Can we talk about how a yard of concrete only weighs about 4,000 lbs
I was reading a mix design sheet at the plant in Tulsa and saw a full yard of normal weight concrete is roughly 4,000 lbs while the lightweight stuff can drop to 2,500, so has anyone here actually switched mixes for a deck pour just to keep the truck under a load limit?
Wondering if anyone factors in the water weight too, because that mix design number is for the wet stuff going out the gate. A yard at 4,000 lbs doesn't count the few hundred pounds of wash water or the extra you add on site, and that's what actually tips you over a bridge limit or a scale. I've seen guys order 9 yards thinking they're fine at 36,000 lbs and forget the truck itself is another 25 to 30k empty. So switching to lightweight for weight reasons is real but you also have to watch that the lighter mix pumps different and finishes faster, which can bite you on a big flat deck. Maybe it's just me but the axle load matters more than the total anyway.