Concrete Curing time?

goodlad

Hey Guys,

I had a concrete ramp poured and also a 3 inches of concrete poured inside my shed to raise up the floor level.

I know concrete takes 28 days to fully cure but trying to figure out how ling until i can put weight onto it.

I want to park my motorbike inside and also put in my shelves, tool boxes etc....

Any ideas if i can safely put this kinda weight on the concrete after a week?

*picture was taken the day it was done, not just now*

O.A.P

Yes you can work away , a couple of days would have been plenty.

goodlad

Ah sound. It was poured last Monday and really wanted to spend next Monday getting everything into the shed as its a Bank holiday.

Thanks for the info man

Tefral

Standard concrete has developed alot of its strength by 7 days, I wouldn't load it too much with point loads like the shelving ends until Monday. It goes on to gain the vast majority if its strength by 28days

goodlad

Yeah i wont be touching it until Next Monday. I had kinda thought about that too. Weight spread out may not be too bad but was weary of putting stuff in like my tool chests as they are about 50kg when loaded and on wheels so all the weight will be on the 4 small spaces where the wheels make contact with the ground.

Gumbo

cronin_j wrote: »

Standard concrete has developed alot of its strength by 7 days, I wouldn't load it too much with point loads like the shelving ends until Monday. It goes on to gain the vast majority if its strength by 28days

+1

I believe some concrete testing was carried out at various airport runways and they found that the concrete was actually still gaining strength after many years.

Ie. 28 days is deemed it has reached its strength but in theory it keeps getting stronger.

goodlad

Cheers for the info lads.
So in general if i wait a week which will be next monday i should be grand to start putting in my shelving and tool chests etc...

goodlad

Btw lads, is concrete poured in a shed like this prone to end up really dusty?

I wasnt planning on sealing or painting it as i would have to wait 28 days before doing so but i want to use the shed before then.

But if its going to be mental dusty maybe i should seal it or is that really not needed just for a shed floor?

vicwatson

Mind if I ask was it ready mix and how much per cubic metre if so ?

goodlad

I genuinely dont know. All i know is its 25N strength concrete.

I just paid one price for the concrete base for the shed, the floor poured inside the shed and the path. The path and base were both done properly with hard core layer with a damp proof course on top and then the concrete poured. For all that is was 1250.

The shed base is approx 12ft x 15ft and the sq ft of the path wasnt far off the same

Johnnyhpipe

Just some advice - you would typically expect joints in footpath type construction at 3m centres. Your path looks a bit long to be unjointed (maybe im wrong?). Anyway, still time to sawcut a 40mm deep joint at mid-length, this might save an unsightly shrinkage crack in future.

Looks great - and as noted above 7 days sounds fine for light loading.

goodlad

Pretty sure there wasnt any joints put into it. I guess time will tell if it was ok or not to do it with no joints....

And yeah im happy enough with putting stuff in after the 7 days. Im just still debating what kinda weight will be ok. Ive my halfords tool chest which i just checked and its 50kg

Johnnyhpipe

Why wait and see - consaw 40mm deep. Job done.

goodlad

Never used a con saw before. Tbh i would have to google one to be totally sure what a con saw is... haha

BryanF

Keep the shed well vented especially while concrete is drying out, if you don't want things to rust.

goodlad

The doors were wide open since monday. Have them closed up now because the winds picked up. Its a 25mm insulated shed and no vents.

Will crack the doors open again once the storm fecks off

Water John

You could empty again in the summer and seal the floor if you found it dusty. Mine is a bit.

goodlad

Yeah man thats what im leaning towards doing.

Had thought about putting in some lino for under the shelving and tool chests but dont think im gonna bother.

Im kinda concerned about the lack of joints in the footpath comment.
But then again, looking my the side of my house and foot paths around my house i cant see any joints cut out of them either. Unless im picturing it wrong and a joint isnt a gap in the concrete

JonathonS

goodlad wrote: »

Btw lads, is concrete poured in a shed like this prone to end up really dusty?

