My Industrial Cabin Build

[EddieWalker]

Eddie..how warm does it have to be to paint the interior of a house with no working heater currently?

I've always thought you want it to be at least 50 degrees F to paint indoors or outdoors, and for it not to get any colder once the paint is applied for at least several hours.

 

[Thall303]

Thanks Eddie ��

 

[WoodChuckDad]

What temp do you want to be at there to pour concrete?

Eddie, I don't know the answer to that. I'm sure my concrete guy does and I'm worried that this cold snap is going to be a big delay for us.

 

[prichard]

They pour in very cold weather way up north. But they're used to that. Concrete folks in the south may not be set up for that kind of thing though.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I've always thought you want it to be at least 50 degrees F to paint indoors or outdoors, and for it not to get any colder once the paint is applied for at least several hours.

The high-end SW exterior paints can be applied to non-metalic surfaces in much colder temps. I think it's actually 30F! The only caveat is that you cant be at the dew point.

 

[EddieWalker]

The high-end SW exterior paints can be applied to non-metalic surfaces in much colder temps. I think it's actually 30F! The only caveat is that you cant be at the dew point.

Is that the $80 a gallon stuff? Not that it matters, I'm not doing anything outdoors when it's that cold. It will only be that cold for a few days here, or it's the low for the day and it will get back into the 50's like it's supposed to be for winter in Texas. I can always find something to do indoors to stay busy for a few days to avoid learning how to deal with temps like that!!!



On the concrete in the cold. I've never done any cold weather work, so it's all a mystery to me. I saw on TV that they add stuff to the concrete when pouring in the cold, but that the stuff they add makes the concrete weaker. How much weaker, I don't know. I'm just curious about the process and results when dealing with the cold.

 

[hddnis]

I've painted and done concrete down to about -20, both require heating. For painting exterior we "tent" the wall for 24-36hrs. Concrete has heating either built in with pex that we hook up to or temp hoses that are laid under a blanket on top and around the perimeter of the pour. We sometimes will install 1/2" drip tube in a slab and pump hot water through that tubing and then abandon the tube.

Keeping things going in cold weather adds expense, but sometimes you make more money if you keep moving then if you wait for "cheaper" weather.

 

[hddnis]

In cold weather you order the concrete mixed with hot water, as in 210° hot. Usually the ag coming out of the pile will average 40-50°

In non-reinforced applications we will order concrete with 2% calcium chloride to accelerate the curing in cold weather. Hot water and calcium make a fast setting mix even in cold weather. Think "you better be on top of your game and have plenty of help even though the temps are in the teens" type of curing speeds.

I prefer not to use calcium on reinforced structures unless it is specified by the engineer for the project. Calcium chloride doesn't "make concrete weaker" as much as it corrodes the steel reinforcing at about the 20-30 year life of the structure. There are now corrosion resistant and stainless steels available for coastal and northern areas that are prone to salt accelerated corrosion of concrete reinforcing.

One big advantage of calcium chloride is the early set strength it gives concrete. This helps a lot when slip or roll forming, pre-cast concrete, or any other application where you want to strip the forms sooner. One example is pouring a patio and sidewalk. Show up at 6am and excavate and build your forms, concrete comes at noon and you start stripping forms by 3pm. Loaded, cleaned up, and gone by 5pm. Customer is really happy and you got a two day job done in one twelve hour day. Well, not you by yourself, you and three helpers and two trucks full of expensive tools, but the point is that calcium chloride has its uses.

Knowledge and experience have to guide when to pour and when to wait, when to add calcium and when not to.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

In cold weather you order the concrete mixed with hot water, as in 210° hot. Usually the ag coming out of the pile will average 40-50°

In non-reinforced applications we will order concrete with 2% calcium chloride to accelerate the curing in cold weather. Hot water and calcium make a fast setting mix even in cold weather. Think "you better be on top of your game and have plenty of help even though the temps are in the teens" type of curing speeds.

I prefer not to use calcium on reinforced structures unless it is specified by the engineer for the project. Calcium chloride doesn't "make concrete weaker" as much as it corrodes the steel reinforcing at about the 20-30 year life of the structure. There are now corrosion resistant and stainless steels available for coastal and northern areas that are prone to salt accelerated corrosion of concrete reinforcing.

One big advantage of calcium chloride is the early set strength it gives concrete. This helps a lot when slip or roll forming, pre-cast concrete, or any other application where you want to strip the forms sooner. One example is pouring a patio and sidewalk. Show up at 6am and excavate and build your forms, concrete comes at noon and you start stripping forms by 3pm. Loaded, cleaned up, and gone by 5pm. Customer is really happy and you got a two day job done in one twelve hour day. Well, not you by yourself, you and three helpers and two trucks full of expensive tools, but the point is that calcium chloride has its uses.

Knowledge and experience have to guide when to pour and when to wait, when to add calcium and when not to.

:thumbsup: He is right... Unless I had to, I'd wait for for a bit warmer temps...

 

[dstig1]

There are also non chloride based accelerants for concrete that are not corrosive to the rebar. Around here they offer both types.