Interesting Statistic:  Concrete Slabs on grade are 26% of all concrete placed in North America.

Slab-On-Grade and Suspended Slabs, whether for commercial warehouse space of multi-storey office buildings, in most cases require maintenance.  To varying degrees slab surfaces will be cleaned or maintained to reduce dirt, protect the wear surface and reduce dusting from the concrete itself.  Surfaces may be sealed, coated, polished or covered by floor coverings/finishes.

Shrinkage is an unavoidable factor in concrete, and nowhere is it more noticeable than concrete slabs.  An unchangeable fact is that Good Concrete will shrink 3/4 inch for every 100 ft of slab.  That may not sound like much, but it amounts to a 1/8  inch wide crack every 12 ½ feet.  Imagine how much worse the situation becomes when there a deficiency in mix design, a problem with aggregate gradation or when an improper volume of water is added.

Mitigating Shrinkage (and Cracking)

Unrestrained (non-reinforced) concrete is least likely to crack.  Most concrete is not unrestrained.  The tool most often employed to combat shrinkage is wet curing.  By preventing early age moisture loss, the volume change (shrinkage) of concrete is delayed.  This allows concrete to gain greater strength and better resist shrinkage forces.  Cement Hydration Enhancers have a water retaining effect as they engage water fully in the hydration of cement. – the effect is similar to wet curing without the cost.  Ask Enhance about Shrinkage Reduced Floors and Warranties.

Enhance has the Solution to Your Concrete Shrinkage Problems

EPC topical penetrants provide a non-filming, non-membrane approach to shrinkage control through high performance curing. Moisture gets locked in and concrete is able to slow cure under ideal conditions. Good concreting practice still applies and wet cure may still be employed for maximum benefit. PMT integral admixtures assist hydration and act as an excellent water manager in plastic concrete of mortar (render, plaster, stucco) mixes. In effect, PMT acts in a self-curing capacity for the whole mix. It is beneficial to use an EPC material to provide the quick surface sealing action desired to provide optimum curing conditions. Shrinkage is primarily a function of rapid volume loss (evaporating water). Try our technology – you will never go back to the old way.

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