Caution with Concrete

Another thing to remember in connection with concrete is that you are not allowed very much freedom for errors in either measurement or location. Once you have a solid mass of concrete set in place, it is going to stay there. You have a difficult job ahead of you if you try to remedy a mistake. Make very sure, before you fill the form, that everything is where and how you want it.

There are numerous rules regarding the proper mixing, handling, and finishing of concrete, but the essential one concerns the amount of water to use. The less water in the mix, the less the finished job will shrink. The less water used, the harder and more enduring the job after it has set.

The amateur concrete worker is plagued with two desires. One is to use enough water to have the concrete nice and soft and easy to push around. You have been warned against that. The second is to take off the wooden forms too early to see what the job looks like. That is really fatal. If the forms are stripped off too soon, while the concrete is still "green", two things are likely to happen—you are almost sure to break off corners or edges, and you are likely to cause a major crack or defect in the body of the work. An excellent rule is to wait until you are sure the concrete is properly hardened, and then wait another day before removing the forms.

Short Answer Questions

1. What would be the title for the selection?
2. What does the essential rule concern?
3. What is one of the desires the amateur must resist?
4. Which of the following qualities is NOT essential in someone who works with concrete: carefulness, diligence, patience, or self-control?
5. What does the author mean by saying the concrete is "green" (Paragraph 3)?

(Keys.)