The technical answer is somewhat surprising – concrete actually never gets finished curing and continually hardens until its molecular structure is no longer concrete. From the moment it’s created and set, concrete begins to harden and strengthen and never truly stops. The difference between this and the practical application of the question is that concrete does not hard at the same rate consistently – once it reaches its cured/finalized stage, the rate in which is continues to harden becomes so slow that it’s almost impossible for anyone to notice.
In the construction industry, concrete is considered fully cured and at its peak strength at about 28 days; with 70% of that strength coming in after only 7 days. Concrete gets its strength from the way in which cement particles react with water molecules and form bonds, but as it is porous material, only a little bit is needed at first and it largely comes from moisture properties, not full-on water. If there isn’t enough moisture during the curing process, the concrete will become weaker as the concrete sets too quickly and doesn’t build enough bonds before hardening. Temperatures, weather, errant debris and other things can also affect the process and weaken the finished concrete. This is why so many measures are put in place by professional construction companies to help ensure finished concrete is able to be used for industrial purposes.
If you need concrete created by a company that takes all the necessary steps to create professional strength concrete, contact us today!
