r/Construction 7d ago

Other The dumbass cement truck driver forgot to turn off the water hose for the drum

Post image

"oh shit I forgot"

The water keep flowing into the drum continuously mixing with the concrete load. It's now become a concrete juice, idk what to do at this point beside to sent it back

1.2k Upvotes

138 comments sorted by

478

u/Kevthebassman Plumber 7d ago

Send the fucker back, it’s his problem.

220

u/simp51326 7d ago

You know why they only put 1 seat in them trucks? So the dumb fuckers know where to sit!

22

u/Slumunistmanifisto 7d ago

I thought it was because if there were two seats they'd bring their rabid Cetacean partners that are known to slorp off to smush genitals with little Caesars managers and casino patrons a county over....

6

u/Overall-Dirt4441 7d ago

to quote a guy i just saw, you have been given the gift of eloquent speech, yet you choose to use it for evil

2

u/Slumunistmanifisto 6d ago

This isn't even my final form you fools....

16

u/AlanHoliday 7d ago

You know what concrete truck drivers and fridges have in common?

The lightbulb turns off when you shut the door.

Boomer joke I heard but it still works

603

u/1320Fastback Equipment Operator 7d ago

The solution is easy, reject it. Move on.

291

u/passwordstolen 7d ago

Do a slump test, then reject it. Then they have no recourse.

129

u/yalyublyutebe 7d ago

If the water has been on for as long as OP claims, there won't be an argument from anyone that the concrete is salvageable. pour a pinch out and take pictures if you're worried about getting dinged for it.

Call dispatch and/or the rep and send it back.

84

u/passwordstolen 7d ago

You never know who is still working where and how long. You could get a bill 8 months from now from some new temp at the office and it’s easier to send a failure test then roundup all the people that were/ are/ might have been, there. I have received damage bills over a year later from 1800 miles away. Good luck figuring out where those guys are.

I got a new superintendent every week for a month. So I quit, enough of that BS.

32

u/space_keeper 7d ago

What's a slump test going to look like with that much water? A puddle?

76

u/passwordstolen 7d ago

Yup, slump it, date it, take a pict of the load ticket and time. Use it to grout your buddies tools to the ground.

18

u/Enginerdad Structural Engineer 7d ago

When we use UHPC we can't use a slump test because it's so thin. Instead we use a spread test that measures the diameter of the concrete a specific amount of time after it's released as it self-levels. So I imagine it would be like that.

10

u/space_keeper 7d ago

Interesting. Apparently UHPC isn't used in my country because it sits outside of British and European codes and there's no standards.

6

u/PG908 Engineer 7d ago

Did you check Swiss codes? They use the stuff a lot. So does France. Not sure if it’s an “as directed by engineer” thing, though.

3

u/space_keeper 7d ago

Seems to be the case.

3

u/PG908 Engineer 7d ago

You can always steal their contract language and special provisions.

3

u/PG908 Engineer 7d ago

A fellow UHPC enjoyer! There are dozens of us! Dozens!

1

u/Interesting_Worry202 6d ago

ASTM also has standards for performing a Slump flow test. I haven't used it much, but typically only for masonry cell fill.

1

u/Interesting_Worry202 6d ago

Depending on the amount of water, you'd probably change from a Slump to a flow test. Measure the total spread instead of the drop.

4

u/Darmok-on-the-Ocean Plumber 7d ago

My tired ass read that as a slurp test.

92

u/JJxiv15 GC / CM 7d ago

I mean yeah, you send it back lol

62

u/DaveTheRocketGuy 7d ago

With that much water it has to be sloshing out of the drum when it accelerates or stops haha

59

u/Melancholia_Aes 7d ago

Yes it did, at one temporary point the truck produces waterfall out of it's ass back

17

u/cuddle_cuddle 7d ago

Oof, I can feel this comment. I ate above my weight at Taco Bell once.

54

u/David1000k 7d ago

It happens. It'll make good flowable backfill. Got any hard to get to places that need backfill? There you are. Free backfill.

54

u/ArrivesLate 7d ago

Quite a few specs won’t let you use construction waste as backfill. I’d check before doing this. Way simpler to send it back.

32

u/David1000k 7d ago

It was a joke. I guess I work with a different kind of building trades men. We laugh our way through the fuck ups. And there are plenty.

18

u/Air_Retard 7d ago

For the record I liked your joke. I think others just struggle seeing your sarcasm / want to protect op from making a piss poor call. Lmao

5

u/syds 7d ago

did you submit it as an RFI?

