Spraying Water on New Concrete to Cure
Spraying water on your new concrete is one of the best and oldest ways to cure your concrete. After new concrete is poured and finished the concrete begins its curing process. The best cured concrete is concrete that is cured slowly, uniformly, and evenly from top to bottom.
During the summer months, the outside temperature can become hot. By keeping the surface wet, you are keeping the concrete temperature low. Be sure to start watering the concrete in the morning and keep watering throughout the hottest part of the day. Do not start watering during the hottest part of the day because it could shock the concrete into developing surface crazing (similar to a hot glass breaking when filled with cold water).
Spraying water on the surface prevents the surface of the concrete slab from drying faster than the bottom.
Advances in chemical curing compounds virtually eliminate the need to keep the concrete wet to keep the surface from drying faster than the bottom. When the air temperature is to be above 75 degrees F in the following week after the concrete is poured, Unlimited Concrete Concepts will apply a chemical curing compound to all exterior concrete slabs. The compounds we use are either Dissipating Cure (mainly for driveways) or Cure and Seal (patios or sidewalks).
