<the farmers in these parts don't like cement that has calcium chloride <in it.  They say it is not as strong, develops cracks, and doesn't <last as long, giving them more problems.

Wow, you can say that again.  Last year my concrete contractor was pouring a new floor in an old industrial building that I was renovating.  We were on site by 7:00 am on a brisk Michigan November morning.  As they were doing their prep work I talked with the foreman about the strategy for the day.  He decided that it was going to be pretty cold that day so he order the mix with 1% calcium chloride.  The trucks ended up being almost 2 hours late getting on site, by that time the temp was starting to rise.  When they were through pouring the floor at about 3 in the afternoon the temp has rose to over 55 degrees.  The concrete was setting up so fast they didn't know what to do.  After calling in many favors the foreman got several of his friends from other concrete companies to come and help trowel the floor before it was a total loss.  What a pain in my arse that floor has been ever since.  The darn thing floated and never bonded with anything below it, cracked like crazy, and when they cut the control joints they cut too deep and I had about 12 different individual floating slabs.  Arghh!!!!, I made the contractor remove most of the floor eventually but it still cost me in lost time and arguing over what the cause of the problem was.  Use chloride sparingly, and know what the hell you're doing with it before you use it.

Nate Gillette
Grand Rapids, MI

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