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TIL that wet curing a slab for 7 days is actually worth the hassle | Concrete Finishers - Topic Shares

TIL that wet curing a slab for 7 days is actually worth the hassle

I used to think keeping concrete wet for a week was overkill for residential work. On a 20x30 garage pad in April I tried it anyway, just plastic sheeting and a soaker hose, and the surface came out harder with way fewer hairline cracks than my usual method. My old way was to spray cure and move on, but this pad tested noticeably tighter when I hit it with a chain drag. The difference was clear enough that I've kept doing it on driveways over 4 inches thick. Still not sold on doing it for every small pour though, hauling water gets old fast. For those of you doing flatwork in dry heat, how long do you actually keep it wet before you call it done?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_nina23d ago

Keeping concrete wet for a week always made me feel like I was babysitting a giant mud pie. But you are right about the payoff. In dry heat I usually soak it for 3 days on small pads and a full 7 on anything 4 inches or thicker, just depends on wind and how fast it crusts. Hauling that soaker hose around is the worst part, my back hates me every time.

sandralee23d ago

That line about babysitting a giant mud pie made me laugh because it really is the same thing as watering a garden in July. If you skip a day in dry heat everything just bakes and cracks, and if you keep up with it the whole thing holds together. I have seen the same thing with my lawn, my sourdough starter, and even my kid's sandbox. Anything that needs steady moisture does not like big swings. So the 3 days on small pads and 7 on thick ones sounds about right to me. The wind matters more than people give it credit for. A breezy 95 degree day will pull water out of a slab faster than a still one.