Saw the biggest difference in a slab after we switched to wet curing in Denver

We used to just spray and cover with plastic on our flatwork, and we'd always get some random crazing and hairline cracks. Then we had a big 5,000 square foot parking lot pour last August, and the foreman insisted on using wet burlap and keeping it soaked for a full 7 days. The difference was night and day. That slab came out smooth as glass with hardly any surface cracks, and it stayed that way through the fall freeze. I compare it to another job we did the same month where we rushed the cure, and that one had way more checking. Has anyone else seen a big improvement from sticking to a strict wet curing schedule?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthewmartin1mo ago

That 5,000 square foot parking lot is a good example. I used to think wet curing was overkill, like just spraying it down and covering it with plastic was good enough. But then we had a big slab for a warehouse floor in February, did the full wet burlap routine for a week, and it came out way tighter than any of our winter pours before. Totally changed my mind, I don't skip the wet cure on anything big anymore.

jake9861mo ago

Bet you also saw way less salt scaling come spring with that wet cure. The extra hydration locks down the surface paste so it doesn't flake off when the freeze-thaw hits.

claire_gibson1mo ago

Dead right, that wet cure made a huge difference on my last driveway pour. The surface stayed so much tighter through all those freeze-thaw cycles, barely any flaking compared to the dry-cured sections I did the year before. Handy trick if you're dealing with heavy road salt.