Old foreman Jerry told me to wet cure for 7 days no exceptions

Back when I started finishing 15 years ago in Phoenix, my foreman Jerry was adamant about wet curing every slab for a full week. He said skipping it would cost me down the road. I thought he was being old school and over cautious. Last summer I poured a small patio for a client and got lazy, only misted it for 3 days before moving on. Within 6 months there were hairline cracks all over the surface from the heat and dry air here. Jerry was right all along. Now I soak burlap and keep it covered for the full 7 days no matter what the schedule says. Has anyone else learned this lesson the hard way in a dry climate?

3 comments

3 Comments

tara_jones948d ago

Did you have any issues with the curing compound just peeling off in the heat? I tried a spray on once in Vegas and it flaked off before day 2. Ended up going back to wet burlap and plastic sheeting ever since. Its more work but the surface stays solid.

-1

reesea497d ago

Yeah @tara_jones94, the spray on stuff can be hit or miss in really dry heat. I've had better luck with the water based compounds that form a film rather than the ones that dry to a powder.

blairtaylor2d ago

Wait, have you ever accidentally created a concrete slip-n-slide? Because that's basically what happened to me last summer with a cheap spray-on curing compound. I thought I was being smart in the 90 degree Oklahoma heat, but by hour 3 the stuff was peeling off in these weird little flakes like a bad sunburn. I had to go back and hose it down with wet burlap anyway, so I basically did twice the work for a worse result. Idk, maybe it's just me but I've accepted that for flatwork I'm always gonna be the weirdo with the soggy blankets and plastic, looking like I'm tucking in a giant toddler. At least it beats having a surface that crumbles like a stale cookie.

-1