Overheard a guy at the supply yard say he ruined 4 yards of mix by not checking his form stakes first

I was picking up a pallet of bag mix yesterday and this older finisher was telling the counter guy how he pushed a whole slab 2 inches out of square because one stake had worked loose overnight. Made me think about all those little checks I skip when I'm in a hurry. Now I walk the forms with a level and a tape before every pour, even if I set them myself the day before. Anybody else have a close call from a loose stake you caught just in time?

4 comments

4 Comments

adam1864d ago

Doesn't walking the forms right before pour make you second-guess yourself more than it helps?

sullivan.quinn4d ago

Catching it then beats explaining a bad slab to the owner.

shanes664d agoMost Upvoted

Buddy of mine skipped that walkthrough and owner made him demo the whole slab the next day.

black.oliver4d ago

Nah, you're overthinking it. Walking the forms before pour is standard practice, not some mental trap. I've done hundreds of these and it's the only way to catch stuff the drawings miss. A bad slab costs way more than a few minutes of second guessing yourself. You just check the key points, make sure the steel's where it's supposed to be, and move on. The owner will respect you more for that than having to explain why the thing cracked or settled wrong later.