Plan the compound as one programme
Rather than calling for each building separately, list every pour: blinding and footings for the main villa, the guest villa, the majlis, the boundary wall, then slabs, then yard paving. A compound with three buildings can easily reach 600 to 800 m³ in total, 50 to 67 truckloads. With a programme, we can keep the same approved mix across all of it and you get a clear picture of pump days.
Pour the main villa raft first. It is the largest single pour on the plot and tests the access route, the pump position and the curing routine. Everything learnt there makes the guest villa and majlis pours easier. Keep the delivery notes together so the engineer can match them to the cube results.
Sand plots and fresh slabs
These plots sit on the desert edge. Loose sand means the mixer route needs compacting before day one, and an open plot means wind across every fresh slab. Plastic shrinkage cracks form in the first hours if the surface dries; have curing compound or wet hessian ready and start pours early.
Boundary wall footings are long and shallow. Measure the total run and multiply by section: 200 m of footing at 0.8 by 0.4 m is 64 m³.
External works and yards
Courtyards, parking and service yards come last. Fibre-reinforced slabs suit areas that see vehicles. Screed goes into the finished rooms on its own small orders.
The plant in Al Quoz is about 26 km away in a straight line, one of the longer runs we make. Trucks come via Al Khawaneej Road or Tripoli Street, and the retarder is set for that distance plus traffic.
Ordering in Al Khawaneej and Al Warqa follows our standard readymix concrete Dubai process: the mix, the volume, the pour window.
Questions from Al Khawaneej and Al Warqa sites
- Is the distance from Al Quoz a problem for workability?
- Not if it is planned. We adjust the retarder and slump for the travel time and the hour of the pour, and keep trucks spaced so none waits too long on site.
- Should the boundary wall be poured before the houses?
- That is your contractor's call. Many prefer to pour it later so trucks and pumps keep full access to the plot.
- Do I need a pump for single-storey buildings?
- Not always. If a mixer can reach each pour point with its chute, it may not be needed. On a wide plot with walls already built, a pump usually saves time.