Pouring Concrete Walls In Rain

The key to preventing damage to the concrete surface by a rainstorm is proper preparation and timing.

Pouring concrete walls in rain.

Once the damage is done it can be hard to rectify and will often ruin the appearance of the finished surface. Concrete continues to gain strength after pouring for as long as it retains moisture but the longer it moist cures the slower the rate of strength gain. Walls taller than 8 feet should be 10 inches thick. An 8 inch poured concrete wall costs 12 75 per square foot or 1 224 poured on average.

Pouring concrete in the rain can compromise its strength increasing the tendency for dusting and scaling to develop. Rainwater can cause a new concrete surface to become soft which in turn decreases the abrasion resistance and strength of the concrete while increasing the tendency for dusting and cracking to develop. The enclosed area is continually flooded with water. If possible tent the pour with tarps to keep rain from mixing with the concrete.

Ready mix concrete costs 119 to 147 per cubic yard and an 8 inch thick basement wall measuring 12 x 8 will use 2 37 cubic yards of concrete so concrete alone costs 282 to 348 per average wall. A huge 10 ft wide forming machine leveled the surface and vibrated as it crawled along. Big revolving trucks dumping concrete into the bed atop limesone sealed with tar and puddles 1 2 inches deep in the pouring rain. The biggest problem you may be faced with is the effect the rain may have had on the surface of the concrete.

Water curing can be done after the slab pour by building dams with soil around the house and flooding the slab. If it was not covered prior to the onset of the rain if the hardening was not very far along by that time and if there was enough rain falling with enough force the rain may have washed some of the cement out of the concrete. The integrity of the slab depends on keeping the water ratio in the concrete mix low. Don t let it rain on your parade.

The more rain that mixes with the semi solid concrete the more likely it is that the slab will fail. Concrete which is moist cured for 7 days is about 50 stronger than uncured concrete. After concrete is placed the concrete increases in strength very quickly for a period of 3 7 days.