What a villa rebuild orders, in sequence
Blinding under the footings, usually 50 mm. Footings and ground beams, then the ground slab. First floor slab, then the roof. Screed throughout. External works last: boundary walls, driveway, pool surround. That is five or six separate deliveries over several months, most of them between 10 and 60 m3.
For a quick estimate, add up each element as length x width x thickness. A 200 m2 ground slab at 200 mm is 40 m3, four trucks if you round up, which you should.
Coastal footings
These neighbourhoods run along the coast, and groundwater can be shallow and saline, with chlorides and sulphates that attack buried concrete and steel. Your structural engineer should specify an exposure-rated substructure mix for footings and ground beams, usually GGBS-based with a low water/cement ratio and a minimum cover. Do not let a footing pour go ahead with whatever mix was used for the slab. Keep the delivery tickets for each pour with the engineer's inspection record; on a private rebuild they are often the only proof of what went into the ground.
The street is part of the job
Villa plots off Jumeirah Beach Road and Al Wasl Road sit on residential streets. A 12 m3 mixer and a boom pump take up the road. Tell your neighbours, check whether the municipality or your community needs a permit for road occupation, and confirm the pump can put its outriggers down on firm ground. Our booms run from 43 m to 57 m, so the pump can often stand on the street and reach the back of the plot.
At 5 km in a straight line from Al Quoz, the trip is short, but peak traffic still varies it. In summer, roof slabs are best poured early in the morning; many specifications set a maximum placing temperature.
Slots for Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim are planned with the rest of the day's ready-mix concrete Dubai schedule.
Questions from Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim sites
- What do I forget most often on a villa pour?
- Booking the pump. Most villa slabs and roofs cannot be reached by chute, so the pump must be confirmed with the concrete.
- Can I use the same mix for footings and slab?
- Usually not near the coast. Footings in saline ground need the exposure-rated mix your engineer specifies.