Tried a new curing blanket that was supposed to save time, ended up costing me a whole day

I was working on a small patio job in Tucson last week and saw this new type of curing blanket at the supply house. The guy there said it would cut my cure time in half, so I bought two for about $80 total. Big mistake. They were way too thin and the wind just kept blowing them off the slab, even with weights on the corners. I spent more time chasing them down and re-securing them than I would have just using my old plastic and burlap method. The slab ended up with some light crazing on one corner because it dried out too fast. Had to come back the next day to grind and re-seal that spot, which killed my schedule for another job. Has anyone else had a bad run with a new product that just didn't live up to the hype? What's your go-to for curing in windy spots now?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_miles15d ago

Yeah, "cut your cure time in half" is the kind of line that gets me too. I was reading on some forum the other day where a guy tested one of those new vapor barrier blankets against the old school wet burlap. He said the blanket let way too much moisture escape in dry wind, which matches your story exactly. My go-to for windy spots now is just doubling up on the plastic with a good layer of sandbags. It's not fancy but it works every time. Sometimes the old ways are still the best.

faithk923mo ago

Cut your cure time in half" lol, did the supply house guy say why it was supposed to work so much faster?

hayden_ross823mo ago

He told me, faithk92, it had some new catalyst, but honestly it still took forever.