When you need a strong base to support your commercial construction project, you will want to order a high-quality concrete mix. Having a high-strength concrete base will provide excellent long-term performance for your structure, but what exactly needs to be beneath slab for it to perform well?
Concrete Subgrades and Subbases
While concrete construction yields a strong and durable base for the rest of your project, the concrete slab would be nothing without a proper base. This means you’ll need to prepare your concrete pour site with a good subgrade and subbase.
In concrete construction, the subgrade is the layer of earth right below where your concrete slab will be made. In order to support the weight of the concrete, and everything the concrete will support, you will need to find the right type of soil to use. Generally speaking, there are three types of soil you can expect to run into at your construction site. Organic soil is a common top layer consisting of fertile dirt you might use for farming or a garden. Granular soil is often right beneath this, and is simply gravel or sand-like dirt that allows water to pass through easily. Often underneath this is cohesive soil, which is essentially clay.
When it comes to concrete subgrades, granular soil is the optimal option. It compacts easily and will maintain a steady consistency through various seasons once the concrete has been placed. The aim with concrete construction is achieving uniform support, so having a good base with compression will be great for your concrete project.
Subbases
While having a good subgrade is important for your concrete construction project, it is rare that the soil at a site will be perfect. Some adjustments will most likely need to be made to the soil for it to be usable. Once these adjustments are made and you have a good compacted subgrade, you can further optimize your concrete site by adding a subbase, which is a granular layer that goes over the subgrade. For your subbase, gravel is a great material to use. It’s cheap, easy to compact, and provides the even compression you need to create the best site for your concrete. Recycled concrete can also make a great subbase material.
In general, your subbase will have to be at least four inches deep for it to be effective. However, you can increase the depth of your subbase for various applications. Deeper subbases will allow for concrete with a higher compression strength, so your overall depth will depend on how the final concrete will be used.
To get the best quality concrete for your commercial construction site, contact Knight’s Redi-Mix division. You can order a specialized concrete mix for your project, which we mix together at our nearest location to your site. We can then deliver your concrete using our own concrete truck fleet. Contact Knight’s today to make your project go smoothly.