Had a talk with an older finisher about curing blankets that really stuck with me

I was on a job site last week in Portland and this guy in his 60s who used to run a crew back in the day saw me pulling off some plastic sheeting and just shook his head. He said "you kids treat concrete like it's made of steel" and then spent like 20 minutes explaining how much moisture loss actually hurts the top 1/8 inch of a slab even if it looks fine. It hit different because I've always been the guy who rushes to get the finish done and move on to the next pour, you know? He showed me this old cotton blanket he still uses that he soaked down and it kept the concrete damp for almost 3 days straight. Now I'm wondering if I've been putting down enough curing time on my residential driveways this whole time. Has anyone else tried the old school wet blanket method over modern spray on cure compounds?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_thea1mo ago

Respectfully, I think the old timers get a little too precious about this stuff. A good spray cure is fine for residential work if you actually follow the manufacturer's instructions.

avery2191mo ago

Buddy of mine used spray cure on his driveway a few years back... followed the directions to the letter, checked the weather, even called the manufacturer to double check timing. Ended up with a weird blotchy finish that peeled right up after that first hard freeze. He had to grind it all off and start over with wet cure blankets. Not saying spray cure never works... just saying there's a reason a lot of guys stick with the old methods after seeing enough failures.