9 min
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Lime Moves, Cement Cracks
I spent thirty years watching lads try to “fix” old stone walls by slapping a…
Author: Bartosz Achterberg-Nowak
Concrete does not fail because of the concrete. It fails because the ground underneath was wrong, the weather was wrong, or somebody added water on site to make life easier. I write about the sub-base, the curing and the joints — the three things nobody photographs and everybody skips. Forty-three years of pours taught me that the pour itself is the easy part and the hour before it decides everything.
8 min
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Reading a Concrete Specification
I remember standing on a site in ’94, watching a lad stare at a delivery…
11 min
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Compacting in 100mm Layers
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve stood on a job site, looking at…
8 min
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Clay Moves With the Seasons
I remember standing on a site in Surrey back in ’94, watching a lad pour…
8 min
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The Complete Guide to Curing Concrete
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve stood on a job site, watching a…
8 min
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Clay, Sand, Peat and What Each Demands
I remember standing on a site in the late nineties, watching a lad pour a…
8 min
0
Mortar Should Be Weaker Than the Brick
I remember standing on a site in ’94, watching a young lad try to justify…
8 min
0
The Sub-base Does the Work, Not the Slab
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve stood on a site, watching a lad…
8 min
0
The Bucket of Water at the Truck
I can still see it vividly: a Tuesday morning in mid-July, the heat was thick…
11 min
0
Line, Level, Gauge and Plumb
I’ve spent forty-three years watching men sweat over a trowel, thinking that if they just…