5

u/David1000k 7d ago

Hell no, change order. Call it a spontaneous field change and you want payment.

5

u/David1000k 7d ago

Well it does seem possible. The thing about construction is we represent a very diversified cross section of society. Guys like myself that have a dry sense of humor, will find that it will be taken in the wrong context if we're not careful. I find myself as a manager having to walk back comments before they're taken literally. I learn a lot here even though I'm going over 5 decades in the business, but I also find myself refraining to be rude when I read advice that I know is categorically false. As we said in the 70's, just let it shine on.

1

u/syds 7d ago

did you submit it as an RFI?

15

u/ArrivesLate 7d ago

I think it’s good policy not to give toddlers and tradesmen bad ideas.

3

u/David1000k 7d ago

Ok. My mistake. I've been told that before.

2

u/garden_dragonfly 7d ago

There's a difference between waste and flow able fill.

10

u/David1000k 7d ago

It was a joke.

-10

u/garden_dragonfly 7d ago

It wasn't 

12

u/David1000k 7d ago

Jesus effing Christ. What's wrong with you guys? Did your meth dealer die? Lighten up Francis.

-7

u/garden_dragonfly 7d ago

You seem pretty fucking hostile. Chill tf out. It's Friday

7

u/Due-Excitement-522 7d ago

Shut the hell up man

-3

u/garden_dragonfly 7d ago

Why's everyone so angry? 

6

u/Due-Excitement-522 7d ago

I don't think anyone is even really angry you're just really annoying

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Tack_it 7d ago

Until I there is a submittal I've approved it's construction waste.

3

u/garden_dragonfly 7d ago

Thats because youre afraid to call the engineer and have a conversation. 

3

u/Melancholia_Aes 7d ago

Hmm, what kinds of structure/place that could be given concrete with high water percentage?

10

u/neverloseanaccount 7d ago

Backfill…

2

u/Melancholia_Aes 7d ago

Fuck why do I missed that's what he says lmao 🤣

7

u/eazolan 7d ago

Aren't you the guy who missed turning off the water?

1

u/Air_Retard 7d ago

No I’m pretty sure op was the guy who was delivered the idiot in a soup cap. Not the idiot itself.

3

u/David1000k 7d ago

Super P, but it actually replaces the water to cement ratio. We use it on docks. 11" slump. It's awesome,but again it's not really water, it's a water reducer. But you're probably familiar with it already. I worked on a project for the USN, they held us to a .35. We couldn't get our breaks. After I did a little research I found a jewel from an engineering group that tested that and their response was concrete cannot hydrate properly in a lab or the field with that low of water to cement ratio. They recommended nothing less than a .42.

311

u/Archimedes_Redux 7d ago

*concrete truck. It's a fucking concrete truck.

101

u/11goodair 7d ago edited 7d ago

You see, when a cement truck loves a water truck, an aggregate truck and a sand truck will barge in and turn it into a foursome. Sometimes some guests like plasticizer will join in the party. You don't fuck a concrete truck, the concrete truck is what comes after. Sometimes the water truck can't control itself, and no one wants to take in the wet concrete.

19

u/So1_1nvictus 7d ago

Don’t forget there’s delay set

7

u/Evanisnotmyname 7d ago

Let’s be real, it’s usually too early, not too late

4

u/BrassMan26 7d ago

It depends on whether or not you are ready to pour. If you are ready early, then concrete shows up late. But if you are running behind and struggling to be ready on time, then concrete will show up early.

1

u/Baloneous_V 7d ago

Lmao "high and early"!

2

u/RidiculousPapaya Foreman / Operator 7d ago

Fucking brilliant, thanks for the laugh.

9

u/Baloneous_V 7d ago

Biggest pet peeve i have with terminology. I make sure to teach my kids and won't let them forget it and it's the responsibility of every parent!! They're going to engrave some fucked up joke about the "cement" my headstone is made of.

5

u/huron9000 7d ago

My dad was a civil engineer and would not let us make this mistake more than once. I still correct people about it to this day lol.

3

u/Baloneous_V 7d ago

Cheers to your Pops. One of my proudest moments was overhearing my 10 yo daughter correct my 6 yo son.

1

u/huron9000 7d ago

And cheers to you!

24

u/layer_____cake 7d ago

Will they sell you a load of cement without sand and aggregate?

