Repairing Concrete Steps In Cold Weather

Concrete sets much slower in cold weather.

Repairing concrete steps in cold weather.

Follow these recommended steps to assure that concrete in cold weather will obtain the required design strength and that you don t have any other issues while the concrete is setting. Cracked steps pose a potential safety risk to people entering or leaving your home and must be repaired. Remember that you need to keep it above 50 f for the concrete to keep gaining strength. Place concrete early in the day to take advantage of the heat produced by the sun during daylight hours.

Use a chisel and wire brush to rough up the surface and remove any loose concrete. Use these instructions to repair concrete steps. Use an air entrained fiber reinforced and crack resistant concrete for your cold winter weather concrete pour. This is an additive that helps lower the freezing point further so that it would be easy to work with even during cold weather.

Concrete steps are exposed to the elements every day. The special formulation of the concrete has superior freeze thaw durability to help reduce cracking from drying shrinkage and. After time the steps can crack or begin to break apart. Prior to pouring define the strategies that will be used including materials forms testing and other requirements.

The problem is that when water freezes it takes up more space in the ice phase than it does in the liquid phase. Concrete steps are very durable but exposure to the elements can take its toll over time causing the concrete to crack and chip. Placing decorative concrete in cold weather is no different than any other concrete but here are a few extra tips. Keep a dial pocket thermometer or an infrared thermometer to test the concrete temperature.