Gunite install in the winter

[Pibkac]

I’ve been reading lots of info about watering the gunite to slow down the curing process, but it seems to mostly apply to the summer months or warmer climates. Here in the north east the temps have been low 30s at night and 50s during the day.

Our pb spayed the Gunite a few days ago and covered it with the plastic. We asked about watering it but they seemed to have been on the fence to leave the plastic cover and not water or remove plastic and rain/water it. I can see some moisture buildup under the plastic sheet, but not everywhere. Should we remove plastic to be safe? It’s been a few days under the plastic already, is it too late anyways?

 

[ajw22]

Most of the benefit to watering new gunite happens in the first 3-4 days. With all the rain we are getting the gunite is getting naturally watered. For the first 14 days it does not hurt anything to peel back the plastic and pour some water on the gunite if you see it dry and then cover it back with the plastic.

Watering New Gunite and Concrete - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Pibkac]

Thanks for the comment. We opened up the plastic and sprayed the gunite a bit, but with this wind, it’s a tough job.

It might get below 30 tonight, should we cover it back up with the plastic?
Would the rain/freeze cycle damage gunite?
What about just leaving it uncovered from now on?

 

[Pibkac]

Here’s the pic of the plastic.

 

[ajw22]

Keep new concrete covered in cold weather. The concrete generates heat during the curing. The plastic gives it some thermal insulation and keeps the concrete warm. Put some rocks or bricks or whatever on the plastic to hold it down. The heat generated from the curing with a blanket over it should keep the concrete from freezing even if the temp drops a bit below freezing.

You might want to read this...

The Physics of Freezing and Freeze Protection

Recently, there have been a lot of questions from those living in moderate climates about using automatic freeze protection or running pumps to prevent freezing and what a pool owner should do when temperatures drop so I thought it might be useful to have a thread which dealt with the issue from...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Pibkac]

Thanks for the tip, we covered the pool back up with plastic. I’m not looking forward to doing the uncover/water/cover twice a day for the next week

 

[jimmythegreek]

Dont worry about watering it at this point. With plastic over it the warmth and condensation will naturally help it along. Warm months need it with temps dropping below freezing I'd leave it be naturally

 

[Pibkac]

Thanks! I’m guessing if I leave it I’ll be fine and if I spray it, it might marginally help, but not enough to make a huge difference. FYI When we took the plastic off, I noticed that the bottom was moist, but the top/sides were dry which initially got me worried.