The Top Concrete Stories of December 2020

The most popular stories concrete contractors found on ForConstructionPros.com/concrete from December 2020.

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Let's just say it up from, a good story is a good story and good information is good information. While some of the following were also popular in months prior, data found a few new pieces that stood out too. 

Here are the most popular stories from December 2020 be they news, articles, or video.

Cold Weather

Hey, did you know it's winter? Colder temperature slows work down, snow needs to be dealt with, etc., etc. Yet work needs to continue. As such, working concrete in the cold weather ended up being a popular interest. One of such is how to improve cold weather concrete pouring with calcium chloride. There are limitations to where and when you can use it, but this piece looks to answer a few questions.

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Contraction Joints

Kim Basham writes out 10 great rules for designing contraction joints dealing with layout, maximum joint spacing, joint depths, and sawcut timing. No mention on if these change for cold weather though. 

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Can a Pour be Viral?

It's as close to viral as one can be. The time-lapse of United Kingdom's longest concrete pour for the Kinkley Point C Reactor continues to be popular. Here's your chance to check it out if you haven't seen it yet.

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Sustainability

The Concrete Contractor cover story of December 2020 discussed the movements being done in reducing the carbon footprint of concrete and cement. An excerpt:

For how long it lasts, many have considered the carbon footprint of concrete to be relatively low. Cement, however, produced 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2016, or 4% of total emissions, according to the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, making it one of the world’s greatest contributors to climate change. Improving the carbon footprint of cement and concrete is also important as cement production is expected to increase by 25% by 2030 while cities around the world become more urbanized.

Gigi Wood writes a great story on the work done by the key players in the industry as of late 2020. 

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Cold Weather #2

Straight up, it takes planning when and if you want to pour near-freezing temperatures. Make sure everyone has their warm PPE, thaw out that ground and get to work. John Kulczycki talks about how improved concrete designs and pouring methods aid in working in the cold. 

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Cold Weather #3

One Wisconsin contractor wrote Jim Baty II about pouring in cold weather. They write "Concrete foundation pours in cold weather will be affected by temperatures in the mid 30s to mid 40s or lower. How should I ensure my customers and our building inspectors that the walls will perform as designed?"

Check out Jim's answer aiding in more information on cold weather concreting.

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Time & Cost

Is it safe to say that saving both are usually pretty important?  This story from Curb Roller Manufacturing found some traction in the story of the unconventional solution Realm Construction came up with to finally solve an ongoing issue for the Missouri Department of Transportation. “We try to encourage innovation on every project,” Daulton said. “I had never seen something like this, but our contractors and manufacturers in the industry often have new ideas and the best answers. So, we were open to it.”

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Broomed Disputes

Job owner and architect specifications often vary and can lead to costly disputes. Our contributor Kim Basham explains a few general best practices can help contractors avoid these disputes and keep projects on track.   

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