Ready-mix companies make huge batches of concrete at mixing plants, and haul it to the work site in trucks. Some firms use mixing machines mounted on trucks. These machines mix the concrete as the truck carries it to the building site. Homeowners can buy prepared mixtures of cement and aggregates for small repair jobs. Only water has to be added to such mixtures.
Workers place the freshly mixed, wet concrete into forms made of wood, plywood, or steel.
The forms hold the concrete in shape until it hardens. The concrete may be dumped directly into the forms, or poured down chutes. Workers use wheelbarrows, two-wheeled carts called buggies, small rail cars, trucks, or buckets lifted by cranes. The concrete may also be pumped through steel pipes. After the concrete is placed, it must be worked into the corners and sides of the forms with wooden spades and puddling sticks.