Hot weather pour saved my bacon yesterday

I had a driveway job in Phoenix and the temp hit 105. Normally I hate working that hot but I used cold mixing water and added a retarder. The concrete stayed workable for an extra 45 minutes easy. I was able to get a much smoother finish without fighting the set time. My finisher buddy told me about this trick last year and I finally tried it. He said to keep the bags in the shade too so they don't soak up heat. Made a huge difference in control. Any of you guys use ice water in the mix on scorchers?

2 comments

2 Comments

fionaa3521d ago

Read that same tip from a concrete forum a couple months back and tried it on a 108 degree day in Vegas. The retarder made a world of difference with the finish time, let me work it way longer than usual. I also tossed some ice cubes in the water just before mixing to drop the temp a few more degrees. Did you find the cold water changed the slump much?

tyler_white4221d ago

Nah, cold water didn't hurt slump much for me, actually helped keep it workable longer.