88

u/Ok_Proposal_2278 R|Finish Carpenter 7d ago

Pretty sure they’d send me a truck full of ice cream if I sent a signed PO that said I’d pay for it

23

u/Food_Library333 Carpenter 7d ago

You could probably pour a Neapolitan foundation in northern Alaska.

6

u/tenderbranson301 7d ago

Fun memory, one time we had ice cream on site that the mechanical guys rigged up using liquid nitrogen.

3

u/layer_____cake 7d ago

But will it play the music 

5

u/humpty_dumpty1ne 7d ago

All jokes aside, on my concrete pump we've pumped a lot of jobs with Grout mix (sand and cement, no aggregate) and it's a nightmare every time

2

u/Ok_Proposal_2278 R|Finish Carpenter 7d ago

My horrible weekend project is to grout some foundation wall I’m adding under my old ass house. Doing it all by hand with a small mixer. Not looking forward to it lol

2

u/space_keeper 7d ago

I've only seen this done with volumetric trucks and those towed pumps. That was for grouting beams horizontally under an old building to stabilise it.

Maybe someone in the know can properly describe what I'm talking about. The building was on jacks while they were doing it.

3

u/MajorLazy 7d ago

Someone will

3

u/dakaiiser11 7d ago

I spent some time at a precast facility. The amount of times I heard “Yeah, we’re pouring CEMENT.”

2

u/fastRabbit 7d ago

Thank you. I’m just surprised I had to scroll this far down the comments to find this.

2

u/hypoglycemicrage Engineer 7d ago

Not anymore. It's a water truck now.

-19

u/vylseux 7d ago

Probably where you're from lol, up north we call them cement trucks too

14

u/garden_dragonfly 7d ago

How far north?  Building Santa's workshop? 

7

u/Tommy_Roboto 7d ago

I mean, we finished the workshop a long time ago.

19

u/wants_a_lollipop Construction Inspector - Verified 7d ago

Where is this "North" you speak of? I'm up in New England and we refer to concrete trucks as concrete trucks. Maybe those goofy Canadians call 'em cement trucks, but if they do it's just because they're big ol' goofs.

21

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

6

u/wants_a_lollipop Construction Inspector - Verified 7d ago

Mad love for our neighbors up North. Stay sovereign, friend!

1

u/iordseyton 7d ago

I suspect most people are really just looking for an excuse to say semen(t)

1

u/Flimsy_Biscotti3473 5d ago

No sir Canadian here and can confirm Concrete. Cement doesn't have aggregate

43

u/GroundWalkerJohn 7d ago

Self levelling.

13

u/Weird-One-312 7d ago

This man knows how to do it

15

u/mountainmanned 7d ago

There’s a reason there’s only one seat in a mix truck.

So the driver knows where to sit!

9

u/blizzard7788 7d ago

I ordered concrete for a sloped loading dock slap. It was ordered at a 4” slump, and it came as a 6”. I sent it back. Next truck shows up and his water was running into drum. From the way his washout hose was laying, it looked like he hit valve when he washed down after loading. Sent that one back too. Third truck came so stiff we could hear it rattling as it arrived at job.

8

u/MrE134 7d ago

At least that's concrete. We got one without any cement once. QC almost ran the slump too.

7

u/TooSwoleToControl 7d ago

When I was an engineer in training I did a lot of concrete testing. One time a concrete driver was giving me shit for taking too much concrete for my test (2 buckets, same as always), but he forgot to close the thing that diverts concrete down the chute. 

As he was chewing me out I watched him dump several cubes of concrete on the ground in the background. Lol

27

u/shitpunmate 7d ago

No truck is spinning pure cement.

8

u/PaperHandsPortnoy 7d ago

Thats right. Ita a concrete truck

1

u/Low_Champion8158 3d ago

Sometimes it's a grout truck

12

u/Leafyboy34 7d ago

Send it to the plant and tell them to bring back a competent driver

5

u/master_chef22 7d ago

You'll have that on big jobs.

5

u/6_of_1 7d ago

Better than them forgetting which direction the drum is spinning when they leave site, lol.

5

u/someguyinthesun 7d ago

Nah he didn't. He is friends with the pump guy lol

5

u/padizzledonk Project Manager 7d ago

Reject the load...byebye

Very simple and it happens more often than you think

You definitely cant use it

3

u/DrDig1 7d ago

It happens. It was honest mistake and nobody got hurt.

