That Monday I poured 12 yards in the rain in Austin

Had a slab cure for a driveway and the sky opened up right after we finished. Woke up at 4am Tuesday to tarp it but the surface was already cratered. Anyone else have luck salvaging a pour that got beat by rain before it set?

3 comments

3 Comments

lily_torres311mo ago

Rain always finds the weak spots in a pour, just like in life.

harper9141mo ago

Oh man, that's such a good way to put it! I actually read somewhere that concrete is more porous than people realize, so the water finds every tiny crack and air pocket almost instantly. I remember a contractor friend telling me about a job where they had to wait three days for a dry window, and it still rained right when they started pouring. It's crazy how nature just has a way of ruining all your planning, you know?

beth2761mo ago

12 yards is a big pour. That's rough, really rough. I had a similar thing happen with a 8 yard patio slab in San Antonio back in 2019. Same deal, finished up and the sky just let loose twenty minutes later. I spent the whole night out there with plywood and plastic, but the surface was already a mess. For your driveway, I'd say don't panic yet if the concrete hasn't fully set. You can try a light broom finish or a surface grinder once it's hard, but that cratering might be too deep to fix cheap. Sometimes you just have to rip it out and start over, which sucks but beats living with a pockmarked driveway. Hope you find a way to save it, man.