jennifer204•11d agoProlific Poster

Just realized a lot of crews around here are overworking their concrete on hot days

I was watching a crew pour a driveway last week when it was 90 degrees, and they kept troweling the same spot for way too long. They were trying to get a perfect finish, but you could see the surface water disappearing fast. My old boss taught me that on hot days, you gotta work in smaller sections and speed up your timing between steps. If you overwork it once that bleed water is gone, you're just sealing in a weak, dusty top layer that'll craze or dust up in a year. It's better to hit the timing right once than to go back over it five times. Has anyone else had to adjust their crew's rhythm for extreme heat?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sam11d ago

Yeah, seen that mistake a lot. My own first patio pour looked like a dried-up riverbed for the same reason.

milaw1411d ago

Tell me about it. My first attempt at a concrete slab looked like a giant jigsaw puzzle someone already gave up on. It still works as a base for my grill, but man, it's an eyesore. I spent all that time mixing and pouring just to end up with my own personal fault line map. Guess I learned the hard way that control joints aren't just for looks. Makes you respect a smooth finish when you see one, right?

beth_reed11d ago

But is it actually a problem or just looks bad? A cracked patio still works fine for years. People get too hung up on perfect looks.