Should I spray my new concrete with water?

Properly curing your concrete improves strength, durability, water tightness, and resistance for many years. The first 7 days after installation you should spray the slab with water 5-10 times per day, or as often as possible. After 28 days the concrete is cured and you will have a strong and stable slab.

Why do you wet new concrete?

ANSWER: Keeping concrete moist helps the curing process. Concrete hardens as a result of a chemical reaction, called hydration, between cement and water, not because it dries. If too much water is lost from the concrete through evaporation, the hardening process slows down or ceases.

Why is water sprayed on cement?

The reaction between cement and water is called hydration. It is an exothermic reaction (which releases heat). After adding water to the concrete mix, hydration starts, which tends to dry the concrete quickly. Hence concrete is kept moist by curing, to stop it from drying out before attaining its maximum strength.

What is the purpose of spraying on the surface of a freshly finished concrete slab?

What is the purpose of spraying on the surface of a freshly-finished concrete slab? forms a coating on the surface of a freshly-finished concrete slab that retains the moisture in the mix and promotes full hydration of the concrete.

Why should I water my concrete surface?

By keeping the surface wet, you are keeping the concrete temperature low. Be sure to start watering the concrete in the morning and keep watering throughout the hottest part of the day.

Can you spray concrete before you walk on it?

If the concrete drys out at any stage, it will stop curing and will not gain any more strength. The curing process will restart if water is reapplied. So: yes, once it sets up enough that it will not mark if you walk on it, and so that the spray does not erode the concrete.

How does wet curing affect the drying time of concrete?

How does wet curing affect drying time? With wet curing, the added moisture serves to stabilize the excess loss of evaporated water in concrete. However, surface moisture interacts with slab water vapor that migrates from the bottom to the top of the slab. Moisture in the drying process must leave the slab by evaporating from the slab surface.

Why should you water new gunite or concrete?

Why Should You Water New Gunite or Concrete? Spraying water on concrete is one of the oldest and best ways to cure concrete. The chemical reaction that binds the sand and gravel together to form hardened concrete can take up to 28 days to fully complete. Concrete curing and hardening is a chemical process that is exothermic that generates heat.