Is it possible to demo (small bungalow with crawl space) excavate and pour footings with snow on ground and in this cold weather? Want to get this project started asap.
What are pros and con's of starting in winter?
There is a tall house with a walk out basement next door (there will be about six feet between house when finished).
Bonnie,
I always try to get my clients to wait until May for excavation and the pouring of any foundations. It gets warm enough in April, but most work sites are to moist.
If we excavate and pour from mid Nov to Mid April we have to add drying agents to the concrete. And regardless of what anyone tells you. These pours are far more likely to crack and have leaks. Keep in mind the footings may be nice and deep. But depth has nothing to do with the weather and temperatures until the they have dried. And the foundation itself has dried. And cured. So the weepers can be installed and then stone. Then the foundation can be back filled. While framing goes on the interior of the foundation and footings are still exposed to the bitter cold.
Do your self a favour and wait for May.
Hi Bonny,
It is possible and is being done every single day. When You drive to work or shopping you can see construction happening. No one stops because there is snow.
Steve
Yes it's Possible, usually concrete doesn't cure properly in winter because it freezes but you can prevent that by adding extra chemicals into the pour concrete which the company you get your company would provide OR you can tarp the whole site and get some gas or electrical heaters in there and keep it warm long enough for the concrete to cure properly and then work on top of it.
I will provide a picture as an example.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely
Enes
The answer is yes! You definitely can without extra chemicals or risk of concrete cracking.
The biggest "con" is price. It will cost way more in cold weather. It costs more to excavate frozen ground (it just simply takes longer), and you must heat and hoard your concrete.
If the money isn't an issue for you, go for it! Just make sure your contractor knows what they're doing. The concrete should have heat left on it for a min 7 days.
Ah people haven't you heard of winter concrete?? It will cost more in winter to do project cause yes, you need to tarp and heat large areas.
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