How Often Should I Water New Concrete

The Dos and Don'ts of Curing Concrete

Ensure the beauty, immovability, and crevice-resistance of your next concrete projection by following these tiptop tips.

Dos and Don'ts of Curing Concrete

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Yous may rightly consider concrete to be i of the most durable and attractive construction materials around, but did y'all know that everything you practice later pouring has simply as much touch on on its strength as the mixing process? In fact, the chemical reaction betwixt cement and water that binds sand and gravel together to brand concrete takes most 28 days to fully complete. During this process, which is known as hydration, you want to go on moisture in the physical. Otherwise, water evaporating too quickly from the surface—which tin can happen easily outdoors and in direct dominicus—will weaken the finished product with stresses and cracking.

Controlling the moisture content and the temperature of the new concrete for the first several days through curing take top priority. Past giving physical mix extra attention during this period rather than walking away as shortly equally it's poured, you can increase the structural integrity of the concrete and go far more resistant to hereafter cracking. For the best results, check out our list of best (and worst) concrete-curing practices before you tackle your side by side project.

DO spray new concrete with water.

1 of the most common methods for curing concrete is to hose information technology down frequently with water—5 to 10 times per twenty-four hours, or as often as you can—for the first seven days. Known as "moist curing," this allows the wet in the concrete to evaporate slowly. Moist-cured concrete can exist up to 50 percent stronger than concrete that was cured without being dampened! Spraying is not recommended for concrete poured during cold weather, however; for pours in chilly conditions, meet "Don't Allow Concrete Get Also Common cold," below.

Practise cover new concrete.

When you lot don't have time to revisit your concrete with a hose as many times every bit necessary for true moist curing, some other pick is to use a cover that can trap and slow the evaporation of the moisture in the mix. Either polyethylene sheeting that's at least 4mm thick or a concrete curing insulating blanket—both bachelor from DIY stores—are good for this job. Moisture the physical thoroughly, and then cover it with the sheeting of your pick, using bricks, rocks, or other heavy items to hold it in place. Remove the sheeting or blanket daily, moisture the physical again, re-cover it, and echo for seven days. This technique can too be used for upright concrete columns and walls by wetting them down and wrapping them with a curing blanket or plastic sheeting.

Do pond cure concrete slabs.

Pond curing is another great way to cure concrete, and the procedure is just as it sounds: Y'all form temporary berms effectually a new concrete slab, and so flood the expanse within them with 1 foot of water. Three days of pond curing does the piece of work of vii days of moist curing, and without daily attention—merely be sure the water level remains above the concrete slab. If it drops, yous'll need to refill a petty. This technique isn't for everyone, though, considering it takes quite a bit of soil to form berms effectually a big physical slab. Big-scale builders may use this method to speed up the construction process when pouring foundation slabs, for example, in gild to get on to framing the construction.

DO make the procedure easier past applying a curing chemical compound.

If other methods are not feasible, there's a simpler solution however: curing compounds. Available from DIY stores and ready-mix concrete companies, these contain soluble emulsions that class a protective film when sprayed straight onto the surface of newly poured physical slabs or walls. Ultimately, the film provides a barrier or motion picture to prevent water from evaporating, allowing it to cure at a consistent rate. Some curing compounds are designed to disintegrate completely after a couple of weeks, while others should be removed by scrubbing after the curing process is complete. Still others, such every bit Quikrete Acrylic Concrete Cure & Seal, penetrate the surface of the concrete, becoming a permanent sealer that waterproofs the concrete to go on it looking freshly poured. Read the manufacturer'due south labels carefully earlier choosing a curing compound to ensure that it meets your specific needs.

DON'T skip control joints in concrete slabs.

The goal of all concrete installation is to produce a high-quality production that resists cracking. While curing concrete will become a long way toward strengthening the finished project, many physical slabs will crack anyway—despite all precautions—due to concrete shrinkage as water is used up in the hydration procedure as well as temperature fluctuations. To preserve the beauty of the slab in the face of these challenges, exercise-it-yourselfers can place control joints at predetermined locations to guide the inevitable cracks. These joints should exist cutting in a quarter of the depth of the concrete slab during the very first of the curing procedure, within 24 hours of the initial pour. Using a metallic jointing tool, the control joints can be hands and smoothly cutting into the concrete surface every bit the advisable distances in the slab.

Determine the maximum spacing betwixt joints (in feet) past multiplying the planned concrete thickness (in inches) by 2.v. For instance, if you're creating a sidewalk that is iv inches deep, you lot'd multiply iv by 2.5 to go a distance of 10 feet betwixt joints. Experience gratis to place them closer together for added crack protection. On a larger square slab, like a patio, you'll want to consider breaking the concrete with joints that are perpendicular, also—down equally well as beyond. Then, if your slab patio, driveway, or sidewalk cracks, it volition most likely practice and then forth a precut joint and can, therefore, go most unnoticed.

Dos and Don'ts for Curing Concrete

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DON'T let new physical go too cold.

The all-time time to pour physical is when temperatures are expected to remain above l degrees for five to seven days, but plans can get awry with the inflow of an unexpected common cold front. When that happens, the importance shifts from keeping the concrete damp to keeping information technology warm enough that the chemical hardening process is non interrupted. Concrete's chemical reaction slows at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and completely stops at 45 degrees Fahrenheit, pregnant that information technology'll go fallow and it won't gain strength. If you look to pour concrete and use it in a couple days, you tin can't. When the temperatures driblet, new concrete should exist covered with physical insulating blankets (or, in a pinch, quondam household blankets!). Protect new concrete from the cold for the starting time two to three days—upwardly to a week, if it's very common cold—after which it should be strong enough to handle it without run a risk of harm.

DON'T paint or stain concrete in the outset month.

Any paint or stain applied to young physical while it's still hardening can be negatively affected by residual moisture or the changing chemical content in the concrete. It takes about a calendar month for all of the water to get used up in the hydration process. Brush on paint as well soon while moisture is still rising to the surface, and it can put pressure level underneath the hard bulwark of paint, causing information technology to pare abroad or break the bail. For this reason, paint may not adhere too, and the final color and appearance of stained concrete may also be afflicted. To achieve the all-time results, look until the 28-twenty-four hours period is over to employ paint or stain, and and then follow the top tips outlined in this video from the concrete pros at Quikrete.

DON'T subject new concrete to excessive weight.

Although concrete will harden soon after pouring, it's however susceptible to damage from weight during the kickoff four weeks. Look at least 24 hours before allowing foot traffic, including pets, on a newly poured sidewalk or slab, and don't drive a vehicle on a new driveway for at least 10 days. Afterwards that, you can bulldoze regular passenger cars on the concrete; heavy pickups or RVs tin roll onto the driveway one time the concrete reaches its total forcefulness, at around 28 days.

This content has been brought to y'all by Quikrete. Its facts and opinions are those of BobVila.com.