Waterlogged ground poses some serious questions for the laying of foundations as concrete pouring requires specific water-cement mixes that adhere to specific ratios in order to produce the best quality and most structurally sound foundations.
The basic mixture of water, cement, sand and large aggregate, as well as a selection of chemicals needs to be mixed accordingly to prevent any weakness from ruining the finished result.
With common fluctuations in weather patterns, rain has become harder to predict and heavier rainfalls can result in ground that cannot handle any more moisture resulting in ground water from developing. With constant rainfall over a period of time, this standing water can be present for a long time. When ground is excavated, the resulting pit becomes the perfect environment for standing water to form as water leeches from the surrounding soil as well as from rainfall. This is why cement needs to be poured as soon as possible once the piling groundwork is completed before oversaturation has the opportunity to take hold.
In an ideal world, all concrete would be poured before excavated ground has the chance to develop standing water, but this is not always possible – whether it be from delays in getting the cement materials to site, or other incidents that delay work from moving ahead smoothly.
Ways to combat standing water
We know the strength of concrete is determined by the ratio mix of water to cement, but once this cement and water is mixed together to produce liquid concrete, further mixing is required to increase the level of water. Ready mixed cement is actually heavier than water, meaning it will displace any standing water when introduced into any space without mixing with the water present.
The hardening of concrete does not come through the drying process but through a chemical reaction meaning that cement can actually harden whilst surrounded by water as long as the mixture was readily mixed using the right amount of water in the first place.
Heavy rainfall may be an obstacle to piling in Manchester but it is definitely one that the team here at Rhino Piling are able to deal with.
