Concrete Buddy – Free Concrete Calculator & Estimation App

💬 Monthly Discussion – November 2025 Concrete Job You’ll Never Forget — What Happened? We’ve all got that one job we’ll never forget. Maybe it went perfect, maybe it was a disaster, maybe it was hilarious — concrete has a way of surprising you. 👉 Drop your story in the comments: What’s the concrete job you’ll never forget? Need ideas? Truck got stuck Slab set up way too fast Homeowner changed something mid-pour Grade was messed up beyond belief Weather hit at the worst time Form blowout Your funniest crew moment Related Reading More real-world concrete tips: Top 10 Concrete Mistakes That Ruin Slabs Concrete Cracking 101 Best Hand Tools for Concrete Finishers Free Tool for Concrete Planning Need to calculate volume, slopes, overlaps, and materials fast? 📲 Download Concrete Buddy — Free Scroll down and tell your story — even a short one. Tell us what happened — funny, not funny, or a total...

I work in a strange spot in the concrete world — some days I’m the contractor running the whole job, and other days I’m the subcontractor showing up to pour and finish what someone else prepped. Because of that, I get to see a lot of what goes right… and a lot of what goes terribly wrong. Here are the 10 worst concrete mistakes I see on real jobs in 2025, whether I’m working for a custom home builder, a GC, or a homeowner. Most of these issues happen before the truck even shows up, and almost all of them are avoidable. I’ll also drop links to a few posts and tools that can help you avoid these problems — especially my Concrete Buddy App , which is a free concrete calculator and estimator, and some in-depth guides on reinforcement, cracking, and tools. 1. Bad Grade Work Before the Pour (The #1 Cause of Problems) This is hands-down the biggest mistake I see: the grade is nowhere near correct before concrete day. The edges are prepped for 4 inches, but...

Stamped concrete can transform a plain slab into the look of natural stone, slate, or brick — without the cost or maintenance of individual materials. Whether you’re a contractor or a DIY enthusiast, this guide walks you through stamping concrete from start to finish, including materials, crew setup, timing, tools, and helpful planning tips using Concrete Buddy . 1. Preparation and Planning Before starting, measure your total area and calculate concrete volume: Concrete volume (Canada): (Length × Width × Thickness ÷ 1000 = cubic metres) Concrete volume (US): (Length × Width × Thickness ÷ 27 = cubic yards) Mix type: Standard 32 MPa (4500 psi) with air entrainment for exterior slabs Colour options: Integral colour, colour hardener, and release powder/liquid (depending on your finish style) Pro Tip: Concrete Buddy makes this easy. Enter your slab dimensions, and it calculates volume in both cubic metres and cubic yards — perfect for ordering the correct amount of concrete ...