Preparing for a Concrete Delivery

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Ready-mix concrete has a roughly 90-minute window from leaving the plant to being in place on site. If your site isn't ready, you waste the load, and we charge for it. Here's exactly what to have done before the wagon arrives.

1. Confirm Access for the Wagon

A standard 8-wheel ready-mix wagon weighs around 32 tonnes loaded, needs 3.5m of headroom, and wants a turning circle of about 15m. Before the wagon leaves the plant, walk the route from the road to the pour point and check:

• Overhead obstacles, tree branches, power cables, telephone wires (3.8m clearance needed)
• Width restrictions, narrow lanes, gate posts, overhanging hedges
• Weight-bearing surfaces, block paving, thin tarmac, soft verges can crack or sink under a loaded wagon
• Reversing lines, the driver needs to see the pour point or have a banksman directing
• Distance from wagon to pour, standard chutes reach about 3m. Beyond that you need a pump or barrow run

If access is tight, tell us when you book. We'd rather send a 4-wheel mini-mix or arrange a pump than have a full wagon turn away from your gate.

2. Complete Your Sub-Base

Concrete is only as good as what it sits on. Your sub-base must be:

3. Install DPM & Formwork

Before the wagon arrives:

• Lay 1200-gauge damp-proof membrane (DPM) over the sub-base, with 150mm overlaps taped at any joints
• Build timber formwork to the finished slab level, check with a spirit level or laser, not by eye
• Brace formwork with pegs every 600mm, fresh concrete exerts serious outward pressure
• Grease or oil the inside of the formwork if you want a clean release afterwards

For larger slabs, set level pegs across the pour area at the finished height. These guide screeding and stop a high or low finish.

4. Reinforcement in Place

If your mix spec calls for reinforcement:

• A142 or A193 mesh on 50mm plastic spacers, never lay directly on the DPM
• Overlap mesh sheets by at least 300mm and tie with wire
• The mesh should sit in the lower third of the slab thickness
• For structural pours, your engineer may specify rebar with specific cover, follow the drawing

5. Tools & People on Site

The pour itself is time-sensitive, here's what you need within arm's reach:

6. Timing the Delivery

Concrete starts its chemical reaction the moment water meets cement. From there:

• 0-30 mins after delivery, best time to pour, tamp and screed
• 30-60 mins, still workable, but starting to stiffen
• 60-90 mins, last usable window; the mix will be getting harder to move
• 90+ mins, starting to take initial set; quality suffers

Give us your site address when you book and we'll time the wagon so it arrives as you're ready to pour, not an hour before.

7. Common Mistakes That Waste Money

• Over-ordering "to be safe", our calculator adds 10% wastage automatically. Beyond that, you're paying for concrete you don't need.
• Under-ordering, running short mid-pour means a cold joint (the weakest point in a slab) or a second short-load delivery at premium rates.
• Not confirming access, wagons turned away still cost. Confirm everything at the booking stage.
• Starting the pour without enough hands, the mix doesn't wait for you. Have your team on site before the wagon arrives.
• Skipping the cover, fresh concrete dries out in sun or blows rain bubbles into the finish. Cover it for the first 24 hours.

The Day-Before Checklist