Concrete ramp

Forestboy1978 · Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:07 pm

Hi I made a concrete ramp to go onto a driveway because I wanted it to look tidy and there was a high drain at the front of the driveway. It's an old drain so I didn't want to start toying with it so I made the ramp instead.

Anyway, I could really do with driving a 3.5ton truck over it about 20 times approx 36 hours after laying it. Is this possible?

The concrete is between 6 and 8 inches deep and has 4" of scalping beneath it.

What do you reckon?

Pablo · Post: # 71800Post **Pablo** Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:31 pm

no it's not even close to cured yet even if it doesn't crack it will get scuffed. I stay off concrete for at least 5 days.

Forestboy1978 · Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:49 pm

Shit!!!

Thanks pablo!

Looks like I gotta move 25 tons of shingle with a wheel barrow then!

What a fool!

Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:02 pm

48 hours is initial set for us for foot traffic
maybe brucieboy our new concrete guru can give us the technical answer
but a week sounds reasonable
LLL

Forestboy1978 · Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:12 pm

I'm starting to have anxiety pangs now!

I just did it off the cuff. Not really knowing what i was doing thinking ahh it'll be alright and look nice and tidy.

What's worying me is that yes I made the base 6" to 10" in depth so that's cool and yes I put betweem 4" - 6" of scalpings down so that's cool... BUT

I couldn't fit the compactor in the whole so I tamped them down with so I used what I had available i.e a sledge hammer!?!? I made the ramp in a trianglular square shape. Like a triangle at the front but then getting flat towards the end. I butted it up to a strip of driveway edging so it looked real pretty. Took me an age.

It's gonna sink isn't it!

Just give me the cold hard facts. I can handle it!

Forestboy1978 · Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:13 pm

oh sorry not triangular. It's a rectangle with a triangle and another rectrangle on top if that make sense. No thin edges or whatnot!

Brucieboy · Post: # 71806Post **Brucieboy** Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:02 pm

A lot depends on the grade of concrete, cement type and ambient temperature. In winter for "average quality" concrete I'd go with LLL's and Pablo's recommendation for foot traffic and vehicles respectively. Absolute minimum for a C40 CEMI in the milder months would be 3 days for vehicles but the longer it's left to harden the better. It's best practice to protect the surface of the concrete with some form of insulation to aid curing when a significant overnight frost is forecast. If it's very cold during the day, i.e. zero or close to, don't concrete unless you're really geared up for it. Some people chance it and get away with it, but many don't. Using hot water in concrete (available at some plants) is not much use unless you can keep the temperature of the placed concrete above 5 degC throughout the hardening process (usually first 24 hours).

For info, when repairing airport runways, the use of specialist concretes (suppled via ready mix) allow aircraft to use within 6-8 hours, even in winter!! Very expensive stuff.

Forestboy1978 · Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:41 pm

Thanks for that usefull info. I really hope I've got away with this. Looks like the low over the next 34 hours is 3.0 degrees c!

Skin of my teeth every time!

Carberry · Post: # 71818Post **Carberry** Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:29 am

Forestboy1978 wrote:Shit!!!

Thanks pablo!

Looks like I gotta move 25 tons of shingle with a wheel barrow then!

What a fool!

Can shift that in a day on your own. Good workout.

Post: # 71819Post **seanandruby** Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:49 pm

Brucieboy wrote:A lot depends on the grade of concrete, cement type and ambient temperature. In winter for "average quality" concrete I'd go with LLL's and Pablo's recommendation for foot traffic and vehicles respectively. Absolute minimum for a C40 CEMI in the milder months would be 3 days for vehicles but the longer it's left to harden the better. It's best practice to protect the surface of the concrete with some form of insulation to aid curing when a significant overnight frost is forecast. If it's very cold during the day, i.e. zero or close to, don't concrete unless you're really geared up for it. Some people chance it and get away with it, but many don't. Using hot water in concrete (available at some plants) is not much use unless you can keep the temperature of the placed concrete above 5 degC throughout the hardening process (usually first 24 hours).

For info, when repairing airport runways, the use of specialist concretes (suppled via ready mix) allow aircraft to use within 6-8 hours, even in winter!! Very expensive stuff.

........ PQ concrete ( pavement quality ). not just for repairs but for new build. No reinforcing in the concrete so it is flexible. Minly machine laid.Concrete brought in on tipper lorries, tipped straight in .

Forestboy1978 · Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:00 pm

Carberry wrote:
Forestboy1978 wrote:Shit!!!

Thanks pablo!

Looks like I gotta move 25 tons of shingle with a wheel barrow then!

What a fool!

Can shift that in a day on your own. Good workout.

Me and my bro down a plank and through a gate to 30 metres or less. It can be done just gotta go like the clappers!

Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:51 pm

methinks 25 tonnes in a day is over optimistic for 2 men when there is only 8 hours of light :;):
its possible,just very unlikely
LLL

Forestboy1978 · Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:48 am

Hi guys thanks very much for your input. We got it done and the customer is very happy, the ramp is in use and hasn't cracked or sunk lol.

It was only about 18 tons in the end and there were three of us. Finished by 1pm and went for a pint christmas eve!

I have a new and more complex issue now that I am about to start a thread on lol!