Introduction
When you’re planning to build a new concrete patio, you may be getting busy procuring a ready-to-mix concrete bag, mixers, and other equipment. However, there are many factors in concrete pouring that require the expertise of professionals. To hire professionals for building a patio, driveway, or any other such structure, you may search for “paving companies near me”. Let’s check out the best season to install a concrete patio and other factors that affect construction projects with concrete:
The Details
Concrete sets and cures – To figure out the best season for installing a concrete patio, you need to know how concrete sets and cures. Unlike popular misconception, concrete is not cement. Instead, concrete is made by mixing cement with sand or a suitable fine aggregate, gravel or a suitable coarse aggregate, and water. A ready-mix concrete bag has all the ingredients except for water.
To masterfully mix and pour concrete you need to understand its relationship with water. When you pour concrete over a flat surface, it doesn’t “dry” as the water evaporates. Instead, it sets and cures through the process of hydration. When cement interacts with water, the chemical reaction forms compounds like calcium hydroxide and tobermorite gel on the outside of cement particles to form a strong interlocking structure.
This reaction happens very fast within the first five hours of concrete mixing and then continues slowly for a long time. That’s why you don’t allow concrete to dry out during the curing process. Instead, you need to keep adding water without washing out the cement.
Weather affects concrete – By now you may have already taken hints on how the weather can affect the concrete curing process. If the concrete sets and cures rapidly due to low humidity, high heat, wind, or cold the strength of the concrete is also compromised. That doesn’t necessarily mean that adding a lot of water helps the concrete’s structure. Instead, extra water can create more problems.
When there’s too much water in the mix the chemical bonds are separated by large areas of water. This reduces concrete strength. It makes the concrete more porous, and those canals can affect the color or the finish that may be applied to your patio. Concrete with a high quantity of water is also highly susceptible to cracks.
Ideal temperature – The ideal temperature for pouring concrete is around 50 to 60 degrees. Below that margin, the curing process slows down and the water inside the mix is at the risk of freezing when temperatures hit as low as 40 degrees. On the other hand, if the temperature is higher than 60 degrees, the water starts to evaporate while the concrete cures and that may affect the structural integrity of the concrete. However, this issue can be handled by spraying water on the pouring concrete at regular intervals till it hardens.
Best season for concrete construction – By now you may assume that the summer season is the best time for pouring concrete. However, that may not be the case. The best temperature for concrete construction is within 50 to 60 degrees. That means if the temperature rises over 60 degrees you need to offset evaporation with water and that may lead to excess water in the concrete and weaken it.
That’s why the best season for installing a concrete patio is during the cool to moderate months of the year. Ideally, it’s the fall season. However, depending on your geographic location, it may be the spring, summer, or even winter season. For instance, if you live in southern Texas or Florida, wintertime may be the best time for installing a concrete patio. You just need to make sure that the temperature remains 50 to 60 degrees throughout the day and night temperature doesn’t fall below 40 degrees.
Concrete pouring in cold weather – The American Concrete Institute defines cold weather as those periods with a daily average temperature below 40 degrees and air temperature that doesn’t exceed 50 degrees for two weeks or a month. If you have to build your concrete patio in such conditions, you need to take extra precautions.
You need to prepare the site by removing the snow and ice off the ground and start pouring concrete early in the morning so that the concrete can take advantage of all the heat it can get from the afternoon sun. You can also use products like calcium chloride or speed set to increase the set time and cover the set concrete with curing blankets to maintain optimum temperature. If temperatures are severely low you can also use heated enclosures.
Concrete pouring in hot weather – As mentioned above, concrete needs to be poured at an optimal temperature. That means you need to adopt special measures when you pour concrete in a hot climate. You’ll get into problems if the temperature climbs over 90 degrees.
You need to use a large amount of chunky and big coarse particles for mixing concrete in hot weather. Large aggregates prevent concrete shrinkage problems due to environmental factors. You can also increase the set time by using hot weather admixtures like recycled plastic additives. This helps concrete cure to a better strength. You may need to use an industrial chiller as well to keep water at a low temperature during hydration.
To reduce harsh weather conditions, you can also use windbreaks or sunshades. Keep all the necessary equipment covered right before they are needed. If they are blistering hot when the concrete mixture comes in contact with them, you’re going to have a severe problem. You can even spray chilled water on your equipment before use.
Conclusion
Concrete construction is often more complex than they seem. Simply mixing the ingredients and pouring them doesn’t get the job done. You need to pay attention to the season, the weather, and other such factors to build a solid patio that lasts for a long time. Professionals can help with that. Search for “paving companies near me” to hire professionals and build your patio.
