Watching a concrete pour go from 2 guys to a 12 man crew in 8 years

I helped my uncle pour driveways back in 2015 and it was just him and his partner with a mixer truck. Last week I subbed for a crew doing a 30 yard commercial slab and there were guys for finishing, power troweling, edge work, even a guy just spraying retarder. The foreman told me insurance and timelines basically force you to specialize now. I get it but it felt like a different world. Has anyone else seen their small jobs turn into circus acts lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

markm271mo ago

Yeah, that part about "insurance and timelines basically force you to specialize now" really hit home. I've watched the same thing happen on job sites around here. It used to be you'd have a couple of guys who could do everything from framing to finishing, and now it's like you need a whole platoon just to pour a slab. The margins are so thin that one mistake can cost you the whole job, so crews have to break it down into tiny pieces to make sure nothing goes wrong. It's kind of a shame, honestly. Feels like the craft of it gets lost when you're just another cog in a big machine.

oliver_ward141mo ago

@markm27 You're spot on about the margins. I had a crew back in 2019, three guys who could frame and finish. Now I run five separate subs on one site just to keep the liability separate.

seth_carr1mo ago

@oliver_ward14 I hear you on running separate subs. What worked for me was finding one guy who's a master at forming and pouring, then another who only does finishing. Keeps the insurance clean and everyone knows their lane. The craft isn't totally gone, but you gotta learn to appreciate the little things each specialist does right.