Old timer told me to wet the forms before pouring and I thought he was messing with me

I was working a job outside of Austin last summer, doing a small patio pour for a lady who wanted it done before her grandkids came to visit. An old timer named Frank who's been finishing concrete since the 70s kept saying I needed to wet down my wooden forms before I poured. I figured it was just some old myth and ignored him because I was in a hurry to get the mix down before the sun got too hot. Well, the edges cracked like crazy where the dry wood sucked all the moisture out of the mix and left weak spots along the borders. I had to grind and patch three sections that looked terrible and it took me an extra half day to fix. How many of you guys actually go through the trouble of wetting forms or is this something nobody does anymore?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.robin10d ago

Liz is spot on about the ground soak too, especially in Texas heat where the dirt is bone dry and will steal water from your pour just as fast as the wood will. That extra few minutes with the hose has kept my edges from feathering out and saved me more headaches than I care to count.

elizabeth90010d ago

Frank from down the street taught me the same thing back when I did my first sidewalk in Greenville, and I learned it the hard way just like you did. Dry wood is basically a giant sponge, it'll pull that water right out of the concrete and leave you with powdery, weak edges that crumble like sand cookies. I started soaking my forms with a garden hose about 15 minutes before I pour, just enough to get the wood damp but not dripping wet. It only takes a few minutes and it's saved me a ton of patch work on every job since then. I also give the ground a good soak if it's been dry for a few days, that helps too. So yeah, listen to the old timers on this one, they figured it out for a reason.