Seal concrete pad

[Geo57]

Hi all

I hope this isn’t a daft question, but I’ve had two concrete pad foundations poured (each one is 1m x 1m square) and they each have a steel support column sitting on them.

The concrete pads will be exposed to the elements 24/7

Does the concrete need sealing or is it perfectly okay to just leave it open to the elements?

Thanks you
Geo

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Concrete generally loves being wet, it's preferable to being dry - especially while setting. Dry concrete can crack due to shrinkage, and water helps the setting process.

Is there steel rebar inside it? If so even then I believe it's fine, the chemicals in cement do a good job of preserving the steel.

Provided that it's not a motorway flyover that you're going to chuck salt on top of in winter - then you do need to worry about waterproofing it, this is why the rebar bursts out of so many concrete road bridges.

Having said that, is there some sort of runoff pitch to them?

 

[^woody^]

I'm confused with this wet/dry/exposed/covered hypothesis.

 

[stevie888]

Hi all

I hope this isn’t a daft question, but I’ve had two concrete pad foundations poured (each one is 1m x 1m square) and they each have a steel support column sitting on them.

The concrete pads will be exposed to the elements 24/7

Does the concrete need sealing or is it perfectly okay to just leave it open to the elements?

Thanks you
Geo

We build roads and carparks and bridges and all manner of things out of concrete which all live out in the weather. Don't stress about it.

It does sound an odd detail though: you'd usually have the pads below fgl/ffkl

 

[prutosham]

Hi all

I hope this isn’t a daft question, but I’ve had two concrete pad foundations poured (each one is 1m x 1m square) and they each have a steel support column sitting on them.

The concrete pads will be exposed to the elements 24/7

Does the concrete need sealing or is it perfectly okay to just leave it open to the elements?

Thanks you
Game

You can generally leave the concrete unsealed outdoors. The main thing I’d be checking is where the steel columns meet the pads, as you don’t want water sitting around the base and encouraging corrosion. If the concrete was mixed and poured properly, rain alone shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[cdbe]

Interesting facts about concrete in dams, and they knew this stuff nearly 100 years ago.

 

[Geo57]

Thanks all, looks like I was worrying about nothing!!

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

I did a bit of concreting for my mum. I carefully placed the polythene bag from the ballast over it to ensure it stayed damp while setting. Later it had gone, I asked her and she said she'd removed it so it could "dry". I think most non-builders think that this is how cement sets, that it needs to dry just like paint, glue, plaster, sealant and pretty much everything else that starts as a liquid but then solidifies. So many also think that if it gets wet again it will turn back to mush. All wrong but very popular misunderstandings.