That week in July when the heat index hit 104 and my crew went through 15 gallons of water in one shift

We were laying a retaining wall for a backyard patio in Marietta and the mortar was drying so fast we had to mix in smaller batches every 20 minutes just to keep up, has anyone else tried adding ice to their mix water on days like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

bennett.noah20d ago

and I'll tell you what, that ice trick is legit the only reason we made it through that July heatwave a couple years back. we were doing a walkway in direct sun and the mix was setting up like concrete, so we started tossing a couple bags of ice from the cooler into the water for the last few batches and it bought us an extra 10 minutes of working time easy. also helped to keep the mud pile covered with a damp tarp and only pull out what you need, and mix in the shade if you can find any. by noon we were just rotating guys through the shade every 15 minutes, nobody needs a heat stroke over a retaining wall.

the_morgan20d agoMost Upvoted

That ice trick is a lifesaver no doubt about it. Hearing about that heatwave scenario brings back memories of some rough days I've had on site, nobody needs that stress on top of trying to get the work done. Rotating guys through the shade like that is the smartest move, it's way too easy to push through and end up in a bad spot. I've seen guys go down from heat exhaustion and it's scary, takes forever to shake off too. Staying on top of the mix temp and the tarp cover is the kind of small stuff that makes or breaks a pour in summer. Good call looking out for your crew like that, that's how it should be done.

troyreed20d ago

Man that ice trick saves your hide every time... we had a 95 degree pour last year and forgot to grab ice so we ended up throwing frozen water bottles in the mixer just to keep the slump right. Also learned the hard way that covering the pile with a wet blanket is way more important than we thought, dry mud sets up in like 10 minutes flat. Rotating through the shade is smart though, nothing worse than seeing a guy drop from heat exhaustion over some patio stones.

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