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Watched a sidewalk cure over 3 days and it hit me about my finishing timing
I got stuck waiting on a residential job in Austin last week because the ready mix truck broke down near the site. Instead of sitting in the truck, I just watched this section of walkway my crew poured the day before. The color shifted from that dark wet slate to a light gray in about 6 hours, but the real kicker was watching the edges dry out faster than the middle. That's something I always knew in my gut but never actually sat and observed. It made me rethink how I time my final trowel pass, especially in the Texas sun where the perimeter sets up way quicker. I usually just go by feel, but seeing that gradient in person, edge to center, explained why I get those little hairline cracks near the forms sometimes. Anyone else ever just park and stare at curing concrete to dial in their schedule, or is that just me being weird?
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owens.anthony26d ago
Ha, ngl that's a whole new level of concrete appreciation. Most guys just smoke a cigarette and call it a day, but you're out here doing time-lapse science in your head. Honestly, I've done the same thing but only because my phone died and I had nothing better to do. The edge drying thing is real though, it's like watching a slow motion race where the middle always loses. I just use that as my excuse for why my finish looks like a map of Texas in the corners. But hey, at least you're not the guy who sits there staring at his own shadow waiting for it to move.
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