Found a way to keep concrete from cracking in hot weather

I was pouring a slab for a retail strip in Phoenix last July and the surface kept drying way too fast. Tried adding ice to the mix and it bought me an extra 20 minutes of working time before the cracks started. Has anyone else used that trick or is there something better?

2 comments

2 Comments

diana15510d ago

Have you tried using white pigmented curing compound on top of that? I was on a job in Vegas a few years back and we had the same issue with a big box store pad. We did the ice trick too but then the foreman had us spray on a white reflective compound right after the final trowel. It bounced the suns heat off the surface way better than just wet burlap or fogging it. You have to be careful not to spray it too thick or it'll peel later, but a thin even coat bought us almost an hour before any checking showed up.

riley_coleman810d ago

...and then we had to chip off half the slab anyway cause the white compound bubbled up where we laid it on too thick. The ice trick works fine but you gotta crush it fine or you get cold spots that mess with the set time. We started doing frozen water bottles instead of loose ice, just drop them in the truck mixer before the pour. They melt slow and keep the whole load cool without watering it down too much. Phoenix heat is brutal, you need everything working for you.