How to Speed Up Concrete Drying Time: Pre-Pour & Post-Pour Tips

In applications like flooring, one needs to wait for a long time to let the concrete dry properly. During this time if anything is rushed, it may result in flooring issues. The flooring may crack later. In order to avoid this, the ideal drying time set is around one month.

Here are some pre-pour and post-pour tips that will help to achieve maximum efficiency and strength of concrete. Also, it will boost the drying process.

Pre-Pour Tips
Follow these pre-pour tips to fasten up the concrete drying time:

1. Reduce Water Quantity:
It’s an obvious solution here. If you add a lot of water to the mixture, it will take more time to dry up. It’s advisable to add a little water to speed up the drying process of concrete. However low water-cement ratio can make the mixture too thick.

Still, if you are skeptical about the right water-cement ratio, you can consult concrete suppliers Brisbane for that matter.

2. Add Self-Desiccation Agents:
Chemicals like calcium chloride hydrate the mixture quickly and attain enough moisture. It reduces the drying time of concrete to a great extent. So instead of adding more cement, you can add chemicals like these before pouring to accelerate hydration. A good alternative to this is to use ready-made premix concrete Brisbane.

3. Add Warm Water:
Water added when it’s hot fastens the reactions in the mixture and therefore the drying time also. Adding hot water accelerates the concrete mixture to attain hydration quickly. However, do not add blazing hot water as it can have its own repercussions.

4. Choose the Right Weather:
If it’s not urgent, avoid laying down floors in cooler months. In winters, the concrete drying time becomes much more than in the summers. Always go for hot sunny weather as it will quickly dry out the mixture without compromising on strength and efficiency.

Post-Pour Tips
Follow these post-pour tips to fasten up the concrete drying time:

1. Trowelling Technique:
High intensity trowelling should be avoided after the mix of concrete has been prepared. Hard trowelling loses the ability to let moisture dry. The vents or capillaries somewhat sealed off prevents the moisture to vaporize. It remains inside and thus slows down the drying time.

2. Dehumidification:
This process is often used to dry out the concrete slab much quicker. The method is quite simple; you just need to reduce the dew point of the air surrounding the concrete Brisbane slab. This helps in evaporating out the moisture through the surface of the concrete. This process is most commonly used in the building industry.

3. Use a Dryer or a Heater:
If the weather is acting against the drying time of concrete, use heaters. But never overheat the concrete mixture as it may end up creating more problems; just heat in the right intensity. You can also use heating mats for this purpose.

Wrapping Up:
These were some of the pre-pouring and post-pouring tips to improve the drying time of concrete. Since the natural drying time is not always good enough, these tips become necessary to set it quickly and attain the desired strength. Apart from this, readymade concrete delivery Brisbane is also available which has the right amount of chemicals added to it!