If you plan to have a contractor pour a concrete pavement, you are probably wondering how long it will be before you can drive or walk on it. Concrete does not dry by evaporating its water; it cures through a chemical process. Concrete paving can seem perfectly dry on the surface long before it has cured enough to support foot or vehicle traffic. The interval between installation and use depends on several factors, including the pavement’s intended use, the weather, and the mix design.
How Long Does It Take for Concrete to Dry?
How Does a Concrete Pavement’s Intended Use Affect the Drying Time?
If you ask a concrete installer to build a walkway that will only bear pedestrian traffic, the pavement does not need to be as strong or as thick as the pavement in a concrete parking lot. A relatively thin concrete slab can usually support foot traffic in 24 to 48 hours. Still, a concrete slab intended as a dumpster pad will usually need three to seven days before it can support heavy trucks. Concrete parking lot contractors typically recommend that customers wait at least a week, but other factors could extend that time to a month.
How Does the Weather Affect the Curing of Concrete Paving?
Although the process is not the same as evaporation, a concrete parking lot or sidewalk will cure faster when the weather is hot and slower when it is cold. Humidity is also a factor, so the best weather for pouring concrete is when conditions are hot and dry. The weather is why many Central Texas concrete contractors prefer pouring large jobs from late spring to early fall. However, there are steps that an experienced concrete installer can take to achieve excellent results in marginal conditions, including covering the fresh concrete with a special blanket to expedite drying and curing.
How Does the Mix Design Affect the Curing of a Concrete Pavement?
Contractors can choose from a variety of mix designs to select the best mix for a specific project. Mixtures with low water content will cure faster, but these mixes are more suitable for pavements that will not support vehicle traffic. Some accelerants can be added to the mix, but these additives can sometimes result in a little weaker pavement than one that cures typically over a longer period. Given the concrete cost involved in demolishing and replacing a large pavement, you want to be sure that you consider all mix options carefully.
Does Concrete Cost More Than Asphalt?
It is typically more economical to install asphalt pavement than concrete. This is especially true for a concrete parking lot or other large projects. Therefore, you want to make sure that you only consider concrete parking lot contractors with extensive experience in concrete installation and a great reputation.
Does Alpha Paving Install or Repair Concrete?
As a full-service paving company, we install, maintain, and repair concrete and asphalt pavements for customers throughout Central Texas. Our services include installing and repairing concrete parking lots, concrete sidewalks, concrete ramps, driveways, and concrete curbing, and our asphalt services include crack repair, overlays, milling, paving, sealcoating, and patching. We also install thermoplastic markings, parking lot signs, speed bumps, and car stops. Our clients include condo boards and HOAs, shopping centers, subdivisions, hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, office parks, municipalities and counties, churches, industrial facilities, and schools and universities. You can either call our Round Rock office at 512-677-9001 or submit our form online if you are interested in receiving a free quote.