Before laying cinder blocks, pour a footing. This will serve as the foundation for the blocks. The footing should be poured below the frost line, which will vary according to the location. It should be allowed to cure for a minimum of seven days before installing blocks on top.
Basement walls: It is common practice to pour walls the day after the footings are poured but you're not likely to find a reference that says either you can or can't do this.
Immediately after leveling the surface, align and inset any deck hardware and then smooth the surface of the concrete. Allow the concrete to cure for one day before constructing your deck or placing heavy weight on the footing (if standard concrete mix was used, wait about 3 days to begin construction).
If masonry units are "wet set" after the concrete footing has begun to harden, there is a good possibility that the masonry will not absorb adequate cement from the concrete to produce this needed bond.
When waiting for concrete to dry, keep these timeframes in mind: 24 to 48 hours - after inital set, forms can be removed and people can walk on the surface. 7 days - after partial curing, traffic from vehicles and equipment is okay. 28 days - at this point, the concrete should be fully cured.
I would say a minimum of 24 hours, maximum of 48. Depending on what you put on top of it, i would at least wait 24h if they are small footings. 24 hours should be OK. Ideally the width of the masonry wall should be at least a quarter of the height to be retained.
The final step in the RCC footings installation is the curing process. After the footing has been laid and the concrete has dried, it's important to cure it. This process involves keeping the concrete moist and at a proper temperature to ensure that it achieves maximum strength.
The footing should be covered with plastic and left to cure for at least seven days before any brickwork can commence.
While it may seem like an unnecessary step to some, gravel plays a critical role in ensuring the longevity, stability, and structural integrity of the concrete. Failing to include this foundational layer can lead to a range of costly and damaging consequences.
Footings pouring one day to setting forms on walls is always under your discretion, 48-72 hours is plenty of time for the footings to set/ dry… But just make sure you have everything else ready for the slab after walls (including entry / exit points on the walls themselves).
When watering concrete during the curing process, it is important not to overwater as this could potentially lead to cracking or other issues.
Absolutely NOT! Sonotubes are not designed to withstand the pressure and weight of collapsing soil and should never be used in this manner.
One week is plenty for a simple deck footing with a normal dead load of only 10 lbs/sqft. If you used premix bags of concrete, like Sakrete, this mix may have a very high strength (4,000 lbs) and likely OK in just 72 hours.
A minimum of 12”inches deep for all footings and the width will be determined by the amount of stories, 12” inches for a single story, 15” inches for a two story and 23” inches for a three story. This is based on a soil bearing capacity of 1500(psf).
Concrete is already a porous material. This means that water could find its way through your concrete by itself. But, if you have cracks or cove joints that aren't sealed properly, water will use those openings to enter your foundation.
Sealing the concrete prematurely traps rising bleed water and air beneath the top surface creating weak or soft zones directly beneath the slab's surface. Mixing bleed water into the surface or trapping bleed water and air directly beneath the surface typically results in premature surface wear and scaling.
What happens if you don't put gravel under concrete? If you don't put gravel under concrete, the concrete can crack, sink, bow, or crumble.
The thickness of the footings should be not less than 200mm and is usually mass concrete only, ie. no reinforcement. The depth below ground level to the base of the footing should be not less than 300mm or to rock, whichever occurs first, which allows for a minimum of 100mm of ground cover to the pad.
Choosing the right material for your sub-base is crucial in the overall performance of your concrete base. The most commonly used materials for a sub-base include gravel, crushed stone, and sand. Gravel: It's a popular choice due to its excellent drainage properties and ability to distribute the load evenly.
Before laying cinder blocks, pour a footing. This will serve as the foundation for the blocks. The footing should be poured below the frost line, which will vary according to the location. It should be allowed to cure for a minimum of seven days before installing blocks on top.
Here are the average times: 24-48 hours: forms can be removed, can handle lightweight traffic (pedestrians, bicycles, wheelchairs, etc.) 7 days: vehicular and construction traffic is okay, but the concrete still hasn't reached peak durability. 28 days: concrete is fully cured and at peak durability.
The consequences of not letting the concrete set properly
If you don't let it set properly, it will disturb the curing process. This will cause loss in strength and durability and may also lead to cracking.
Since all desirable properties are improved with curing, the period should be as long as practical. For most concrete structures, the curing period at temperatures above 5º C (40º F) should be a minimum of 7 days or until 70% of the specified compressive or flexural strength is attained.
Contractors regularly look at the basic U.S. residential concrete foundation as being a three-day process. Excavation, footing forming and concrete placement on day one; wall forming and concrete placement on day two; and form stripping, clean-up and waterproofing on day three.