Hardstands under trucks and lifts
An external yard slab takes wheel loads, turning tyres, dropped parts and full sun. Its life is decided by thickness, joints and surface strength. We recommend a fibre-reinforced mix for hardstands to limit early cracking and help the surface resist abrasion, with joint spacing set by the designer.
Workshop floors add vehicle lifts. A two-post lift puts concentrated loads into the slab at its base plates, so the floor around it is often thickened. Check the lift supplier's requirements before the pour, not after.
Oil and fuel spills are a daily fact in auto workshops. A dense, well-cured surface absorbs less, which is one more reason to cure the floor properly rather than open it to traffic early.
Pits, sheds and small offices
Inspection pits are small retaining boxes in the ground. They get the substructure mix, placed carefully around the formwork. Steel warehouses sit on pad footings and ground beams under the columns, poured over blinding.
The site office or mezzanine on the side usually needs a screed to level floors before finishes. The ground in these districts is inland, so standard exposure is common, but the soil report has the final word.
Pouring yard slabs in summer
Large, dark, open slabs get hot fast. Pour at night or early morning, keep slump targets set for that hour, and start curing as soon as finishing ends. Our plant in Al Quoz is about 15 km away; trucks come in by Ras Al Khor Road or Al Ain Road, and the retarder dose allows for the trip and peak traffic.
If the yard must stay in use during the works, split it into bays and pour them in turn, keeping a lane open for vehicles.
Questions from Ras Al Khor and Nad Al Hamar sites
- How thick should a workshop floor be?
- That is a design question for your engineer, based on the vehicles, lifts and racking. Once you have the drawing we batch the specified grade and fibre content.
- Can you pour a yard in one night?
- Often, if the volume suits the crew and the pump. A 120 m³ yard is ten truckloads; we plan them in a steady sequence through the night.
- Which mix suits an inspection pit?
- The substructure mix, at the grade on your drawing. Pits are small, so plan the volume carefully and order the last load once the forms are nearly full.