One plot, many structures
A family compound is really several small projects on one plot. Each building needs blinding, footings, ground beams, a ground slab and a frame. The boundary wall alone can run a few hundred metres on a strip footing, which adds up to more concrete than people expect.
We suggest grouping pours by element across the plot: all the wall footings in one session, all the ground slabs in another. That keeps the mix and the pump setup the same for a full day and gives the engineer a clean set of cube results per element.
Majlis halls often have wider spans than the bedrooms around them, with deeper beams to carry the roof. Those beams and the slab over them should go in as one pour, so there is no weak plane where the span is longest.
Sun, wind and long distances
This is desert-edge ground, wide open to wind. Fresh slabs and wall caps dry from the top, and plastic shrinkage cracks follow if curing starts late. Pour in the cooler hours, cover or wet-cure as soon as the finish allows, and keep it up for the days the specification requires.
Al Khawaneej and Al Warqa are about 26 km from our Al Quoz plant in a straight line, usually via Al Khawaneej Road or Tripoli Street. That is among our longest runs, so every load leaves with a retarder dose set for the trip and the pour hour.
Pools and courtyards
Many compounds include a pool. Its shell is best built in gunite sprayed against the excavation and reinforcement, then kept wet while it cures. Courtyard slabs and driveways that see cars and sun benefit from a fibre-reinforced mix to limit early cracking.
Questions from Al Khawaneej and Al Warqa sites
- Is a 26 km delivery a problem for concrete quality?
- Not if it is planned. We set the retarder for the travel time and pour hour so the concrete arrives at the slump you ordered. Tell us if the truck may wait on site.
- Can a pump reach the back of a large plot?
- Our booms run from 43 m to 57 m. On very deep plots the pump usually moves inside the plot, if the ground there can take it.
- Should boundary wall footings use the same mix as the house?
- Use what the structural drawings specify. Often it is the same substructure mix, which keeps ordering simple across the plot.