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Why does nobody talk about using calcium chloride for cold weather pours?
So I was reading through the ACI 306 guide last weekend and found out that adding just 2% calcium chloride by weight of cement can let you pour concrete down to 25°F instead of the usual 40°F cutoff. I always thought you just needed blankets and heaters for winter work, but this stuff actually speeds up the set time so the concrete can gain strength before it freezes. Has anyone here tried it on a real job site or is it mostly a theoretical thing?
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the_sarah20d ago
Yeah I've used it a few times on smaller slabs and it works fine, just gotta be careful not to overdo it or you'll end up with a flash set that's impossible to finish lol. The corrosion thing is real though so I'd never use it on anything with rebar.
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the_hannah20d ago
The corrosion thing is interesting, have you actually seen it happen on a slab that had rebar? I've heard the theory but never met anyone who had it ruin a pour. Also, how small are we talking for the slabs? Like a stepping stone or more like a 4x4 pad for a shed?
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