Solid Foundations: Your Ultimate Guide to Concrete in Construction

To excel as a concrete subcontractor in commercial construction, it is crucial to be well-versed in the following key aspects and terminologies of the concrete scope. Mastering these elements is essential for success in the industry.

Division 3: Concrete

1. Slabs on Grade: Discuss the process of preparing, pouring, and finishing concrete slabs that are directly laid on the earth. This should include subgrade preparation, reinforcement, and joint design.
2. Concrete Formwork: Explain the selection and construction of forms for shaping concrete, focusing on design considerations, material choices, and safety aspects.
3. Concrete Reinforcement: Detail types of reinforcement (steel bars, mesh, fibers), placement techniques, and considerations for ensuring structural integrity.
4. A/C Pads: Guide on creating concrete pads for air conditioning units, including size specifications, leveling, and load-bearing considerations.
5. Concrete Testing: Describe the standard tests for concrete quality, such as slump tests, compression tests, and how they are conducted.

Division 2: Site Work

1. Paving and Striping: Outline methods for concrete paving and striping for parking lots and roads, including surface preparation and marking techniques.
2. Concrete Paving and Sidewalks: Focus on construction methods for durable and safe concrete pavements and sidewalks, considering aspects like expansion joints and surface texture.

Additional Services and Questions

1. Turnkey Concrete Services: Explain your capability to provide comprehensive services from start to finish for small projects like handicap ramps, stairs, and MEP trench pourbacks.
2. Trenching and Backfill/Pour Back: Discuss your approach to trenching for utilities, backfilling, and concrete pour back, ensuring structural integrity and adherence to safety standards.
3. Specialized Concrete Projects: Highlight your ability to handle specialized projects like interior metal pan stair concrete projects, including pricing and execution strategies.
4. Curb and Retaining Wall Construction: Elaborate on your experience and capabilities in constructing curbs and retaining walls, including considerations for height, materials, and structural stability.
5. Types of Concrete Work Performed: List all the types of concrete work you perform, including footings, slabs, walls, concrete-on-metal-deck, elevated slabs, sidewalks, curb and gutter, masonry, etc.
6. Experience in Specific Projects: Detail your experience in specific areas like pouring concrete for fast food restaurants, emphasizing past projects and expertise.
7. Resource Availability: Discuss the number of workers, availability of equipment (form boards, etc.), and whether you perform flatwork or vertical/wall concrete work.
8. Project Size and Capabilities: Define the size of projects you are comfortable bidding and performing, including the number of formwork and finisher employees on staff.
9. Structural and Site Concrete: Clarify if your services include structural concrete (like grade beams, elevated slabs) and site concrete work (like exterior concrete for curbs, sidewalks). Include your experience in place and finish slab work.
10. Types of Foundations and Concrete Packages: Discuss whether you specialize in post-tensioned slab foundations, site concrete, or both, and explain what each entails. Also, mention if you bid for only certain portions of concrete work, like site concrete, when structural concrete is already contracted out.

This guide will serve as a comprehensive resource for clients to understand your concrete construction capabilities, project approaches, and the extent of services offered. It will also help in streamlining communication and expectations with potential clients.