Old timer told me to wet the subgrade and I thought he was nuts

I got this job pouring a patio in Denver last week, maybe 400 square feet. This guy Bob, been finishing since the 80s, kept telling me to hose down the dirt before I pour. I thought he was just being old school and wasting time, so I skipped it. Figured the concrete would be fine, right? Wrong. The dirt sucked all the moisture out of the bottom of the slab before I could even get a float on it. Ended up with this crusty, powdery mess on the back half that I had to grind down the next day. Bob came by and just shook his head, didn't even say I told you so. Now I wet everything down no matter what, even if it feels damp. Has anyone else had a slab fail because you didn't prep the ground right?

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finley_bennett281mo ago

Learned that same lesson the hard way myself, it's a brutal mistake.