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Question about the old rule of thumb for concrete curing time
I was reading a trade journal from the 80s and it said the old 'one day per inch of thickness' for curing is way off for modern mixes. It said with today's additives, a 4 inch slab can be ready for light traffic in like 12 hours under good conditions. I always planned jobs around the old rule. Does anyone still follow the inch-per-day thing, or is that totally outdated now?
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the_amy17d ago
That old rule is basically useless now (modern mixes cure way faster).
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kevin_lane17d ago
What about the humidity in your room though? That old rule might be wrong, but something else is probably slowing it down.
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garcia.mila17d ago
The old rule was for basic concrete without any additives. Modern mixes with accelerators can set up much faster, but the full cure for strength still takes weeks. That 12 hour window is just for walking on it, not driving a truck over it. You still need to plan for the full strength gain before putting real weight on it. What kind of mix are you using for your jobs?
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