It’s always good to have got to the position in a project where your concrete has been poured. However, that’s not the end of the story – before you can use it for its intended purpose, you need to let it set and reach its required strength.

But how long are you going to have to wait for this to happen and what factors can affect how long your concrete takes to set? The Stewart Brothers Concrete team is here to answer your questions.

How long does concrete take to set?

When we talk of concrete setting, we’re actually referring to two processes: drying and curing. Most fresh concrete is ‘dry’ enough to be walked on within a day or two, but isn’t considered properly dry until after about seven days. However, concrete curing is a much longer process and means it’s unlikely to reach its full strength until 28 days after the pour. 

Trying to speed up this process – other than by using specialist admixtures – may lead to cracking, which will reduce the final compressive strength and durability of your concrete.

If you want to know how quickly your particular mix is going to cure, we can carry out cube testing in advance to test its compressive strength (usually after 7 and 28 days).

The type of mix used

Concrete has many applications that require different properties. To achieve these different properties, you need to adjust the proportion of water, cement and aggregates in the mix, and these different concrete mix rations have different setting times. For instance, the higher the amount of cement in the mix, the quicker it will dry.

The amount of water used

Perhaps even more critical when evaluating your ready mix concrete setting times is the amount of water that has been used in the mix. The higher the water-to-cement ratio, the longer you’ll have to wait for the concrete to dry and cure.

And there’s no point in reducing the amount of water in order to speed things up, because you’ll only make it harder to work with and may even compromise its final compressive strength.

Weather conditions

The weather can also affect concrete setting times. Ideally, the temperature should be between 10º and 30ºC – if it gets too low, the concrete may dry too slowly and if it gets too hot, it may dry too quickly.

Rain, humidity levels and wind can also be factors. None of this should necessarily mean you can’t carry on, but you might need to protect the poured concrete to preserve its integrity.

Here at Stewart Brothers Concrete, we’re your local ready-mix concrete specialists serving customers across Kent from our depots in Ashford, Sittingbourne and Dover.

With over 35 years of concrete experience, we not only supply concrete for all types of domestic concrete and commercial concrete applications, but we also have the expertise to advise on the right mix for your project and when your concrete will be ready for its final purpose.

Get in touch now for more information or to place your order for delivery to your site.