i recently had some concrete steps formed to the front entrance to my property. Once the concrete was laid the concrete was left uncovered. It subsequently rained and the weather has been extremely cold and damp since. The concrete therefore does not appeared to have cured and dried out and the surface seems to be spalling slightly in areas. Also when i removed the shuttering to one step the face looked like it needed smoothing over. Are there any tips for remedying this problem. It has been 11 days since the concrete was laid.
Concrete steps
- Thread starter Miko69
- Start date
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cast or shuttered concrete, that isn't being furnished with slabs or tiles etc, relies on the installer to give it its final decoration. in this case it would be trowel finish. with this in mind the installer should have been extra careful in protecting the concrete, particularly in bad weather, until the concrete had properly hydrated. sometimes a thin coat of sand/cement render can smarten up the risers, but the treads, im afraid may take a little more work!
The rain will not have stopped it hardening, because concrete hardens by reacting with (almost "absorbing" into the cement) the water, not by drying out. the moister it stays for longer, the stronger it will be. Once it has cured, damp, for a week or two, you can let it dry out and it will change colour from dark grey to pale.
The only downside is that heavy rain in the first few hours can wash away the cement from the outer layer, and it may flake.
However, if it was struck by frost, and froze in the first few days, this may have weakened the surface and made it crumbly.
After 11 days it is about as hard as it is going to get.
The only downside is that heavy rain in the first few hours can wash away the cement from the outer layer, and it may flake.
However, if it was struck by frost, and froze in the first few days, this may have weakened the surface and made it crumbly.
After 11 days it is about as hard as it is going to get.
i agree with john d, protection from frost is paramount, the builders friend in this case is 1.5m x 50m rolls of hessian sacking. ask your installer if he's ever heard of it!
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, and consider applying an anti slip coating to the treads of the stepsDIYnot Local
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