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SHAW & SONS 10 RULES OF
SUCCESSFUL ARCHITECTURAL
CONCRETE PAVING
A. Batch plant supplying the concrete.
B. Project address.
C. Date of report.
D. Owner to whom concrete is being supplied.
E. Mix design number.
Creating quality architectural concrete takes the combined efforts
F. PSI strength at 28 days.
of the project designer, concrete contractor, concrete mix engineer
G. 3/8-inch or 1-inch coarse aggregate identified.
and concrete batch plant. The following checklist touches on some
H. Slump with +/- range indicated (typically 4 inch to 5 inch,
of the basic principles that Shaw & Sons implements to produce
+/- 1 inch).
quality architectural concrete paving. We believe that the thorough-
I. Fine and coarse aggregate supplier.
ness of these rules that we follow is what sets Shaw & Sons apart.
J. Gradation chart for aggregates.
K. Cement type and brand with sacks/CY of concrete.
L. Batch weights per 1 CY for cement, fine and coarse aggregate,
RULE 1
THE STATEMENT OF MIX DESIGN
The most important document when planning an architectural
concrete paving installation is the project Statement of Mix Design
(see facsimile below). This document describes the ingredients of
every cubic yard of concrete used on a project. Shaw & Sons
ensures that the following process is adhered to and included in
each mix when securing a concrete mix design:
water and admixtures.
M. Method for testing used.
N. Water/cement ratio.
O. For what paving type (per architects drawing ) is each
individual mix design.
P. Signed stamp and date from engineer.
Q. Typical strength results per local building code.
R. Signed by concrete lab.
S. Signed and checked by two Shaw & Sons officers.
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RULE 2
CONCRETE, ADMIXTURES AND
CONCRETE MATERIAL SOURCING
Concrete:
ALWAYS SPECIFY SOLE-SOURCE MATERIALS. Concrete is a mixture
of cement, water and aggregates (fine and coarse). Cement and
water combine to make a paste, which binds the aggregates into a
rock-like mass, and this paste then hardens under a chemical
process called hydration. Freshly mixed concrete is made of five
basic ingredients (total weight approx. 4,000 pounds per cubic yard):
1. Cement (Type I, II, III, IV or V) – 16% of total volume
(approx. 600 to 660 pounds per cubic yard).
2. Fine aggregate (washed concrete sand) – 52% of total
volume (approx. 1,650 to 2,050 pounds).
3. Coarse aggregate (3/8-inch pea gravel or 3/4 – 1 inch gravel)
– 21% of total volume (approx. 800 to 1,000 pounds).
4. Water – 11% of total volume (approx. 400 pounds).
5. Air – naturally occurring forms approx. 6% of total volume.