What Is The Duration Of The Cure Time For A Concrete Driveway?

By Author: Michael Gilmore
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Every day hundreds of cars run over the office driveway. Some of these cars belong to your employees, some belong to your clients and some are random cars. The weight that the driveway is bearing is huge. As a result, it is bound to be susceptible to regular wear and tear. If you are planning to go for commercial concreting Port Lincoln for your office driveway then you have taken the right decision. But there are certain things that you need to keep in mind here. For example: you have to wait for the concrete to dry up completely before you can start using the driveway again. Generally, the average cure time for a concrete driveway is around 28 days. This number of days can however vary depending on many factors such as the existing weather conditions, the techniques used for laying the concrete, the slab placement and in fact, the concrete mixture as well. If the mixture is not proper the overall quality of the concrete driveway will be low than you had expected. Moreover, do not confuse between “drying” of the concrete and the “curing” ...
... part. Both are completely different.
 
What is the Difference Between Drying and Curing of a Concrete Driveway?
Curing is a process for hardening the concrete. This step begins right after the concrete has been poured. The main functions of this process are:
 

Limiting the loss of water from the concrete surface
Maintaining the water level in the hardening process
And finally using moisture and heat to expedite the strength of the concrete.

 
Drying on the other hand begins once the curing process is over. The drying part starts when the excess water from the concrete mixture has evaporated from the surface. This process will go on till the necessary amount of water is evaporated. Once this step is done, the area must be fully covered in order to prevent extra absorption of moisture from the slab. Common factors that generally affect the drying process include:
 

Existing humidity in the air
The temperature of the slab used
The overall air temperature

 
Note: If the relative humidity is more than 80% it can affect the drying process of the concrete driveway.
 
Is it Possible to Speed Up the Curing Process to Prevent Any Delay?
Well, the answer is tricky - it is both yes and know. You can speed up the curing process provided the concrete is poured indoors. If the concrete slab is outdoors, you cannot do anything because the environment is going to affect the curing process. And no matter how much you try; you can never control the weather. You have to wait for it to become suitable so that curing gets done as necessary.
 
We recommend that it is best to avoid pouring concrete during the fall, winter or early spring season because the weather is generally inconsistent and this will delay the curing process. If you pour the concrete during summers, it will speed up the process of curing. This is the reason, why we suggest that you can go for a new concrete driveway during the summers. The experts will not face any kind of hurdles in getting the commercial concreting Port Lincoln work done.
 
Things that are in your hand and can be done to speed up the curing factors include:
 

Make sure to use the right amount of water in the concrete mixture. Too much of water and the mixture will take more time to dry up.
You can also add calcium chloride to the concrete mixture so as to speed up the hydration process.
Use plastic sheets to cover the concrete. This will help to retain the moisture thereby increasing the curing time.
Use warm water in the concrete mixture so that the speed of curing gets enhanced. However, at the same time you need to make sure that the water is warm and not hot because hot water tends to damage the concrete. Be careful about the water temperature.

 
Factors that Can Adversely Affect the Curing Process
As already discussed, humidity and temperature can significantly impact the speed of curing. In addition to this, the location of the slab, the size and the kind of concrete mixture - all can adversely affect the speed of the curing process. Pay attention to all these if you want to get the desired results.
 
When Can You Expect to Drive A Car Over the Concrete Driveway Slab?
Generally, the time take for the curing process to complete is about four weeks. But you can walk over the concrete driveway 24 hours after the concrete has been poured. We however, recommend that you wait for 48 hours before you do any such thing. You should avoid running, scuffing or walking your pets over the concrete slab for a period of at least three days. If you try to carry out any of these activities before the time period mentioned then there is a high chance that you will end up damaging the concrete slab.
 
Summing it Up
What are you waiting for? Get in touch with the experts for professional commercial concreting Port Lincoln for your office driveway. Make sure to hire the best in the business.
 
About the Author: This contribution has been made by Michael Gilmore who has written a number of articles on Commercial Concreting Port Lincoln and provides fruitful information.