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Talked with a old timer about curing blankets and it made me rethink everything
I was on a job over near Springfield last Tuesday and this guy who's been finishing since the 70s came by to check on his son's work. He saw me using wet burlap on a big driveway pour and just shook his head. Said I was probably doing more harm than good because I wasn't keeping it consistently damp enough. He told me he switched to insulated blankets about 15 years ago and never looked back. It got me thinking about how many little shortcuts I take that might be costing me in the long run. He wasn't rude about it or anything, just matter of fact. Has anyone here switched off burlap and seen a real difference in cracking?
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gavinperez1mo ago
I remember reading something from ACI about how burlap can actually pull moisture out of the concrete if it dries out even for a few hours (which is pretty easy to do on a hot day). They said blankets hold the heat in better too, which speeds up the cure and reduces shrinkage cracking. A buddy of mine out in Colorado switched to the insulated kind last year and says his slab cracks went down by like half.
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