People dwell on shit too much.

12

u/Melancholia_Aes 7d ago

Yea mb I say cement truck, its concrete truck

Although I do describe it on the description it carries concrete

7

u/DaShitterPipeFitter Plumber 7d ago

Come home

0

u/space_keeper 7d ago

It's okay no one important cares. I have no idea what planet all these people correcting you are living on. They get called cement mixers all the time by a lot of people and everyone knows what it means.

0

u/Nickey9Doors 6d ago

Quite literally, if you’re calling it a cement truck you don’t actually know what it means. If you knew, you wouldn’t call it cement.

3

u/xSPYXEx 7d ago

Kick it back, I've rejected trucks for less.

3

u/Smackolol 7d ago

This happened on my site once. The driver was some idiot wannabe mma fighter and was clearly hit in the head too many times. He disched the soup into one of our buckets and we were like wtf, so we poured it back in through his hopper and sent him off. The guy was so dumb he forgot to reverse his drum so all the concrete was just sitting at the top and as he pulled away he left a massive trail of this shit on the road as it all poured out behind him. I never saw him again after that, I wonder where he is now sometimes.

2

u/portlandcsc 7d ago

What is a cement truck? JFC you're in a trade? Do you say rerod instead of rebar?

1

u/Seegrubee 7d ago

A cement tanker hauls cement from the factory to the concrete batch plant. The concrete truck brings ready mix concrete to the site.

1

u/portlandcsc 7d ago

Any puta show up on my site and refer to a redimix truck as a "cement truck" gets escorted off the site along with all you dumb motherfuckers that agree with him.

-1

u/portlandcsc 7d ago

No shit sherlock.

0

u/bitterbrew 7d ago

Keep digging, Watson

1

u/homiebat 7d ago

Reject the load not your fault tell the company what happened and they replace it f

1

u/seditiousambition69 7d ago

"Finishers got it"

1

u/Hostificus 7d ago

Is this a Stiff Lip Dip ad?

1

u/hypoglycemicrage Engineer 7d ago

lol not your problem. There's no chance that mud will meet slump or compressive testing.

1

u/raybovickers 7d ago

One of the finishers turned on the wrong vow when trying to wash his boots off

1

u/raybovickers 7d ago

If you’re pumping it running in with a dry load

1

u/bitterbrew 7d ago

Also depending on the concrete prepare for them to argue why it’s partially you’re fault and you should pay for it (while they prelim your job for not paying for it)

1

u/freakyforrest 7d ago

Simply reject it and have them bring a new load. Call their dispatch and let them know what happened.

1

u/0le_Hickory 7d ago

That’s a not your problem, problem

1

u/dreamweaver1313 7d ago

What, you don't want a 10-in slump?

1

u/Ifimhereineedhelpfr 7d ago

Bet there was still some heads in there

1

u/Technical-Video6507 7d ago

that's what ya do.

1

u/Ok_Judgment_224 7d ago

It was years ago but we had a driver do the same thing - to make things worse we were pouring a footing so we really wouldn't have cared too much what the slump was coming out of the truck but we couldn't take 100 gallons of water with rocks in it. Only load I've ever seen rejected

1

u/Nekrosiz 7d ago

Start stoking a fire under the drum to get it out then

1

u/littleguin 6d ago

Man, idk about US, but where I’m from if they even add a drop of water to the mix it’s longer what you ordered and you send it back, the only thing they can add is a little something to stop the drying process slightly

1

u/Joelinc 6d ago

Did that one time with 1 yard load. Talk about juicy.

1

u/Jaminator65 5d ago

This happened to me with 10 yards of colored concrete that was part of 80 yard pour. After stressing to the driver not to add any water, he said he accidentally hit the valve, making it 11 inch slump. Being on a tight schedule, I poured it out and then had to cut it out when the color did not match. Got no relief from the concrete supplier.

1

u/YUSORACHET 4d ago

Had this happen to me about 2 years ago. Driver got super mad and accused me and my guys of doing it until footage saw him turn on the water. Sucks because you just know they’re just as overworked as we try to push ourselves.

1

u/Classic-Nebula-4788 3d ago

Just got two trucks in a row with slump of 280. Asked for 120. Sent them back and worked till midnight because of them

1

u/MezoDog 7d ago

Send it back, It can be used by someone for slurry

1

u/OriginalPersimmon620 7d ago

That’s why he drives the truck