, this is our job and we’re holding up society right?). But make no mistake, just because concrete is everywhere don’t dismiss it as an easy job that you can pay no importance to. Every slab that Logan Concrete Contractor’s creates is with professionalism and care to ensure that it lasts and suits your every need. This is from the moment we meet and speak to you as a customer, to the moment we walk away and leaving you to enjoy your freshly poured slab.
The number of unprofessional concreters out there, be it your home handymen or actual businesses, are many. Most of these won’t offer the same care and attention required to have a professional job done, and some may even cut corners, leaving you with less than desirable results. Remember, if you are going to build something, the foundation must be solid, and strength is derived from the ground up. If you want the foundation to be solid, you need a slab that is poured to the size and depth that will suit your needs and one of the most common problems people have with other concrete businesses is that they try to save costs on the actual concrete material, usually by pouring it thinner. This will only lead to problems in the future such as cracking and moving.
That’s not to say that concrete must always be as thick as possible. IF there is going to be no heavy movement, ie a large structure or vehicle movement like a driveway, than a thick mass of concrete may not be required. Garden paths and outdoor play areas may not require a full width and can be as little as seventy-five millimetres, or even fifty millimetres in some cases. Of course, if you do choose this, care must be taken that the area will not be used for vehicles and that the ground underneath is stable to prevent movant as this can also lead to cracking.
The reason we mention the ground and soil is because that this can largely affect the effectiveness of the slab into the future. A solid ground base, of soil that that does not have the tendency to move too much will mean less stress is put on the concrete and less pockets eroding underneath. Bad soil can twist and move the slab slowly but water can also wash away pockets underneath, leaving hollows that make cracking easier when applied, and reinforce the twisting and moving above.
If you are at all concerned about the soil in your area, you can get soil testing from a local consultant. Further, sometimes it pays to speak to others in your immediate neighbourhood, especially if you know somebody who has had similar work or built structures recently.
Why is this important? A concrete slab is meant to last a life time, however we know this is not always the case. Even a slab used outside, for a basketball court example, may crack and degrade with time. While there are option to re-align parts these are often just as costly as getting a new slab poured. However a new slab mean removing the old one, including breaking it up and taking it away, expensive or work intensive, and then doing more earth works and re-pouring the slab. Costly and time consuming. Worse, if it’s a more important slab, say for a house or other structure, this is not something you can re-pour and rip up. There are options to re-align a slab if it splits and moves, but this in itself it costly and the results not always definite. Obviously it pays to do it right the first time.
There other factors that attain to being a professional and helping the customer get the most out of a concrete slab, however mundane that may sound. The first is efficiency and productiveness. As a professional business we do this day in, day out and have experienced staff, all the right tools and equipment and know how to get the job done in the shortest amount of time for a cost competitive price. Secondly, knowing the ins and outs of the business allows us to ascertain any situation and decide what is needed. We know when steel or wire mesh is required, whether more or less, or a different grade of concrete ratios are required, or as above, a higher thickness is needed. Lastly, we can also help with the different finishes, where it be edged, smooth, brushed or aggregate for that pebbly look.
One of the biggest factors that deter people from hiring a professional, and either employing the bloke next door or trying to do it themselves, is the cost. Many people who do it themselves will often take weeks to get the earthworks done without the proper machinery and break their backs in doing so. Even handymen don’t normally have access to small bobcats and excavators, slowing the process down. Finally, as per the many factors above, the end result is rarely the same. Without the in depth knowledge, a slab isn’t always just a slab, and it’s life expectancy can be reduced drastically without proper preparation. OF course the price of doing it yourself may not as vary as much as you think. A lot of the costs of pouring the slab come from the concrete itself, which you would be required to pay for regardless of who does the job.
We hope we’ve help you understand not just the importance of the everyday concrete slab, but also the importance of getting the job done right so that you won’t ever look at a slab the same way. As concreters, we don’t!.
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