Usually yes. I sealed mine with floor paint. But first I had to remove the chalky top surface that can develop if the mix is too wet. I then sealed it with a water-based sealant and then painted. It's like a factory floor now, and well worth it. The dust would have driven me bonkers.

goodlad

I had a look over the concrete today while it was nice and bright out.
The good thing is I seen there is 2 joints in the concrete path at 3m intervals so that's good.

Although ive noticed some absolute crappy looking concrete both on the path edges and also inside the shed.....

Anyone got some opinions on this? My own thinking with the path is the sides are going to just crumble and fall away and the pic in the shed looks like some crap was just thrown at the lip in the bottom of the frame to fill it in..... Gotta say I'm kinda pissed off at the min....

JonathonS

Re your pics - whoever did it should have spread a plastic sheet over the base and extended it up the wall before concreting. Once the concrete is set you cut away the excess plastic around the walls. The surface is rough, it looks like it was just levelled with a plank, which explains the timber around the perimeter. Poor job.

goodlad

I wasnt home when the job was being done which was a bit crap as i couldnt keep an eye on it. The plastic sheeting makes sense as im pretty pissed off at the concrete smeared all over the shed walls inside. The crappy concrete inside the shed is bothering me. Im wondering if it needs to be taken out and redone....

The same thoughts about the edges of the path. Its all crumbly looking like in the pictures the entire way up at the edges. Is this just going to fall apart......

JonathonS

One of the German supermarkets has a specialbuy on floor paint on Thurs 31st at a good price.

goodlad

Cheers for the info man. I had noticed it alright.
My thoughts is how to hell do i paint the floor, especially around the edges. Its not even remotely smooth as you can see in the pictures.

Im thinking about just putting down some rubber or vinys mats to as they will sit on top of the edges ok.

I think if the floor finish was better i would seal and paint it. Sealer along is pretty expensive

I kinda want to remove the timber at the sides of the path now but im afraid its just going to crumble apart at the edges but kinda hop im wrong. Part of me is thinking about leaving the timber there and painting it.... haha

hexosan

I'd ring the crowd who done it and get them to remove the timber. If not first thing they'll say is you damaged it removing the timber yourself.

Bonzo Delaney

goodlad wrote: »

Cheers for the info man. I had noticed it alright.
My thoughts is how to hell do i paint the floor, especially around the edges. Its not even remotely smooth as you can see in the pictures.

Im thinking about just putting down some rubber or vinys mats to as they will sit on top of the edges ok.

I think if the floor finish was better i would seal and paint it. Sealer along is pretty expensive

I kinda want to remove the timber at the sides of the path now but im afraid its just going to crumble apart at the edges but kinda hop im wrong. Part of me is thinking about leaving the timber there and painting it.... haha

Surely they're coming back to take up the screeds themselves
Usually any one else would be back to take away the timbers and then get paid.
Re the shed you could get them to clean up the floor by putting a levelling compound over it to clean it up a bit
The path ; don't know how any one can make an attempt at bull nosing then not finish it anothe 5 or so runs with the trowel while it was still wet would of closed it in. They'll probably blame the cat that walked on it though 🤔

goodlad

Bonzo Delaney wrote: »

Surely they're coming back to take up the screeds themselves
Usually any one else would be back to take away the timbers and then get paid.
Re the shed you could get them to clean up the floor by putting a levelling compound over it to clean it up a bit
The path ; don't know how any one can make an attempt at bull nosing then not finish it anothe 5 or so runs with the trowel while it was still wet would of closed it in. They'll probably blame the cat that walked on it though 🤔

I will be calling the lads that done it tonight and asking if they are coming back to take the timber out. Hadnt thought about leveling compound for the shed. But if the floor level is up and higher it will be over the frame. To be honest the shed flood itself is fine. Its just the edges they made **** of when they were trying to fill the gap in the attached pic

goodlad

Ya lost me with the bull nosing... i will google it.. haha

Im assuming its something to do with the path edges

Bonzo Delaney

goodlad wrote: »

Ya lost me with the bull nosing... i will google it.. haha

Im assuming its something to do with the path edges

Yeah it's the quarter round profile that's formed at the concrete edge
It's supposed to give a nice neat finish to the concrete edge and also prevents the edge chipping off if it was left square.
The levelling compound I mentioned would only rise the floor by 3 mm if it was poured on.