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I used to swear by rapid set cement for small patch jobs, but now I think it's overrated
Gave it another shot last week fixing a curb in Denver and the stuff cracked within 48 hours. Standard portland mix with some fiber reinforcement has held up way better on my past three repairs. Anyone else ditch the fast stuff for regular mix on small jobs?
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paul1171mo ago
Not sure if anyone mentioned this but the problem might be how fast that stuff sets versus how it cures. When it kicks off that quick the heat can build up in the middle and cause micro cracks you don't see at first. Then when it gets cold at night those cracks spread. I had a similar curb job last spring and the rapid set blew a chunk out after a week. The regular mix with a little silica fume and a slow set additive has been bulletproof for me.
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jana_henderson521mo ago
Totally feel you on that @paul117. Had a sidewalk patch bubble up like that last year. Same deal, set fast then cracked in a week. Switched to a high early strength mix with a retarder and it's held up way better. Sucks when a fast fix turns into a redo.
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