Everyone who’s ever lived in Central Oregon knows that while Central Oregon is always beautiful, year-round, the weather tends to be unpredictable at times. Most recently, Central Oregon saw an unusually high snowfall, which led to several logistical and safety issues all across the area — school closures, icy roads, and freezing pipes are common nuisances during this time.

For a home-builder like Malace Homes, a harsh and snowy winter presents an additional set of challenges. Cold temperatures and layers of snow and ice don’t necessarily halt construction completely, but they do slow down the process significantly. Important parts of the process like pouring concrete must be done strategically to ensure that each individual component of your home is at the highest quality.

Pouring Concrete

When pouring concrete in cold weather (considered by industry standards to be an average daily temperature less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit), it is important to take care that it does not freeze before it sets. Because of that additional wrinkle, we must carefully consider when and where to pour, taking into account time of day and the amount of snow and ice in the build location.

It is very important not to pour onto snow, ice, or frozen ground, as this will cause potential for water seepage when the ice melts as well as cause issues with the concrete’s ability to set properly. Most importantly, we have to keep the concrete from freezing, as fresh concrete that freezes becomes significantly weaker in the long term.

A Little Extra Prep Ensures Quality

This week, because of the weather, some extra preparation was required.  First, we dug through all of the surface material and replaced the frozen material with non-frozen fill.  We then built forms, poured, and blanketed the concrete, allowing it to set without freezing.  Though this took some additional resources, time, and effort, it’s crucial to our business to do the best work possible even in prohibitive winter conditions.

Malace Homes is Committed to Exceptional Quality

We at Malace Homes want you to know that we are committed to delivering exceptional quality homes at exceptional value, and that means that we will never cut corners during the construction process, even when challenges like weather present themselves. We want nothing more than to get you the home you want and deserve, but a custom build is a marathon, not a sprint, and we want to ensure that at every step, our builds are done right.