Concrete drying time?

3262 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by CoconutPete, Apr 21, 2011

CoconutPete

Discussion Starter · Apr 18, 2011 (Edited)

Concrete CURING time? w/ new question

Yesterday I poured a landing pad for my deck stairs. 5' x 2' x 6".

I finished around 5 or 6PM.

I just realized I have Friday off work which presents a perfect opportunity to actually finish the stairs. What do you all think - is that enough time for them to dry?

I don't have to walk on the stairs while building them so the load would be minimal if it had to be.

[Thanks guys for reminding me it does not "dry" - it "cures" - I changed the title, not sure why it doesn't show up]

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concretemasonry

· #7 · Apr 18, 2011

Concrete does not dry. - It cures and gets stronger. Even if it seems hard and is only a few days old, you can still scar or scrape the surface even if it is strong enough for the use.

It will continue to gain strength for a year or two if there is moisture available and a slab on grade usually has enough moisture under it to allow some more curing. The 28 days is just a time period for meeting or measuring the strength.

Dick

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