In Roanoke and the surrounding areas, fall is a lovely time of year. In fact, fall beats out spring for the most popular wedding season in our fair state. It’s not surprising when you consider that tourists from other states visit here just to view our foliage. Plus with the weather being cool, but not cold, combined with low humidity, it makes for the perfect time of year for resurfacing concrete.
Been Putting Off a Concrete Project?
If you have a concrete project you’ve been waiting to pull the trigger on, wait no more. With summer behind us, you don’t have to worry about excessive humidity, so you just need to plan for a day without rain.
But, if you wait too much longer, you’ll run into winter, a dead zone for pouring concrete! The best temperature for working with concrete is between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
When it’s too hot, the concrete can become dry and brittle. When it’s too cold, the water particles can freeze before the concrete sets, causing it to expand and crack.
So, it’s essential not to put off outdoor concrete projects any longer!
What About Wind?
Wind is one factor you may not have considered when considering resurfacing concrete. While it would take a pretty heavy gust to change the shape of or cause a ripple in the concrete, that’s not the primary concern.
Wind can accelerate the evaporation process. Excessively high heat can cause rapid water loss, leading to an incorrectly constituted and brittle concrete mixture. That’s why we’re so careful at Blue Ridge Coatings and Supply to plan around our environmental conditions whenever possible.
Pouring Concrete Indoors
Though temperature and time of year are still relevant even when repairing and resurfacing concrete indoors, the impact is less significant than outside because we can control many of the factors that influence the curing process.
It’s still best to resurface concrete during more moderate weather, such as in the fall or spring, but with the proper controls in place, we can work indoors during a significant portion of the year.
Ventilation
Even if you’re resurfacing concrete at the perfect time of year, temperature and humidity-wise, ventilation is still crucial when doing so indoors. Airflow helps to control the humidity in the room so that the water evaporates at the correct rate and concrete cures properly.
When adequate ventilation is not in place, we supplement it with large fans.
Dust and Dirt Control
The last thing you want when creating a permanent surface is to get dirt or dust permanently ingrained within it! We carefully clean and prepare the existing area before we apply any concrete.
We are also careful to manage the dust from the concrete itself so you’re left with a clean area when we’re done.
Resurfacing Concrete in Fall?
If you’ve been thinking about fixing cracks or reapplying a new layer of concrete to your facility, you couldn’t ask for a better time! Likewise, if you want to add a porch or patio. While we may think about spending time outdoors more in the summer, now is the time to take care of it so you’ll be ready for Summer 2025.