Question about finishing a big pour in the rain

Honestly, I spent years fighting with a trowel on wet concrete, trying to force a finish before the rain hit. The moment it clicked was on a 40-yard garage slab job in Eugene last fall, when the sky opened up halfway through. My foreman, Mike, just yelled 'Walk away, let it set up again.' I always thought you had to keep working it, but that just makes a soupy mess. How do you guys handle a sudden downpour when you're mid-finish?

4 comments

4 Comments

allen.iris3mo ago

That's a brutal spot to be in. Mike gave you the right advice.

emmam893mo ago

Oh, Mike's always right, is he?

jamie8043mo ago

Man, I feel that... got caught in a spring shower on a patio pour last year. We just covered the whole thing with plastic as fast as we could and went for coffee. Came back an hour later, pulled the plastic, and it had firmed up perfect for a final pass with the fresno. Trying to fight it while it's wet just wrecks everything.

drewr1526d ago

Does the plastic trick work with any type of finish or just fresh concrete? I've always wondered if you could pull that off with a stamped patio without messing up the pattern.