Curing of Concrete

[iwannapool]

My wife was just told by one of our pool builders workers that when the concrete deck is poured we can't put anything on it, patio furniture, BBQ or things that are even lighter for 30 days.

I know one needs to allow concrete to cure for a certain amount of time but 30 days seems a bit much. Anyone else have a restriction this long?

[CanuckPool]

wow 30 days is long, i think after a week should be fine. The key word is cure not harden. Don't forget to keep the new concrete wetted down as it will cure better and not dry out too quickly.

[Ohm_Boy]

If you do have to be on it. you can lay a sheet of plywood down to distribute the load so that there are no 'point' loads on the concrete.

[beary]

There might be some confusion here between the gunite and the deck. I have a friend who makes concrete homes and basements for a living and he said there should be no problem using the deck after a few days. However, 30 days is about how long gunite should cure before adding water.

beary

[msm859]

The hardness of concrete is typically stated based on a 28 day cure. You should not subject it to heavy use before then.

[freddyttt]

I was told 24 Hrs before i can walk on it....
I waited 48 and moves some lite padio furn. on it...

[GutierrezPlastering]

I also pour concrete decks, and concrete is safe to walk on after about 4-8 hours after broom finish and you may put furniture on the deck just to be safe 3-4 days later and it takes 27 DAY to reach its MAXIMUM HARDNESS STRENGTH