Tried wetting the subgrade before a pour in Arizona last July and it saved me from a cracked driveway disaster

I was out in Mesa on a 110 degree day, pouring a 20x30 slab for a new build. The ground was like dust. The foreman told me to hose it down first, I thought he was just wasting water. But after seeing how much the sand soaked it up and how much easier it was to work the mud without it drying out in ten minutes, I'm a believer now. Has anyone else tried this on super dry jobs and seen a difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy35125d ago

My buddy Dave out in Phoenix tried this last August on a 30x40 shop slab. He soaked the ground the night before and then hit it again an hour before the truck showed up. Said the mud stayed workable way longer than his previous pours where the sun just sucked the moisture right out and left him scrambling. The slab came out smooth with no spider cracks at all, which is pretty rare for that kind of heat.

oliviahenderson24d ago

Yeah that makes total sense @nancy351, prewetting the subgrade really locks in the moisture for the cure.