Decorative Concrete Jobsite Evaluation 101

You’re just trying to do your job. The property owner is away, but that doesn’t matter because you’re working outside. You don’t need to go inside … until your compressor quits running!

The sorry, stinking GFCI that’s designed to protect, has shut you down. And the reset is inside – you’re done!

Sometimes we neglect to evaluate a decorative concrete jobsite and anticipate potential problems like this. But the time you spend on decorative concrete jobsite evaluation will often be time saved. You can avoid multiple trips and occasionally save yourself from real job disasters. Our focus on jobsite evaluation will be limited to just two areas: staging and profit killers.

Staging

Depending on the decorative system being installed certain requirements must be met or the job becomes complicated:

• Electricity
  • What is the source? Ground faults need to be reset.
  • How far away? You can’t run 200’ on a 14 gauge extension cord.
  • Is the amperage adequate? A 15 amp breaker will not support a compressor that draws 18 amps.
• Water
  • Can the source keep up with your pressure washer? Some wells with pumps flow less than 5 gpm.
  • How far away is it? A 50’ hose won’t reach 75’.
  • Is it clean? High iron content makes for funky colored mixes.
• Disposal
  • Can you rinse excess material and tools? A beautiful lawn is ugly with rocks or white cement residue.

Profit Killers

Some are blatant; some are hidden. If not accounted for, profit killers will cause you to work for much less per hour than you ever imagined:

• Roof, gutters, & downspouts
  • When it rains, where’s all that water going? A fresh overlay can be washed out by 10 squares of roof draining into a 3” downspout.
• Birdbaths (low spots that trap water)  on a deck
  • Will your stain be too strong in those areas? Reactive stains especially will darken in a low spot.
  • Will you be blamed for the puddle? The homeowner didn’t notice the puddle until you worked on the site.
  • Can you really float those out? Often we just get rid of one puddle & create another one or two in another spot.
• Irrigation or sprinkler systems
  • Will the system come on before the job is dry? Rewetting an uncured product can ruin it.
  • Does the water stain whatever it touches? Rust stains can detract from an otherwise attractive job.
• Soil Conditions
  • Does the soil drain well? Clay can hold water until it migrates through a slab.
  • Is the surrounding grade sloped away from a slab? Slabs below an adjacent grade are bad news.
  • Does the surrounding soil stain concrete? Georgia clay may discolor your stamp job before the owner moves in.
• Obstacles
  • How far can you wheelbarrow concrete? That pool deck in the backyard is accessible only from the front.
  • Can you overlay the drive with overgrown hedges on both sides? A guy needs enough room to move his stamps across a slab.
  • Do you really want to use that solvent sealer in a store in the middle of the mall? Evacuating a mall is expensive.
• Inadequate masking
  • What’s enough? The rule is: if it’s not masked you’ll slop, bleed, spray, etc. on it.

This short list of items for jobsite evaluation is certainly not all encompassing, but it may get you thinking. A checklist will minimize problems on the jobsite, especially when the sales staff is separate from the installers.

Speaking of lists, if you had to list your five favorite tools for under $100.00 each, what would you include? Let’s compare lists, next time. Live long and cementitiously prosper.