How to Work With Concrete

Form the pour. This can be the foundation of a house or any number of smaller projects but concrete must be contained when wet by a form that secures its boundaries. Anything that will hold the wet concrete is fine. Concrete forms are necessary on a house but you can make small forms for stepping-stones, birdbaths and more.

Reinforce the concrete before you pour it. Do this by adding steel mesh or rebar to the form. Position the reinforcement materials so they extend into the middle of the form for the greatest added strength.

Shovel large amounts of concrete into corners as a concrete truck dumps the wet material into the form. During a large pour, massive amounts of concrete spread very quickly and there is still no piece of equipment as efficient as the shovel for carrying out this task.

Tamp wet concrete into corners and along edges to remove trapped air bubbles and compact the mixture. On foundation walls, you can use a large rubber mallet to pound the forms. On smaller pours, tap the outside of the form with a hammer, especially along the edges to fill in voids that could later weaken the concrete.

Smooth the top of flat concrete pours with a screed as soon as the concrete is in position. Commercial screeds emit a powerful vibration that allows the concrete to settle into the form. Screeding removes excess concrete and smooths the top of a flat pour.

Float and trowel the damp concrete surface to provide a flat finish and cut in the edges. Floats gently glide along the surface of the concrete, drawing moisture to the top even as the concrete sets beneath. A trowel cuts and forms the edges of the pour, smoothing and rounding them slightly.

Spray a fine mist of water on the newly-finished concrete as it sets to keep it from drying too quickly. By allowing it to cure slowly, the strength of the concrete increases. After a day or two, you may remove the forms.