One of the most frequent questions we get at Honcho is, “what’s the best way to protect concrete during construction?” Concrete is expensive and unfortunately, relatively easy to damage (stain, scratch or other) and therefore something builders are keen to protect.
Therefore, we thought it might be helpful to put together a guide of general concreting tips that addresses some of the key considerations builders should be across when thinking about concrete protection throughout construction. We’ve previously talked about the importance of slab thickness, types of concrete finishes, and duration of protection, as well as slab pouring location and important environmental factors to consider, but here we’re going to discuss how soon to protect your concrete after pouring, as well as the use of concrete curing agents and densifiers:
1. Type of Slab
Depending on the type of finish of the slab, whether it is polished, burnished, broomed, cove, etc. will affect how soon you can cover the slab with protection. With polished concrete, for example, the natural light is more reflective to the naked eye and therefore imperfections are more noticeable than say with a broom or cove-based finish, where the surface is a lot more undulated and the natural light bounces off these slabs in all different directions, therefore making any imperfections are lot less noticeable.
2. Slab thickness
Slab thicknesses vary from job to job. The thicker the slab, the more moisture that will generally be held within it. This typically means a longer time frame to cure before protection can be laid.
3. Environmental conditions
The weather and temperature can also play a big part in a concrete’s curing time. In other words, the cooler the surrounding temperature, or if rain is apparent, the longer a slab might need to cure and remain uncovered (or unprotected).
4. Location of the slab
Depending on where the slab is located geographically, whether it is in a hot climate (summer) or cold climate (winter), then this could affect when you can cover the slab with the protection.
