These guides explain the jobs and the rules behind the GeniesMag concrete calculators: mixing and water, curing, cracking, slab thickness, footing depth, block and rebar sizes, retaining wall height, court and walk dimensions, and more. Each guide is tied to a calculator, reads its sources directly, and says where two sources disagree.
How the guides work. Every guide lists its sources with an access date, shows its worked examples, and is reviewed by Prof. Dr. Khalil Mudassar, PhD. They report what manufacturer sheets, standards and trade bodies say. They are not a rule for your particular job, so follow your product label and your local code.
Volume and Ordering Guides
Guides for working out and ordering the concrete itself. They pair with the concrete volume and ordering calculators.
How Much Water per Bag of Concrete?Starting and maximum water for 40, 50, 60, 80 and 90 lb bags from one data sheet, how to judge consistency, and what extra water costs.Ready-Mix vs Bagged Concrete: How Much Work Is a Yard?What a cubic yard asks of you: 45 bags and 3,600 lb of dry mix, mixer batches, ordering rules and truck access. No prices.How Long Should You Mix Concrete in a Mixer?Water first, the 3 to 5 minute how-to range, the consistency check and the mixing times printed for different QUIKRETE products.What Is Flowable Fill (CLSM) and When Should You Use It?What flowable fill is, its strength and bearing figures, placement, hardening time, density and limits, from NRMCA and archived FHWA guidance.
Slabs and Flatwork Guides
Guides for slabs, patios and finishing jobs, from cracking to resurfacing to sealing. They pair with the slabs and flatwork calculators.
Why Does Concrete Crack? Causes and What HelpsWhy concrete cracks, which kinds of cracks appear when, and the preventable causes, from NRMCA and QUIKRETE sheets.How to Resurface a Concrete Patio, Step by StepPrep, mixing, coats, finishing and wait times for QUIKRETE resurfacer, with its two data sheets compared.When to Seal New Concrete: Cure-and-Seal TimingThe cure-and-seal timing windows in the sources, the weather limits, and what no source says about already-cured concrete.How Thick Should a Concrete Slab Be?What the 2021 IRC floor minimum covers, and the thickness figures QUIKRETE and trade sources give for walks, patios, sheds, garages and driveways.How to Prime and Pour Self-Leveling UnderlaymentThe order of work on pour day, with primer, water, mixing, working time and flooring times compared across the data sheets of four makers.Do You Need a Vapor Barrier Under a Garage Slab?What the 2021 IRC says about the 10 mil retarder and its garage exception, plus EPA, CIP 29 and coating data sheet guidance.How Wide Should a Sidewalk or Walkway Be?ADA 36 in, the PROWAG 48 in rule and its stated status, passing spaces, slopes, FHWA guidance and two city design standards.Standard Basketball Court Dimensions for a BackyardOfficial NBA, NCAA, NFHS and FIBA court sizes and key lines, and the honest gap where no backyard standard exists.
Foundations and Footings Guides
Guides for the concrete that sits in the ground. They pair with the foundations and footings calculators.
How to Set a Fence Post in Concrete, Step by StepSteps, bracing, dry pour or wet mix, and when to load the post, with QUIKRETE’s differing depth rules compared.How Deep Should Footings Be?The 12 in model-code floor, the locally set frost line, frost-protected shallow foundations, soil and the inspection step, from the 2021 IRC with one city example.Concrete Block Sizes and TypesNominal and specified block dimensions, standard widths, unit types, density classes and the C90 strength minimum, from a CMHA tech note.
Structural Elements Guides
Guides for steps, countertops and other formed pieces. They pair with the structural concrete elements calculators.
Concrete Step Dimensions: Rise, Run and Code LimitsRiser, tread, nosing, landing, handrail and slope limits under the 2021 IRC, compared with QUIKRETE’s 2006 chart.How to Make a Concrete Countertop: Mix, Cast and CureForms, water, slump, casting, curing and demolding with QUIKRETE Countertop Mix, comparing its 2007 and 2018 sheets.Should You Water New Concrete? Wet Curing ExplainedWhy moisture matters, when not to water, fogging, ponding and wet mats, cold limits and how to end the cure, from NRMCA and FHWA.Rebar Size Numbering Explained (#3, #4, #5)What the bar number means in eighths of an inch, the sizes set by area, the full diameter, area and weight chart, and bar marks.How Tall Can a Retaining Wall Be Without an Engineer?Permit exemption versus engineering requirement, the 2021 IRC and IBC text, measuring points and two local examples.
Start With a Calculator
The calculators give you the numbers and the guides explain the method. If you know your job, open the matching tool from the concrete calculators page, then come back to the guide for the steps, timing and limits.
Questions About These Guides
Where do the numbers in the guides come from?
From the sources listed at the end of each guide, such as manufacturer data sheets, trade association sheets, a government pavement guide and the model building code. Each source carries an access date.
Do the guides replace the label or local code?
No. They report what the sources say, and they flag where two documents differ. Follow the label on your product and the code your inspector enforces.
How do the guides relate to the calculators?
Each guide supports one calculator and links to it for the arithmetic. The guide covers the method, timing and limits that a calculator cannot answer.
