Serious question, ever had a pour start setting up way too fast on a hot day?

We were finishing a driveway in Tempe last July when the mix flash set in the chute, so we had to spray it down with a fine mist from the hose and work it with magnesium floats to buy time. Anyone got a better trick for that kind of heat?

3 comments

3 Comments

jake6386d ago

Spraying it down with a hose is just asking for trouble. Adding water on site messes up the whole water to cement ratio and you'll end up with a weak surface that's gonna craze and dust in a year. In that kind of heat, you need to plan ahead with the batch plant for a mix design with a retarder, or use evaporation retardant sprays. Trying to fix it after it's in the chute is already a losing battle.

alice2696d agoMost Upvoted

Buddy of mine had a patio pour go off like a rocket once. They ended up using bags of ice from the gas station, just tossed them right into the mixer drum.

finley_price245d ago

We had a pour in Phoenix last August that went from the truck to setting like concrete soup in maybe ten minutes. Jake is totally right, spraying it is just a panic move that wrecks the mix. Our foreman had to call the batch plant and chew them out for not adding enough retarder in the first place. You can't fight the Arizona heat with a garden hose, you have to plan for it before the truck even shows up.