How long for concrete to 'cure'?

Question

I want to apply a concrete stain to new driveway and sidewalk. Home Depot told be Behr products shouldn't be applied until the concrete cured in 30 days. While Lowes told me they had no specs on thier Quickrete product. The contractor told me it would be ready for sealer in 3 days. So i'm confused when is the curing/drying process actually over?

Answer 1

when i colour a tennis court i have to wait 3 week...21 days...atleast...(this is only if the client is in a rush...i'll wait a couple of months if i can, the surfacing material can blister if there is any water residue in the concrete that will rise to the top on a hot day.)
most of the acid stained concrete i've seen cured out for several months before the builder got around to hiring a contractor for it.

Answer 2

Every product you want to use for this application has different properties. The two stores that told you their product required a certin amount of time, most likely are correct. Once you settle on a product to use, check with the manufacturer and go by thier specs. Blanket answers don't work here. If no specs are available in the store, most likely you can get them on-line. Don't confuse cureing with drying out of the concrete. curing is a chemical process that starts with the adding of water to cement, but it does not need to dry, to cure. The waiting time on some products may have more to do with water retention of the concrete, in wet areas, you may never have dry concrete, but it will have cured. Check with the manufacturer!

Answer 3

Allow Proper Time to Water Cure
After concrete is placed, the concrete increases in strength very quickly for a period of 3-7 days. Concrete which is moist cured for 7 days is about 50% stronger than uncured concrete.

Water curing can be done after the slab pour by building dams with soil around the house and flooding the slab. The enclosed area is continually flooded with water. Ideally, the slab could be water cured for 7 days. Some builders on a tight schedule water cure for 3 days as this achieves approximately 80% of the benefit of water curing for 7 days.

Consider planning your job to pour at the end of the week, build berms, then flood over the weekend. You get he benefit of water curing without losing too much time in the schedule.

Answer 4

For concrete to be completely cured, 28 days is the generally accepted time.

I don't know why the contractor would say 3 days, I would think the sealer would fail, due to the still present water content of the concrete.

Then again, you're talking about two different things, stain and sealer. which is it?

But, that's only my opinion. So long as the contractor gives you a signed statement as to the longivity of the sealer, (or stain), do as he says.

Answer 5

I agree with William M, newly placed concrete such as a driveway should be closed to vehicle traffic for seven days. The curing process continues for 28 days from placement. I would wait 7 days to apply your product. The minimal cure after that point usually pertains to water/moisture evaporating from the bottom of the slab into the subsoil.

Answer 6

First I want to tell you that most of these floor paints do not have solvents that don't work well with concrete so they don't last or adhere properly so it doesn't matter with your concrete has cured yet or not.

However, Top Secret Coatings has a coatings TS-100 has solvents in it that actually becomes part of the concrete, so you may use it anytime. It is a silicone based mono-epoxy with alkyd and urethane in it making it a blend. We came up with this product because of the problems associated with two component epoxy and urethanes. 1 Part Epoxy retains the desirable aspects of two component epoxy and urethane
without the mixing. Like typical epoxy it has the highest possible adhesion rating, its waterproof and has excellent chemical resistance. It is tremendously flexible and hard making it durable. It takes heat to 400F, impacts to 500PSI and won't crack, peel or chalk. It is a high performance, low build coating so it goes on much thinner than paint. In fact it will cover white with black at only 1 mil which is unheard
of. A sheet of paper is 4 mils. We've seen people get well over 800 sq ft out of one gallon because it covers so well. That makes it very economical to use.

I hope this information is useful.

Answer 7

HI, I'll tell you 3 days,but go to , "Concrete Curing" than click on to ,"Guidelines for Concrete Curing" that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know and more. The guy who told you 30 days must have read the cure time to apply Thompson's,Behr products.They are 30 days,but depending on what your doing and doing it with,times very. But plain ol concrete is 3 days. Byee

Answer 8

depends on how thick it,the weather plays a part and what it is going to be used for,just a slab well cure out in72 hours if it is 4inch thick,6inch 4 days,driveways,wait at least 1 week before useing,driveways should be at least6inch thick,sidewalks,4 inch is good and wait 2 days.

Answer 9

go with the contractors, idea, curing takes a long while,
ever notice, when they redo a bridge that it is closed for 30 days,? it takes that long or longer for concrete to cure out, the bolder dam , is still curing, today. give it a wk before you drive on it,

Answer 10

hindsight is a wonderful thing , but i would have had the color added to the concrete when i poured it...however , wait the 30 days and stain it. then give it a few days and then seal it...