Can you pour concrete in the rain? What are defects and prevention?

Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand, aggregate, and water. A suitable amount of water is required to get the optimum amount of strength in the concrete. Water in concrete helps to gain the strength of concrete with the help of hydration.

More amount of water cause aggregation and bleeding in concrete while less amount of water makes the concrete less workable and difficult to compact within the frame of the structure.

Water plays a very important role in terms of the quality of concrete. Pouring concrete in rain may cause several defects in concrete like scaling, dusting, etc. which may be very difficult to cure and increase the cost of concrete with loss of time. So, it will be better to take pre-planning while pouring concrete in rain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v25HorHPiU

What should we do before poring concrete?

As a civil engineer, My advice is, if the construction is small then the pouring area should be covered with the help of plastic materials so that extra water may be prevented from mixing in prepared concrete.

Extra water in concrete may decrease the quality of concrete. But if the construction is large then, you should use a weather forecasting device to predict the rain. If there is a chance for rain, then avoid pouring concrete and wait for clear weather.

Precaution before pouring concrete

Can you pour concrete in the rain? What are defects and prevention?
  1. The surface on which the concrete has to pour should not be wetted with water.
  2. The shuttering or land below the concrete pouring surface should be plain to avoid unequal settlement of concrete.
  3. The concrete surface should be prevented from the water just after pouring the concrete.
  4. Formwork/shuttering should be bound strong enough to hold all the concrete to get the desired shape.
  5. The ingredient like cement, sand, and aggregate of the concrete should be mixed thoroughly to get the proper strength of the concrete after drying.

Curing time and Deshuttering time of concrete

Curing is the process of spreading water on concrete after setting the time of concrete. In the process of gaining strength, concrete get dehydrated. At that time if we do not provide water in it, then there will be cracks in concrete which decrease the strength of concrete.

The minimum curing time of concrete should be 7 days to 10 days. For more details on the Curing of different types of structures read the article below.

Why curing of concrete is important | Different ways of curing

Now, What about de-shuttering? It is simply to remove formwork or shuttering around the concrete. Shuttering should not remove earlier to avoid buckling on the structure. To know more about de-shuttering you can read the article below.

When to remove concrete forms in Construction? CheckList of Form Work

I hope this article on “ Can you pour concrete in the rain ” remains helpful for you.

Happy Learning – Civil Concept

Read Also,

Safe Procedure for Joining new concrete to old concrete Slab

Grades of concrete | Mix proportion | Water cement ratio | Slump value

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"Structural Engineer" with over 5 years of experience in estimation, structural design, and surveying. I am passionate about using my skills to create safe and sustainable structures. I am also a keen writer, and I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experiences with others.

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