Am I the only one who thinks wet curing is overrated for small residential jobs?

I swear everyone in here swears by wet curing for everything. But I did a 4x6 patio slab in Spokane last summer and just used a decent curing compound spray. After 8 months, no cracks, no dusting, and the customer was happy. Wet curing is a hassle on small pours. Has anyone else had good luck without it?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesfox8d ago

Well hell, nobody's talking about the climate angle here. Spokane's basically a desert in the summer with single digit humidity. I've seen wet burlap actually pull moisture out of the curing concrete because it evaporates faster than the hydration reaction can keep up. Compounds make more sense when your air's that dry unless you want to babysit a sprinkler all week.

hall.nina8d agoMost Upvoted

You've got my sympathy, that burlap trick sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen out there.

nathanj563d ago

Wow, that's a really good point I hadn't even considered. @hall.nina, are you working in a pretty dry climate like Spokane, or somewhere with more humidity? I'm curious if the burlap approach is a total bust in your area or if it can still work with enough babysitting.