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Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
#350761 06/22/11 02:45 PM
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axiomite
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Yup, another question that just hit me today.

I am going to be mixing and laying about 1 ton worth of concrete tonight in our basement where I tore out 1700 pounds of concrete for the new bathroom location. That comes out to about a 2 foot wide 'J' shaped trench that is about 32 sq feet of 4 inch thick concrete. Not a huge area, but still a bit of concrete...

Anyway, I've got surrounding concrete to use as the basic forms and to screed against, but what about curing? Do I need to lay some burlap tarp over it and keep it wet for a few days? I am trying to get the walls framed up down there on Friday afternoon/Saturday morning and want to make sure that it cured ok.

The basement isn't overly damp, but obviously isn't super dry either since it is underground. Weather forecast (if it matters) is highs in the upper 60's the next 3-4 days with rain off and on. So it isn't like this is in Arizona with their dry heat.

I want to do it right, but don't want to delay things longer than needed. Outside of the walls being framed on it this weekend, it will sit for 1 week before the plumber comes back to work on the room more.

I don't want to put a curing agent on top of it as I was told that it can take forever for the curing agent to go away and it can leave a slick, waxy surface that is hard for tiles to adhere to.

So any concrete curing tips for in a basement?
Any tips at all?


(I'm a concrete newbie, but tearing it out and putting the new in is saving me $900 after I factor in the cost of material and the mixer)


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
nickbuol #350762 06/22/11 03:17 PM
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I think I'd pay the extra $900.

Re: Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
CatBrat #350770 06/22/11 04:30 PM
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Bah... You big chicken...
Besides, the $900 savings is how I am justifying my VP180 purchase in a couple of months! Now that is some incentive to put a little (ok a lot) of sweat and muscle into this concrete work.

So back to my questions, does anyone know if I need to cover the concrete in the basement? I don't think that the rest of the floor was ever covered since it shows no marks from tarp or plastic. I doubt that they covered it when it was originally poured, and have never heard of people using the "pooling" method around here where they put a couple inches of water on it for several days...


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
CatBrat #350771 06/22/11 04:31 PM
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Rick the Wid Man is the guy to talk to!


::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
Re: Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
MarkSJohnson #350773 06/22/11 04:44 PM
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Hmmm... Rick hasn't posted anything in almost a week... I'll have to drop him a PM...


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
nickbuol #350778 06/22/11 05:46 PM
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Concrete takes 28 days to cure. The most commonly used cur promotor is calcium chloride. It should be slick, but it is corrosive, so I wouldn't use it near pipes.

General rules for concrete:
- you can walk on it in ~4h
- you can drive on in 24h, but I wouldn't go anywhere near edges or corners.
- it's very brittle for about a week.
- cured enough for drilling and fastening in about 2 weeks, this is ~80% of cure strength
- fully cured in 4 weeks.


Scott

My HT
Re: Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
a401classic #350791 06/22/11 08:25 PM
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Hmmmm.... I need to attach stud walls to it this weekend. That is a far cry from 2 weeks. It won't be "used" for a couple of weeks, but definitely will be worked on this weekend and then again later next week when the plumber comes back. Right now, there are just PVC drain pipes that the concrete will be around, so it is still corrosive to PVC? I would think not, but just checking. As for securing, I am using one of those .22 "caliber" charge systems that drives a nail through the base plate 2x4 and into the concrete.



In the area that I am working, I would need to use about 7 nails (they go into the concrete 1 inch) to secure the walls to the concrete.

What can I do to make that happen?

Also, do I need to keep the surface covered and/or wet for a few days until I put the walls up?


Farewell - June 4, 2020
Re: Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
nickbuol #350795 06/22/11 09:32 PM
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Ooooo, those are fun, but wear safety glasses and ear plugs, especially in a basement. If the new concrete is supported on either side by older concrete, and your base plate is somewhere near the middle, you should be OK, but that first week is still a bit crumbly. You'll know pretty quickly if it's gonna hold. You can always go back with a hammer drill and some redheads later.

Correction from earlier post; CaCl2 should NOT be slick, however it does absorb water, so it will stay wet. Your plastic pipe should be fine - its already chlorinated wink


Scott

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Re: Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
a401classic #350796 06/22/11 09:42 PM
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Nick: If Scott told me exactly what I should be doing in my basement, I'd just do it.

Oh, oh, TO your basement. Nevermind.

Seriously, where else can you get professional industrial chemistry advice?


Always call the place you live a house. When you're old, everyone else will call it a home.
Re: Any tips of conrete curing in a basement?
BobKay #350798 06/22/11 09:56 PM
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Props from Bob! Nice. laugh

According to concrete.org, you should be good to go in 6 days.


Scott

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