2500 PSI:

Fence posts, post holes for pole barns, and rat slabs. 

3000 PSI:

Residential sidewalk, footings, patios, steps, trash slabs, shed slabs, and pier pads.

3500 PSI:

Commercial sidewalks, curbs, driveways, approaches, building footings, foundations, retaining walls, floor slabs, garage floors, hot tub pads and bond beams, grade beams, and areas with heavy loads.

4000 PSI:

Heavy traffic pavement, such as shops, warehouses, RV slabs, and concrete footings designed for heavy loading.

5000 PSI:

Driveways, roads, and specialized construction projects where high impact resistance, very low wear rates, or extreme conditions are expected. Very strong and durable mix design.

6000 PSI or greater:

Driveways, roads, dams, high-rise buildings, bridge decks, parking garages, specialized projects. Extremely strong and durable mix design.sign. 

CLSM (Controlled Low Strength Material) also known as Controlled Density Fill.  About 1200 PSI: 

• Primarily used as a replacement for compacted backfill.
• Very liquid type of concrete with a consistency similar to a milk shake. 
• No need to compact or vibrate.
• Self-leveling material.

Specialized Mix Designs Per Request: 

• Mix designs can use aggregate ranging from pea gravel to 1 ½” minus rock.
• River rock or crushed aggregate.
• Slag or fly ash additives or blends or pure 100% cement.
• Grout and mortar mix designs.

Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF):

Hollow foam blocks, reinforced with steel rebar, and filled with concrete that produces an energy efficient, noise reducing, and strong product with a significant thermal mass.

Concrete With Air/Without Air:

• Air entrainment in concrete increases the durability and resistance to the detrimental temperature changes found with recurrent freeze thaw cycles.  Central Oregon has numerous annual freeze thaw cycles.
• Air entrainment minimizes surface concrete cracking and scaling caused by de-icing salts and chemicals.
• Air bubbles in air entrained concrete increase the workability and ability to finish concrete and the air bubbles facilitate and allow for concrete expansion and contraction, minimizing risk for long-term concrete cracking.
• Air entrainment gives semi-liquid concrete a “creamy” look and feel, resulting in less water required for all mix designs, resulting in less “bleeding” of concrete, and resulting in a more durable concrete product.

Exposed Aggregate:

Decorative exposed aggregate concrete creates a durable skid resistant surface, ideal for most flatwork applications – sidewalks, driveways, pathway, patios, pool decks.

List of Various Admixtures:

Calcium Chloride

• Accelerates cement hydration and reduce set time by approximately two thirds. Calcium chloride could reduce concrete cure time from 6 hours to 2 hours.
• Typically used during cold weather.
• Not recommended, or used with caution, with rebar reinforced concrete to avoid corrosion of steel reinforcement.  Other concrete accelerators can used to reduce concrete set time and accelerate hydration in these circumstances.

Hot Water 

• Mandatory when pouring concrete during cold weather.
• Hot water promotes early chemical processes of concrete hydration, setting, and strength formation in cold temperature concrete pour environments.

Fiber

• Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC).
• Fiber reinforcement in residential projects provides an economical way to increase concrete structural integrity.
• Fiber reinforcement promotes concrete durability and inhibits concrete cracking secondary to plastic and drying shrinkage.  
• Fiber reinforcement reduces the permeability of concrete and plastic settlement cracking, and improves the cohesion of the concrete mix.

Color

• Color admixtures integrated into concrete mix designs; produce deep, durable, and multi colored concrete options, accents, and highlights.
• These integral pigments color the entire concrete product, resulting in deep colors that do not fade with time or wear.

Additional Concrete Placement Notes:

Cold Weather

There can be problems with concrete placement in cold weather:

• Concrete can freeze before it gains sufficient strength.  If this happens, the concrete hardening process stops and the concrete will never develop strength or durability and it will fail.  Concrete cannot freeze in the immediate post pour period until the concrete has had sufficient time to set and gain strength.
• Concrete hardens and sets slowly in cold temperatures, very slowly in temperatures below 50°F.
• V Works does not recommend concrete placement in temperatures below 40°F because the concrete hydration reaction essentially stops at this temperature  and concrete does not gain strength.

Deicers and Chemicals

Do not apply deicers and chemicals to concrete for at least the first winter after concrete placement to minimize concrete degradation and cracking.

Concrete placement on frozen ground

Do not place fresh concrete on frozen ground. This will have significant negative effects on the long-term success of that concrete.

Adequate Compaction of subbase and subgrade

Only place concrete on well-compacted subbase and subgrade material.  Inadequate compaction of this material can result in early failure and/or cracking of concrete.

Adequate Curing

Long term concrete success depends on adequate curing and hydration of the concrete mixture before load bearing and use occurs.

Welded Wire Fabric Reinforcement

Low carbon steel wire or stainless steel wire adds tensile strength and adhesion properties. The increased tensile strength found with fabric reinforcement resists contracting and pulling forces which can cause concrete to crack from twisting and warping.

Rebar or reinforcing bar

Rebar reinforced concrete has higher tensile strength, ductility, and elastic properties, resists tensile stresses better, and results in more uniform concrete properties.