morning
I am building a new home, poring the basement floor and than framing and will be finishing out in the spring . I have heard that the pad has to be heated over the winter. If so this would be costly ,is there another way to insure the damage ..
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Replies
Where do you live? What is the weather like?
I'm no concrete expert, but you'd probably get more response if you fill leave a little more info.
Oh yeah, and welcome to breaktime.
You only need to keep the concrete warm while it cures. Do they heat the streets and sidewalks in your town during the winter?
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
if you can keep it from freezing for 14 days, it will be fine. concrete will generate its own heat within 24 hours. Then be fully cured in 28 days. just pour a little dryer than normal and it be fine.
Edited 10/4/2005 9:40 pm ET by brownbagg
His post specifies "cement" and you're advising about "concrete."
It's so confusing.
What's your point? Lots of people not in the trades tend to refer to concrete as cement. I was being polite and not making an issue of it. (Yeah, I know, that's not usually my style.) One thing I have learned is that, when talking with a client, I try to use the terminology that they are comfortable with.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Yeah, I was being a wise-guy....and I spent the day tearing off an old roof, and so my 58 yr-old bones are creaky and cranky (even my 20 yr-old go-getter was done in)....and sometimes folks need to learn the terminology, even if the lesson is a bit harsh.
Here is a response I received as a direct email ...
Thanks for the response
  I am being told that the basement slab ( if  not keeped not ) would heave in the spring and that the slab should be to get the walls from being pushed in .. The floor will be pored next
week and should have time to cure before winter.. I idea is to insulate the ceiling of the basement to get the heat in one area and run a small heater to get temp just above freezing .. From early
Dec to mid Mar.. .The site is in central Ontario.Canada
Bryan (original poster) : you should post your responses here rather than as direct email, cuz you'll get a better response due to wider circulation.
I don't think you want to be running a small heater all winter ... 4 months ... that's a lot of heat.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
My dad built a house 20 years ago near Chicago which freezes pretty good. The foundation sat for almost a year and turned out fine. The local guys back then told him if he was worried to put some hay stacks on top of it which he did, but they said it really wasnt nessessary.
you definetly have to heat the basement, not just the slab, if you don't there is a good chance that when things try to settle in the spring the basement walls will not drop uniformly, I have seen vertical cracks and one that cracked horizontally all the way around, the crack was 3 - 4 inches wide ..
Depends on the soil conditions. The cold weather won't hurt the concrete one it's cured. But it will cause the ground to heave. That could push the basement walls in or heave the slab up. It is less likely if you have good drainage. Best to ask someone knowledgeable about local soil conditions.