Vent: Old timer Jim told me to wet the forms before pouring, I thought he was nuts

Jim's been doing concrete for like 40 years, so I figured I'd try his trick of hosing down the wood forms right before the pour. I thought it would just make a muddy mess, but the forms didn't suck any moisture out of the mix and the edge finish came out way cleaner. Has anyone else had luck with that or did I just get lucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee_reed1mo ago

Boy howdy, you are gonna get way better results if you wet those forms down every time. Old timers like Jim didn't get those decades of experience by accident you know. What you did was actually spot on because dry wood will absolutely suck the moisture right out of your mix and leave you with a rough powdery edge. Most guys skipping that step end up wondering why their edges look like crap and blame the mix instead of their prep work. So yeah you didnt get lucky, you just listened to someone who actually knows what theyre talking about.

derek_perez1mo ago

Nah man, wetting forms ain't that deep, concrete sets fine either way.

grace_campbell1mo ago

My buddy Steve learned this one the hard way last summer. He built a nice little patio form out of some old 2x6s he had laying around, didn't wet anything, and poured his mix in there on a hot July afternoon. Came back the next day and the edges looked like someone went at them with a cheese grater, all dusty and crumbling. He spent two whole days chiseling out that mess and redoing it. Now he keeps a spray bottle in his truck for every job.