The Wettest Slab

Oooh! A dry spot! Get the hose!

Our neighbors probably think we have a screw loose.

We have been watering our concrete slab day and night for a week.


We aren't completely crazy, however (though we'll have a sanity-check when the water bill arrives).  The water serves a purpose - it "cures" the slab.

As explained from the ConcreteNetwork.com:

Curing serves two main purposes.

• It retains moisture in the slab so that the concrete continues to gain strength
• It delays drying shrinkage until the concrete is strong enough to resist shrinkage cracking.

Properly curing concrete improves strength, durability, water tightness, and wear resistance.

And it seems to have worked: despite 99 degree temperatures on the day of the pour, we have no cracks at all, besides the faintest of hairlines.  Now to get the control joints cut into the slab to corral any cracks as the slab dries.