Last weekend I had the foundation poured for the footings and walls of my new barn. The footings are 10 x 20 inches, and the walls, most of which are on ledge, are 12 inches in width. I poured on a Sat. morning, with temps. in the mid- thirties. The supplier mixed a 3000 lb mix with warm water. I did not use calcium chloride, because of the shrinkage potential and rebar rust issue. For the next two and a half days the outside temperature here in northern Vermont hovered consistently between 34 to 38 degrees, both day and night. The third night after the pour the temp. went into the mid 20’s, and last night into the teens. I’ve kept the forms in place, although I loosened them to prevent too much adheasion to the concrete, and I’ve kept the tops covered with strips of 4 mill plastic. My question is:
Were 2 1/2 days of mid-thirties temps. sufficient to cure the concrete enough to avoid damage from the current freezing night-time temps? (The days have been in the 30’s and 40’s)
This may seem too late to ask this question. The guy supervising the pour assured me it would be fine, so that’s why I O.K.ed the pour. I guess I’m still feeling a little uneasy about this cure vs. temperature relationship, and would like to get any other feedback, although I know what’s done is done.
Replies
Your concrete should be fine. In real cold weather I would cover with blankets but not in the temp. you have described.Poly will do the job here.
Cover the footings or start to backfill with granular material as soon as possible to prevent frost from getting underneath the footings though.
Gabe
you're fine! Time to quit worrying about this and go back to worrying about the rest of the world.
;)
Excellence is its own reward!
hay / straw works real well for insulation/covering footing stem walls, cheap, plentiful and biodegradable.. just make sure it isnt salted.. bear
Edited 10/30/2002 8:58:19 PM ET by the bear
Thank you all for the feedback.
Just in case you don't run across this in the other concrete post . . .
Read this http://www.thelabtexas.com/Cold_Weather.htm
Eric