Gravenhurst Farm Yard Upgraded Before Harvest
When the harvest season arrives, your agricultural yard turns into a heavy-traffic junction. Tractors, laden trailers, and large combine harvesters are unforgiving when encountering weak concrete. Custom Concrete recently completed a rapid farm yard renovation, pouring a C40 farm slab in Gravenhurst, ready for the upcoming harvest.
Our team arrived on-site with our volumetric mixers, ready to pour a heavy-duty concrete slab designed to support the farm’s busiest operational hub. On this job, speed, precision, and structural strength were important in order to ensure the farm stayed fully operational when the cutters started turning, giving them a reliable yard for unloading.
Setting the Foundation – Sub-Base and Reinforcement Mesh
You can’t pour heavy-duty concrete onto soft, shifting ground. The Gravenhurst site needed excavation and the installation of a tightly compacted stone base to establish a strong, unyielding foundation.
Then we installed sturdy timber formwork to define the pour. The entire area was subsequently lined with heavy-duty steel reinforcement mesh, elevating it on plastic spacers to ensure the steel sat embedded in the centre of the concrete.
This steel grid stops structural cracks from spreading when heavy vehicle tyres turn on the surface. Once the prep was complete, our volumetric trucks backed into position to start the pour.
C40 Concrete – The High-Strength Mix Required For Farm Vehicles
When laying concrete for agricultural yards, standard building mixes just aren’t up to the job. We used a C40 mix for the Gravenhurst farm yard renovation, in order to guarantee optimal durability for the environment.
Delivering 40 Newtons of compressive strength, this mix handles the immense axle loads of fully laden grain trailers with ease. The tight, dense structure of C40 concrete also acts as an impermeable barrier against moisture and frost. It prevents ice from forming within the slab, which would otherwise cause surface cracking. It’s also completely resistant to the corrosive acids that are found in agricultural runoff.
No Waste on Rural Pours with On-Site Batching
Ready-mix deliveries get you to guess your exact volume upfront, a practice which risks either costly short-deliveries or expensive waste charges. We solved this issue in Gravenhurst (and on all our projects) by using our recently upgraded volumetric mixers.
The digital Custom Concrete Calculator was used to verify the initial material requirements, and the C40 mix was batched on-site in real-time. As we carry only the dry ingredients for onsite concrete mixing, we are able to tweak the mix right up to programming.
Our client paid only for the exact volume discharged, saving both time and money. Additionally, our Scania Tridem truck’s extended chutes allowed us to pour the fresh mix straight into the formwork, avoiding the need for dumpers or manual wheelbarrowing.
Placing and Texturing the Concrete for Long-Term Durability
Placing agricultural concrete takes speed and coordination. Our volumetric operator discharged the mix continuously, allowing the ground team to rake and level the slab in tandem.
After leveling the surface with a screed bar, the crew troweled the edges and applied a medium broom texture across the slab. This brushed texture creates a slip-resistant surface, providing traction for farm vehicles and agricultural workers alike.
The result is a highly functional, safe yard slab that will remain durable, easy to clean, and structurally sound for decades to come.
Get an Agricultural Slab That’s Built to Last
If your yard tracks are crumbling under the weight of modern machinery, it’s time for an upgrade. Our advanced volumetric fleet delivers precise, high-strength mixes exactly where you need them.
Contact our specialists today to discuss your yard’s load requirements and get a direct quote – 01525 861899