Purpose of Consolidation

Consolidation eliminates rock pockets and air bubbles and brings enough fine material both to the surface and against the forms to produce the desired finish. You can use hand tools such as spades, puddling sticks, or tampers, but mechanical vibrators are best. Any compacting device must reach the bottom of the form and be small enough to pass between reinforcing bars. The process involves carefully working around all reinforcing steel with the compacting device to assure proper embedding of reinforcing steel in the concrete. Since the strength of the concrete member depends on proper reinforcement location, be careful not to displace the reinforcing steel.