Heard a guy at the job site swear by wet curing for 28 days straight

I was pouring a driveway in Phoenix last July and some old timer was going on about how you gotta keep concrete wet for a full month or it's junk. I get that curing matters, but out here that's just not practical. I've been doing it for 15 years with 7 day wet cure and a good sealer and never had a call back. Has anyone else run into this hardcore wet cure crowd and actually seen a difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

lunaf679d ago

You know, that 28 day thing sounds like something straight out of the 1950s handbook or something. I feel for you in Phoenix, that would be impossible without turning your driveway into a swamp and wasting half the city's water. I've been doing this for about 12 years in Texas and I do a solid 7 day wet cure with a good sealer and never had a single crack or color fade issue either. It honestly feels like those hardcore dudes are just repeating what their grandpa told them without thinking about how modern concrete mixes are way different.

lucasschmidt9d ago

Man, I gotta call BS on the 28 day thing too. I mean, sure, if you were pouring a bridge or something maybe, but a driveway? I've never seen anyone actually prove it matters that much. @lunaf67 is spot on about modern mixes being different, plus we got better sealers these days. I bet half those guys couldn't even tell you what the actual science is behind it anyway, they just heard it somewhere and now it's gospel.

adam_patel9d ago

Poured my own patio about 8 years back and did the full 28 day cure with wet burlap and plastic. Neighbor did his the same week with a 7 day cure and a cheap sealer. Mine looks exactly the same as his does now. Not wasting that much water again.