Watering Gunite

[poolcurious7]

How important is it to water the gunite after it’s poured?
They havent done it yet, but when I asked my PB he said it was a myth.
Is there any evidence for this? Just concerned as I might be out of town right after the pour it.

 

[Backyard_Lap_Pool]

Spraying Water on New Concrete - Watering Concrete Driveway | Unlimited Concrete Concepts

Helps with curing process. Probably more critical in hotter months... though Florida is probably warm year round?

Based on this random company’s page... maybe not as critical as it once was do to improved chemistry in the mix. Not sure if that is exclusive to their supplier or industry wide.

When they shot ours, it was 95 degrees outside (ambient). In the pit and in the sun, it felt like 120+ (sun+humidity+heat coming off of concrete). It took them 1.5 days to shoot so we didn’t start watering till some of it had been curing for over a day. That said, the gunite was warm to the touch even at night for a few days (190 cubic yards @ 10” thick).

We set up sprinklers on a Home Depot timer for the first couple days. When the deep end started filling up with water, we stuck a submersible pump in the deep end and just recycled the water for the next 4 days.

Not sure if it made any meaningful difference in the cure, but probably didn’t hurt. Ours was shot in the summer though. I wouldn’t be as worried if it were done in the cold.

 

[duraleigh]

Some builders insist on it......mostly in the very dry Southwest. Soggy Florida maybe not so much but it does no harm and can only do good.