Do-it-yourself homeowners are often fearless when it comes to projects around the house. However, there are some home improvements that are best left to the professionals. One example of those is concrete work. Successful concrete projects require time, patience, careful calculations and measurements because failures can be costly to repair or demolish and haul away. Hiring a contractor to install concrete tends to be more cost effective than risking botched DIY concrete projects. A contractor knows the exact measurement of mixing and pouring of the concrete and the water. Athens Concrete Co. are experts on this and have reliable professionals that can do the job well.
Most concrete projects fail because of avoidable errors in mixing or pouring. The harsher the winters where you live, the more important it is to steer clear of the kind of mistakes you’ll learn about here. Poor concrete techniques almost always lead to flaking, deterioration and premature failure.
Technically, there are top 3 common reasons why DIY concrete patios fail. Here are the reasons:
- No Concrete Form is Built
A form is simply a barrier that holds concrete in a specific size and shape until it hardens. Our concrete contractors are able to build the forms you need to hold concrete in place for the ultimate backyard patio. We often use lumber to build wood frames.
A common amateur mistake we see is making the concrete pad too big. Fortunately, our concrete contractors take the time to measure the exact dimensions you want. We’ll make sure that the forms aren’t built too big to prevent your patio from cracking. That way, your concrete patio will become the perfect addition to your home. Our concrete contractors understand that a patio is meant to be an extension of your home so you can take full advantage of outdoor living.
- Concrete Form or Template Isn’t Level
Wet concrete can flow downhill and pool, especially when the form isn’t level. The last thing you want is for your freshly poured concrete patio to be deeper in some spots than in others. When this happens, you’ll notice that your concrete patio doesn’t dry evenly. Your concrete patio also won’t look right if it isn’t the same thickness throughout.
Concrete contractors will make sure that your concrete form or template is level before pouring fresh concrete. That way, you can be sure that your concrete patio will set up and dry the way it was intended. They take great care in leveling out the foundation of your future concrete patio so the concrete can be poured evenly.
- Measurements are Rushed
Creating a concrete mix is like following a recipe. You need to make sure you add the right amount of water to the dry concrete mix for your patio to turn out right. Adding the wrong amount of water could make your backyard concrete patio more brittle and likely to crack. For this reason, we highly recommend you hire our concrete contractors to make your backyard patio. We have years of experience installing concrete patios that are made to last.
You can’t just “eyeball” how much water you need for your concrete mix to turn out right. Instead, you’ll need to carefully consider how much concrete mix and water you’ll need to complete your project. You can also hire our concrete patio contractors if you don’t want to deal with the hassle. Contractors are also able to offer more options than what you may be able to achieve on your own, such as decorative concrete.