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Had a real bad time with a hot pour on a driveway in Phoenix
It was about two years back, a big residential job in the middle of July. The truck showed up late, and the mix was already way too hot and stiff when it hit the forms. We started bull floating, but it was setting up so fast it felt like we were fighting it. My partner, Jim, looked at me and just said, 'We're gonna lose it.' I knew he was right. We had to make a call fast, so we grabbed the garden hose from the homeowner and started spraying a fine mist over the whole slab just to buy a few minutes to get it edged and troweled. It was a total panic move, but it worked. The finish wasn't our best ever, but it was flat and sealed. Ever been in a spot where the weather or timing just wrecked your pour? What's your go-to move when the concrete turns on you?
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matthew_patel685mo ago
Hold up, spraying the slab with a hose is a total hack job. You're just asking for a weak surface and crappy curing. That mist messes with the water ratio big time. Honestly, @the_julia's story about the shade cloth sounds like a better panic move, at least that doesn't ruin the mix. When it's that hot, you just gotta plan better or wait for a cooler day. Fighting the pour like that never ends well.
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ninar685mo ago
Man, that Phoenix heat is brutal, we had to use a mister on a patio pour once too!
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the_julia5mo ago
Remember that crazy summer a few years back? My buddy was helping his uncle pour a driveway slab in Tempe and they had to get creative. They ended up rigging up a shade cloth on poles over the whole area and running a sprinkler on the grass nearby just to cool the air a bit. He said the concrete was setting up so fast their trowels were basically sticking to the surface. They still had to work in shifts just to get it finished before it became a rock.
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fionamurphy2mo ago
Drove an hour to a job in the valley once, hit 108 at noon. I keep a couple of those cheap pump sprayers in the truck, the ones you use for weed killer. Filled one with ice water and just kept a light mist on the rebar and the forms before the pour. Did not soak the mix at all, just kept everything around it cool. Helped slow down the set just enough to get a decent finish. The key was keeping the spray on the ground and metal, not the concrete itself.
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