Shoutout to that 28-day cure study that changed my mind on wet curing

I always thought wet burlap curing was overkill until I read a study from the American Concrete Institute showing it can boost compressive strength by 30% compared to just letting it dry out. I ran a test on a driveway I poured last month in Austin and the difference was way bigger than I expected. Has anyone else actually measured the strength difference on a job?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia55825d ago

Man I did the exact same thing on a 60 foot section of sidewalk here in Houston last summer. I set up four test cylinders from the same batch, two wrapped in wet burlap and plastic for 28 days and two just left to sit. The difference was crazy like the wet cured ones tested at 4,800 psi and the dry ones barely hit 3,300. I felt pretty dumb for not doing it sooner honestly because my old method was basically just praying the hose didnt kink. Now I look like a hero with the customers since the surface doesnt dust up as bad either.

elizabeths5125d ago

hold on, you really saw that big of a difference? I mean I get that curing matters but 1,500 psi is a lot. makes me wonder if maybe the test cylinders weren't totally on the level or something. Like were they from the exact same spot in the truck or did you grab them at different times

hugo_robinson2524d ago

yeah but 1500 psi difference seems sus, maybe the batch just had bad spots