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Had a concrete pour go sideways on a garage slab last month, still not sure what I should've done different

I'm over in Lethbridge and took on a small garage slab for a buddy's place. About 20 yards. Everything looked good, forms were solid, rebar in place. But then halfway through the pour, the ready mix truck shows up with the wrong slump. Like way too wet. I told the driver I ordered 4 inch slump and he just shrugged said that's what they sent. I was stuck because it was a Friday afternoon and I couldn't get another truck for hours. So I poured it anyway, tried to work with it, and now I've got some cracking along the control joints that I'm not happy about. Customer didn't complain yet but I know it's not my best work. Should I have just sent the truck back and taken the loss for the pour? How do you guys handle it when the batch is wrong and you're already on site?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason49910h ago

Gotta say I used to be in the camp of just making it work to save the job but man this changed my mind hard. Seeing you describe that control joint cracking makes me realize I got lucky on a couple pours where I pushed through with bad slump like that. Next time I'm absolutely sending it back even if it means waiting till Monday.

smith.blair10h ago

Honestly gotta push back here. A little high slump never killed anybody if you know how to handle it right. Seen guys save way worse loads with some dry cement and a few minutes of extra work. Plus sending it back on a Friday means you're stuck waiting till Monday and the whole schedule's blown for a mix that probably would've been fine if you just adjusted on site.

rowanbennett1d ago

They sent you 4 inch slump and it showed up like soup on a Friday? I would have been livid. That driver just shrugging at you is the kind of thing that makes you want to send the whole truck back to the plant with a strongly worded note. You absolutely should have sent it back, even if it meant a wasted afternoon and a pissed off dispatcher. That wet of a mix is just asking for cracks and surface problems no matter how much you try to work it, especially on a garage slab. I bet your control joints are looking like spiderwebs right now. Next time, make them send a new load or cut you a fat discount, because that's on them not you.