At what temperature can you pour concrete without damaging the foundation

Most people starting construction and having neither experience nor skills, call the professionals and rely entirely on them. But often, having free time and some of his own, well-worn and cherished ideas, a person wants to build his own corner. And let it be a small house on the newly bought land, a long-conceived garage or at least a chicken coop on the subtracted technology! There is a desire to build this "monumental", but with something dear to the heart of building with your own hands, and the point. This is where you come across cardinal issues.

The foundation is the main thing

Whatever the size of the building, if it is assumed that it will not be a season, but at least a decade, it must have a foundation. And it's faster, more convenient and more reliable to make concrete. And then a very important question arises: "And, at what temperature can concrete be poured?" No one really wants to translate material or, even worse, spoil the base of the building.

Regulatory conditions

In any technical documents, you can read that the boundary indicators indicating at what temperature it is possible to pour concrete remain the lower bar at minus twenty and the upper one at plus forty-five Celsius. In this case, any intelligent person understands that the best conditions will be something average. If we take into account the mutual effect of concrete during hardening and air temperature, we can say that the most favorable will be degrees from +5 to +15. Above - permissible, although not to tropical heat, in summer it will be necessary to make concrete more liquid, taking into account evaporating moisture. But in the winter ...

Extreme conditions: frost

In cold weather, according to physics, the water in the concrete solution freezes, and the concrete ceases to harden. If he did not have time to do this before turning water into ice, he will not become firm, even if he manage to warm it up. Since freezing water increases in volume, it breaks bonds in concrete, and it becomes non-uniform. Frozen fittings, too, do not add optimism, since the ice on it prevents the grapple with concrete, and as a result they do not form a single whole. In winter, the question of the temperature at which concrete can be poured is generally irrelevant, since it can jump within 5-15 degrees within 24 hours, and permanent freezing-defrosting for the foundation is also dangerous.

How to deal with the cold

In this case, and in winter it is possible to produce concrete works, if you know how to pour concrete into the frost. The main thing is to follow certain rules, and the fill will not be worse than on the most favorable days. The first condition is to properly deliver good, regular concrete. Experienced builders advise not to be greedy and use a concrete pump. The second is to care for the already poured concrete. At least when pouring into it, add frost-resistant additives and take care of the formwork with insulation. In the future, you can advise heating a concrete site. With sufficient diligence, you will not care about the temperature at which concrete can be poured. You can always!

Extreme conditions: rain

Many builders are concreted in dampness, which is combined with a cool, even more convenient than in dry and warm weather. They say that concrete grasps more evenly. In addition, if you want to work in a deliberately rainy time, you can increase the resistance of concrete to water with special cement. The second secret of how to fill concrete in the rain successfully, is covering the area with polyethylene, so that the solution does not blur.

Unfortunately, rain does not save any tricks, so that in strong, prolonged rains in open spaces, concrete works do not lead.