Concreto permeable, mis primeras experiencias, te cuento mis errores para que no te pasen

Table of Contents 00:00 Introduction 00:45 Characteristics of Pervious Concrete 01:48 Materials for Making Pervious Concrete 02:01 Mixing and Applying Pervious Concrete 03:27 Mistakes I Made When Making Pervious Concrete To begin, it's important to know that pervious concrete is even required in some regions for uses such as parking lots, courts, or light-traffic roads. It allows water to pass through without accumulating on the surface, allowing rainwater to enter the subsoil. This concrete, when installed, only requires compression work, does not contain reinforcing steel, and is confined by regular concrete curbs. To make this concrete, you'll need 3/8" gravel, gray cement, water, and if you're using a large amount, some setting retarder, since the mix dries very quickly. The ratio of gravel to cement is 3:1, with water as needed. This depends on whether your material is perfectly dry or has some moisture. In fact, this is the most delicate aspect of this mix. In my case, with dry material, my ideal ratio was 9 cans of gravel, 3 of cement, and 4 of water. I didn't use any setting retarder, just a concrete additive. The first interesting detail is that the mixing work here is greater than with normal concrete, at least by hand. You add the water little by little and stir; don't add all the water at once, because it can vary depending on the moisture content of the material, as I mentioned before. Stir, add water, and stir until you have a moist texture without wet areas, which you can identify by its shine and because it forms a kind of cream. Look here, when I add water, it sinks to the bottom, and you have to mix all the way down to achieve the desired consistency. The water is redistributed. The exact point of the mixture is just before wet areas form, instead of granules. As an indicator, you can flatten the surface and it will look like this. To apply it, you must moisten the surface without creating puddles. You place the material, tamp it down, not vibrate it. Cover it completely with plastic, and the next day, wet it to cure it (so it doesn't crack), and that's it. Now I'll share with you my mistakes using molds to make paving stones. This is what remained of the first attempt. The mixture was correct, but I didn't cover it with plastic. It dehydrated before its chemical reaction, and the next day it crumbled like a powder. My second mistake was that I shook the mold to settle the material instead of tamping it down. In fact, instead of nine cans of gravel, it fit 10. From then on, you'll notice that you replace the gaps you're looking for with solid material. But here's the result. By precipitating or vibrating the material, you seal the bottom and compact the mix just enough to cover it. Here I made two mixes: one moistened before placing the material and covered with plastic, and the other I didn't moisten or cover. Here are the results the next day. There is a difference in the color of the surface, and in this case, the final material has a similar appearance and strength to the other. But don't take any chances; moisten before applying and cover the material, and your water-permeable concrete will be a success.