To carry out your concrete work efficiently, you will need to have a comprehensive set of tools. Because concrete does not wait for anybody, having the correct concreting tools could significantly distinguish between winning pour and probable tragedy. The majority of the necessary tools are simple and don't necessitate a significant investment. Owning them reduces the expense of rental fees and the time spent picking up or returning that equipment. Some specialist types of equipment are more expensive and should only be purchased if the tools are used frequently.
But First, Know What Concrete You’re Working With
Concrete is an excellent building material used in a variety of construction applications, such as building pavements, walls and footings, foundations, and roads and bridges, to name a few. Before starting a building project that involves concrete, it’s best to identify first what type best suits the project you’re working on. After that, choosing your concreting tools next would be a piece of cake.
Plain concrete is the most common and simplest type of concrete that doesn’t need any reinforcement. It’s best for buildings and projects that don’t require high tensile strength, such as footpaths and pavements. Meanwhile, high-performance concrete, as the name implies, demonstrates an excellent level of performance with properties such as high permeability, rapid strength gain, easy placement, and life-term mechanical properties, which are best for demanding building projects.
To create stronger concrete with more compelling properties, reinforcing concrete with different types of materials has been commonplace in the construction industry. Another popular type of concrete is glass fiber reinforced concrete, GFRC concrete for short, which is a great addition to the concrete lineup. GFRC contains the usual ingredients of concrete, but with the addition of glass fiber reinforcement, acrylic co-polymer, and other additives that would help these ingredients work together.
To make your job easy, here are five different types of tools that you must invest in:
- Wheelbarrow- Everyone, from amateurs with minor installations to experts with larger projects, will require a wheelbarrow to complete their work. Carrying concrete or cement across the field may sound complicated, but utilising a wheelbarrow can make it a breeze. You won't have to expend a lot of money to obtain a good and sturdy wheelbarrow. It is strongly advised you invest in a heavy-duty barrow for long-term use. If you are working with a big team, you should keep in mind purchasing more than a single piece of them.
- Float- Floating is a crucial aspect of construction work. It entails tooling the moist concrete surface using a range of wooden surfaces or smooth metal with the goal of slightly elevating wet concrete surface to achieve a smooth texture. A float is used for levelling and smoothing the surface of freshly screed concrete. It usually comes with a long rod for reaching over the form. Floats that are small in size are excellent for filling minor gaps and smoothing regions along the form's borders. Many other tools cater to different concrete finishing styles.
- Shovels- Shovels are necessary for moving tiny volumes of concrete about, pouring to fill gaps, depressions, and accessing difficult-to-reach locations. Shovels are required to remove extra material from overfilled structures. Most cement contractors prefer square-ended shaped shovels rather than rounder or garden-type shovels. To finish your concrete task, you should have a robust and durable shovel. A shovel may be used for various purposes, including moving concrete and filling up tiny gaps that may arise while doing such operations.
- Screed- Straight, long planks or rigid tubing is used to level concrete once poured. They are available in various types and sizes to meet the needs of a given project. To efficiently reach all margins in one motion, a screed should be wider than the breadth of the floor you are levelling. This is not a complex instrument to use; scrape it all over the concrete floor to achieve that perfect smooth finish.
- Groovers- Groove cutters, usually known as groovers, are often used to form control joints along pavements, pathways, residential slabs, and driveways, where a cement saw would not be appropriate. While cutting the grooves, many groovers include a lateral plate along with a vertical tail. The plate's ends are frequently rounded to shape the groove's sidewalls.
Bottom Line
When working with cementitious materials, having the proper concreting tools makes a huge difference between a fantastic job and a poor one. However, this is not an exhaustive list; now you know how and where to begin! So go ahead with the suitable tool that fits your requirement.
