Is it the crunch or the distractions that kill the mood during tense scenes?

That point about material quirks really resonates... I was just reading a field report from a civil engineering blog last month that mentioned how even with ideal prep, permeable concrete in humid climates can develop surface scaling if the aggregate isn't pre-washed to remove fines. Like @sarah774 highlighted, skipping prep is a disaster, but like the report said, sometimes the spec itself is off, like using river rock that's too smooth for proper bonding. I heard about a retrofit where they had to tear out a parking lot because the mix, while technically to code, just never set right in the shade, you know? So it's not always the crew's fault, but man, when variables align wrong, it's a mess.