Fresh concrete pad - should it be covered up?

[studarude]

Hi all,

Poured my slab at the weekend and all went well, levels and finish is good so im happy with that.

Thing is, i didnt cover it up, it was a cool day all day with virtually no direct sunlight, took ages for the water to disappear.

Misted it on the night time (saturday) while it was drying and the surface had firmed. It rained a little overnight then stopped clear till the following night.

Its feels hard, and i suspect its still firming up, but would not covering it have had any effect on it?

Its been open to the elements since, so we've had a mix of light showers and drying etc, im planning on removing the shuttering tonight.

Just want some reassurance that the base will be ok is all!

 

[taz123]

No problems at all imho.

As a rule newly laid concrete cures within 48hrs and temps above 5 degrees c are recommended. As long as the temp doesn't drop below 0 degrees c and it isn't subjected to really heavy downpours it will be ok.

 

[noseall]

Concrete loves water and will die without it.

Don't worry, it will set even harder.

 

[studarude]

Brilliant, thanks guys! Drive is being started Monday, then the prefab is going up.

So it'll be topics on damp proofing, insulation etc next!