How to Pour Concrete for a Loading Dock

To run an efficient business, you must create a warehouse design for trucks to unload and load shipments. Your design should consist of a loading dock where trucks can back up to the warehouse. Base the type of loading dock on the building's design. If your loading bay is several feet off the ground, the loading dock should match the height of the truck's trailer so forklifts and people can enter. A building with a lower entrance can have a loading dock with a sloped ramp. Both ways rely on a framed mold to shape the concrete dock.

Plywood sheets
2-by-4-inch board braces
Concrete
Finishing trowel

Instructions

- 1
  Measure and mark out the area where you will pour the concrete. Dig out the dirt to install a footing for the concrete. Pound in steel bars for reinforcement if you are creating a tall concrete slab.
- 2
  Build the plywood forms. Brace the sides of the plywood mold with 2-by-4-inch board braces on either side. Nail enough braces to the plywood so the weight of the poured concrete does not knock over the mold.
- 3
  Place a front plywood sheet if building a squared loading dock, or add a slope to the dock by cutting two plywood sections in the incline angle you want. Attach the triangular pieces to the sides with the longest side facing up. Nail a piece of plywood on top the triangular pieces.
- 4
  Reinforce all joints with additional wood to prevent the concrete from seeping through cracks. Pour the concrete from the truck into the mold.
- 5
  Stick a wooden board into the concrete in several areas during the pour to eliminate air pockets. Smooth the open top with a finishing trowel. Allow for the concrete to dry.
- 6
  Nail a sheet of plastic on top of the mold during stormy weather. Tear off the braces and plywood once the concrete has set.

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