Debate with my partner about wet curing vs sealers got me thinking

Had a long talk with my wife last night after she saw me spraying a driveway I finished last week. She asked why I bother with wet curing for 7 days when everyone she knows just uses a spray-on sealer. I told her wet curing gives better strength and fewer cracks, but she pointed out that sealers save time and money upfront. Now I'm second guessing my approach. For a 400 sq ft residential slab, is the extra week of watering really worth it over a $40 can of sealer? Anyone else have strong feelings about this?

3 comments

3 Comments

murphy.mason1mo ago

My neighbor did his slab with just sealer last spring and it's already got hairline cracks all over the place. I always do the full wet cure on my jobs, even the small ones, because I've seen too many sealed slabs fail within a year or two. That extra week of watering might feel like a pain but it saves you from having to explain cracks to an angry customer later.

fiona_west211mo ago

@murphy.mason You make it sound like life or death. A sealer works fine for most people.

wood.faith1mo ago

Guessed where I was going wrong until a guy I was helping pointed it out to me. Thought I was being smart skipping the wet cure on a small patio slab, just threw some sealer on it. Had cracks you could fit a dime in by August. Felt like an idiot having to rip it out and start over. Learned my lesson the hard way, now I water cure everything like my granddad taught me.