Concrete

Both. Most of our concrete is wet-batched at our own plants and delivered ready mixed in barrel mixers, which come in 4m³, 6m³ and 8m³ sizes so the truck matches the load. We also run volumetric mixers, which carry the cement, aggregate and water separately and mix the concrete on site as it is poured. Ready mixed is the standard choice for footings, slabs and bases where you know the volume you need. Mixed on site suits jobs where the quantity is uncertain, or where you need more than one mix on the same visit, because the truck only mixes what you use. Both are made to the same BSI Kitemark mix designs. 

Not per cubic metre, but it can be cheaper overall for small or uncertain quantities. A volumetric truck costs a little more per m³ than a barrel mixer load, because the mixing happens on the vehicle. What you save is waste: you pay only for the concrete that comes off the truck, so there is no returned concrete charge and no part-load charge for ordering a few metres short of a full barrel. For a job where you know the volume, ready mix from our Mini Mix or full-size fleet is the lower-cost option. For a job where you might need 2m³ or might need 3m³, mixed on site usually works out cheaper. 

The 90 minute rule says ready mixed concrete should be placed within about 90 minutes of the water being added at the plant. After that it starts to stiffen, and adding more water on site to loosen it weakens the finished concrete. Our batching plants deliver within a 15-mile radius, so travel time is well inside the limit and the clock is mostly spent on your site. That is why we allow 30 minutes of free waiting time and charge after that: a truck held up for an hour is a load that is going off. In hot weather the window is shorter, so have your access, barrows and labour ready before the mixer arrives. With a volumetric truck the clock only starts when the concrete is mixed at your gate. 

You can usually walk on concrete after 24 to 48 hours, build light blockwork on footings after about 3 days, and drive a car on a slab after 7 days. Full design strength takes 28 days, which is the point the strength grades on our mixes refer to. Concrete does not dry so much as cure, which is a chemical reaction that needs the water to stay in the mix, so keep a new slab damp and covered rather than letting it dry out in sun or wind. Cold weather slows curing down and a stronger mix such as an RC grade stiffens sooner than a Gen 1, so treat these as a guide rather than a rule. 

Yes. We deliver concrete at a time slot of your choosing, and we need 48 hours’ notice to guarantee a specific slot. Shorter-notice orders are delivered next day, and often the same day, but at a time that fits the plant’s run rather than one you pick. Our Mini Mix service for small loads can be booked up to 7 days ahead through a single point of contact. Once the truck arrives you have 30 minutes of free waiting time to get the concrete off, so the slot you choose should be one where the ground is prepared and people are on site to place it. Our delivery and collections page lists the notice periods and charges in full. 

The minimum delivered load is 1m³, supplied through our Mini Mix service in 4m³ barrel mixers that are built for loads of 1m³ to 4m³. That avoids the part-load charges you pay with suppliers who only run 6m³ and 8m³ trucks and have to send a large mixer with a small load. For anything under 1m³, such as a few fence posts or a small repair, a 20kg bag of 40N concrete mixed by hand is the practical option. There is no upper limit the other way: large commercial pours are supplied by multiple trucks, a pump or a mobile batching plant on site. 

We deliver ready mixed concrete within about 15 miles of each of our batching plants, which cover a band of central and eastern England from Leicester and Peterborough down through Cambridge and Northampton to Milton Keynes. Enter your postcode on any concrete product page and the site will tell you straight away whether we deliver to you and what the price is for your area. If you are outside the delivery radius, you can still collect concrete from one of our batching plants, and our collection sites extend further than the delivery area. For large projects outside our normal reach, a mobile batching plant can be set up on site. 

The BSI Kitemark means our concrete has been independently certified by the British Standards Institution as meeting the British Standard for ready mixed concrete, and that our plants are regularly audited to prove it. In practice it means every mix is made to a tested design, the materials are checked, and sample cubes are crushed to confirm the concrete reaches its stated strength. It is the difference between a supplier saying their concrete is a C25 and being able to prove it. Alongside the Kitemark, our concrete is BES accredited for responsible sourcing of materials. For footings and structural work, your building inspector or engineer will often ask for certified concrete, and the Kitemark satisfies that.