Cold Weather Concrete

When it is frosty out and the temperature drops, most conventional concrete plants that deliver in drum mixers freeze up and cannot produce concrete until they are thoroughly defrosted, which can take a long time.

Lightwater Concrete offers customers a cold weather winter concrete solution so sites don’t have to stop.

With our mix on site (volumetric) wagons, we do not have this issue as we keep the wagons inside so the materials and wagon are protected from the elements.

The objective of cold weather concreting:

• Prevent damage to concrete due to freezing at early stages
• Provide adequate curing conditions that promote strength development without using excessive heat
• Ensure concrete is durable to withstand freeze / thaw conditions without the risk of cracking
• Development of the required strength in order for the safe removal of formwork

Best practice:

• Once the concrete has started to be mixed it produces its own heat, therefore, it is essential that the concrete is placed as quickly as possible after it is batched. Consequently, concrete that is mixed on site will have a longer working life than that mixed at a static plant and transported to site.
• Lower the slump and therefore the water content as this reduces the part that is susceptible to freezing conditions. Our mix-on-site vehicles are able to regulate the water content throughout the load to the customer’s requirements.
• Use of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) within the concrete produces greater heat generation during the curing process. All of our concrete is made from OPC and not cement substitutes which produce less heat.
• An increased cement content can provide more heat generation during the curing process. Our vehicles are able to change the cement content before mixing the concrete and can also change this during the mixing process as needed
• Where possible protect exposed concrete surfaces with plastic sheeting, tarpaulins or proprietary quilts.

We deliver our concrete to the following towns and their surrounding areas including Bedale, Boroughbridge, Bramhope, Catterick, Chapel Allerton, Darlington, Harewood, Harrogate, Helmsley, Knaresborough, Leeming, Leyburn, Malton, Masham, Northallerton, Otley, Pateley Bridge, Pickering, Richmond, Ripon, Scarborough, Stokesley, Tadcaster, Thirsk, Wetherby and York.

Want to know more about our winter concrete?

To find out more and discuss our cold weather winter concrete solutions, please contact our team on 01765 635536 or sales@lightwaterconcrete.co.uk. Alternatively, fill in the contact form below and we will get back to you.