Crew slang for a load with far more slump than its mix was designed for, typically from water added by the driver or demanded by the crew. Soupy concrete is easy to place but bleeds heavily, segregates, shrinks and cracks more and breaks weak, since every gallon raises the w/cm. Inspectors who hear the word on a structural pour start reading tickets for water added.
Whoever told him to add 20 gallons made soup, that wall is going to show sand streaks and break low.
Also heard as
- soupy
- slop
- wet load
Related terms
Slump
How far a cone-shaped sample of fresh concrete sags, the standard field measure of consistency.
w/cm
Water-to-cementitious-materials ratio: the weight of mix water divided by the weight of cement plus SCMs.
Bleed water
Water that rises to the surface of fresh concrete as the heavier solids settle.
Segregation
Separation of coarse aggregate from the mortar in fresh concrete, leaving rock-heavy and paste-heavy zones.