I just pounded a galvanized steel post 24" into the ground, and poured concrete around it for a mail box.
It just started pouring outside. What would that do to the concrete? Will it mess it up? Should I pull out the post while the concrete is not 100% set and do it again another day? or should I leave it?
Thanks,
MC
This is Turtle.
If your not wanting the top part of the concrete form to look pretty and smooth. Don't worry about it. It will just dry slower and add about 4 to 8 hours of dring time to it.
Really just looks to the top of the concrete looking pretty is about the difference.
TURTLE
Given the time of your post I would assume that it has been at least a while since you set the post in the concrete, minimum of an hour or two. I would assume that the concrete has already started to set. Pulling the post might not be an option.
I would try to cover the post and concrete with a tarp to keep the majority of the rain off of it. Since the concrete is mixed with water anyway, you shouldn't run into much of the problem other than it taking longer to set completely. I expect the concrete will be covered with dirt so it it is a little pitted from the rain, it won't matter.
When they poured my steps for the walkout basement they scheduled it the day before a rainy period and told me it was a good thing because this slows down the curing process.
Hope this helps,
David
Pouring rain may dimple the surface a bit, but that is about all if it is partially set. If you can, cover it so it is not in a puddle. Some moisture is a good thing and helps slow the cure for more strength. Don't pull the post.
Thank you all. No I don't care if the top is smooth or not. The grass will grow back and cover it in time anyways. I will leave it in, which is the answer I was hoping for...
Thanks again for the quick response!
MC
concrete?
It is my experience that it doesn't even need to be partially set. The rain will only effect the immediate surface layer. I have poured premix concrete (adding some cement) -under- water for a small dam and it set up hard. Of course I had pour through a tube so additional water didn't mix in while I was pouring.
Harry K
Concrete doesn't "dry," it hardens. It's a chemical reaction. Concrete will harden under water.
The ROMANS used to make docks out of concrete by dumping it into forms below the water - that was 2,000 years ago and the pilings are still there.
Yes, but look how the Coliseum went to hell. It could have been prevented with some aluminum siding.
Well, it's not QUITE that easy. A hard driving rain can mess up the top layer of concrete by washing away the dust, and mechanically sorting the aggregate. Just plain water isn't a problem, but MOVING water is. It's too late now anyway, I'd have put straw or rags over the concrete.
Likewise, when pouring concrete under water, you can't just sink a box in the bay and shovel conrete into it, you have to feed it through a pipe, with the bottom end burried in the pour, so that you don't get little blobs of rocks with layers of water between them, glued together by what little cement didn't drift away as silt on the way down.
--Goedjn
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