Summer is here, and with it comes the warm weather that is ideal for fast concrete production.
Or is it?
Anybody who works with concrete will know that the warm weather speeds up concrete set times. One of my customers in the middle east was using the same mould 3 times in one day! That’s fill and demould 3 times in 24hours, not that I would recommend doing this, as hot weather can be as much of a problem as cold weather.
If your concrete sets too fast the following problems can happen:
– Thermal Cracking
– Less workable (less slump)
– More water = weaker concrete
– Poor surface finish
So how do you combat these and make the most of the warm weather:
Here are my top tips (you can download the full booklet here)
Top Tips
· Cover any exposed concrete surface during warm conditions to help prevent loss of moisture at the surface (reducing the risk of cracking).
· If the temperature exceeds 350C it is not advised to pour concrete unless special precautions have been taken.
· Cover aggregates that are to be used in the concrete to stop them drying out and becoming warm enough to raise the concrete temperature.
· Always double check retarding admixture dosages before using them.
· Try not to have any delay between producing concrete and placing/compacting it.
Read the full booklet here
There are lots of booklets to download here and if you have any precast queries just let us know, we are always happy to hear from you.
Precast Concrete 