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Overheard two finishers arguing about wet vs dry curing for a driveway pour in Phoenix
I was at a supply yard yesterday and this older guy swore wet curing with burlap is the only way to avoid cracks in the heat, but the younger guy said dry curing with a spray sealer saves time and still holds up. Got me thinking about all the jobs I've done where I just went with whatever the foreman said. What's your go-to method for really hot climates like that?
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jakewhite1mo agoMost Upvoted
You ever see how a slab turns out when somebody tries to half-ass it? My buddy in Flagstaff did a small patio last July and used a spray sealer cause he was in a hurry, and by September that thing was cracked so bad he had to tear it out and redo it with wet burlap the second time. So yeah, for Phoenix heat you gotta put in the work with wet curing, no shortcuts.
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pat_stone1mo ago
Used to be on the younger guy's side all the way, thought dry curing was good enough and saved a headache. But last summer I did a driveway in Mesa where I did half with a spray sealer and half with wet burlap and kept it damp for a week. The dry half had hairline cracks by month two, the wet half is still clean as can be. That changed my mind completely. For Phoenix heat, you gotta go wet curing with burlap, no shortcuts.
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mianelson1mo ago
Gotta say I was in the same boat as you a couple years ago. I used to swear by just spraying a sealer on and calling it good, figured it was good enough and saved time. Then I helped a buddy pour a slab for his shed out in Surprise last August and we did the wet burlap method on half of it just to test it out. The difference was night and day, the wet cured side barely had any checking while the other side looked like a damn roadmap by fall. I mean, I still don't love the extra work of keeping burlap damp for a week but the results don't lie in this heat.
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