Useful advice to complete your concrete

The water content of the concrete has been previously calculated. It is important not to add water.

The forms must be sprayed with oil or water before concrete placement.

When the concrete is being poured, use a shovel to work the concrete to avoid separating concrete components.

After concrete placement, roughly level the surface using a wooden float. Do not overwork the concrete, as this may affect its resistance (about 60 seconds). Float the concrete with a wooden trowel using circular movements.

The water contained in the concrete must surface and repenetrate the concrete before performing the last finish. Do not remove or broom off the excess water. It must be completely absorbed before starting the finishing work.

Once the water has penetrated the surface (between 1 and 6 hour waiting period), evaluate the concrete surface at 15-minute intervals to check if the surface is ready to be finished (the concrete can be finished when your hand leaves a print of 1/8″ to 1/4″ on the surface).

To obtain a smooth finish, use a steel trowel; for a coarse finish, use a wooden trowel.

Do not add water to the surface as this may affect the quality of the concrete.

Beware of wind, sun, or extremely hot or cold temperatures (summer 26ºC and +, winter 0ºC and -) since this can falsely alter waiting times between finishes.

In hot weather, use a protective covering, such as polyethylene sheets or wet jute, to protect the concrete surface from environmental elements for a 7-day period.

In cold weather, protect the finished concrete from freezing by covering with insulation blankets, or straw and polyethylene sheets, or similar materials.

Good luck,
The Technical Services Team!