Hi,
Just had a 9m2 conservatory built. Concrete base was laid a week befor Xmas and glass installed about 7 days ago. So essentially it's been ope to the elements until v recently.
Am considering laying electric underfloor mat heating and the potentially Amtico floor. Have been advised that concrete takes 0.25 per week to completely dry out and I should wait approx 8 weeks befor laying anything
Is this advice valid ?
Many thank
-- Tim Kedwards
No. Concrete does not set by drying. As it sets, the strength rises, until after IIRC a few weeks it's reached near maximum strength.
How long you should leave it before working on it, depends on the stress it's under, the ambient temperature, and additives that have been put into the concrete. As to laying underfloor heating..., I wouldn't hesitate.
In article , Tim Kedwards writes
Normally its 28 days or when the moisture content is below 4%, if its been open to the weather we've been having recently the that won't have helped as cold weather slows the process. I would take some advice from the manufacturers of the heating system and/or the flooring people. You're right about the rule of thumb is 1"/mth, a good test is to tape a square metre of polythene down at the edges and leave it for a few days and see if condensation forms, if it does then its probably still too soon
these pamphlets are worth a read, especially CIP 11
Might be worth checking with Amtico about the underfloor heating as it's a vinyl flooring material (very posh one though).
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