Many home enthusiasts with projects for concrete in St. Joseph do well with many of the other tasks that frustrate other amateur concrete workers. This can include all the preliminary steps such as using the proper aggregate, mixing the ingredients in the proper proportion, and choosing the kind of mixing equipment (wheelbarrow or electric drum) for the size of the project. They may have followed all the proper steps for pouring and leveling the surface of the concrete. They may even have performed proper cleanup, leaving their tools and mixers clean and ready for the next project. However, at this stage when they are almost finished, they are careless with the final and perhaps most critical step: curing the concrete.
Many home construction workers, mostly men, sometimes consider concrete in St. Joseph a “manly material”. Once they mix and pour the concrete, they expect it to “suck it up” and harden into a manly structure. Unfortunately, hardening concrete is actually more like hardening glass, which is a very tricky prospect. It probably is fair to say that concrete is a manly material (or better said, a stronger material – take that argument up with a woman who has just given birth), but the concrete does not harden all at once. If the mixture does not harden in a homogenous fashion, then the final concrete will be weakened.
Although wetting concrete in St. Joseph does not stop the hardening process, it does slow it down. For this reason, a project such as a patio slab, exposed to the sun, will harden more quickly at the top over the few days it takes to cure completely. That means that, during the process, there are actually two materials present: cured concrete at the top and wet concrete underneath. The contracting concrete will tend to pull away from the semi-cured mixture, leaving the concrete with a tendency to crumble or crack. The effect is even worse if part of the patio is exposed to the sun and part is not. Then there will be a strong likelihood that a part of the patio will crack along the border.
For this reason, the concrete in St. Joseph needs proper curing. This essentially means that you slow the curing at the top and help the concrete underneath keep up. One good strategy for this is to place rags across the top surface. The rags must be kept damp, but not dripping. This will enable the project to cure properly.
Peterman Concrete Company leading company for decorative concrete in St. Joseph, Michigan (MI), offer quality ready mix service to commercial and residential contractors, homeowners and farmers. Visit to know more!
