That week in July where every pour went wrong

Man, it was a string of five days that just beat us down. We had a big stamped patio job in a new subdivision, and the weather turned on us. The first day, the truck was two hours late, so we were fighting the set on a 90-degree afternoon. Then the next pour, the homeowner's kid rode his bike right through the fresh concrete. We had to cut that section out and start over. The real kicker was Friday, when we discovered the subgrade wasn't compacted right in one corner after we'd already placed the mud. We had to pull it all up, fix the base, and re-pour that evening as the sun went down. I think we lost about $1,200 in materials and a full day's labor on that one mess alone. Ever have a week where it feels like the job itself is fighting back? How do you guys reset after a run of bad luck like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

holly3322mo ago

Ever try a mandatory "toolbox talk" reset where everyone just vents before moving on?

kaip112mo ago

God, I wish we had that at my place.

mason_flores211mo ago

Mandatory vents sound nice in theory but half the crew would just shut down or turn it into a complaint fest about management. @holly332, we tried a weekly "open floor" thing and it just made everyone more angry because nobody actually fixed anything after. Unless someone has real authority to act on the gripes, it's just noise that burns 20 minutes of production time. What actual changes came from toolbox talks at your place?