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[Bird mama]

Hello there, I am seeking opinions from posters who have experience with concrete poured in cold weather.  If you hired a company to pour a new driveway, patio, sidewalk or had fence posts installed, I have questions.  For those of you brave enough to have poured the concrete yourself, I applaud you and have questions.

I'm under a contract with a fence company to replace chain link steel fencing with vinyl privacy fence.  I live in SE Michigan and the weather has not gotten to the point of reaching and maintaining 40 degrees over a 24 hour period.

It's my understanding, and correct me if you think I have it wrong, that concrete can set and cure properly as long as the temps don't fall below 40 degrees.  Below 40 degrees, water in the concrete mixture can freeze and expand and thereby create cracks in the footings that will hold the fence posts.

My contractor has the fence supplies and is gnawing at the bit to get me on schedule to install the privacy fence.  He wants to get me on schedule for Feb. 27th and I said, okay if weather permitting.  I can tell you right now, the weather is not going to permit it.

Have you ever installed or paid someone to install concrete in cold weather and did it turn out alright in the long term.

[Imaoldhippie]

Take it from a person who's brother worked for a concrete company in Ohio.  It is NOT recommended to pour concrete when its below 50.  

If I were you I would not have that done until spring.  

[Bird mama]

@Imaoldhippie  thank you hippie, this is exactly the type of feedback I was seeking.  My contract is written for Spring 2023, subject to change according to materials.  I think they wrote that in to accommodate potential difficulty getting the materials. 

The contract was written in October.  I got a call in November that materials were in.  I said good for you - I have a ton of trees that need to be removed.

I got a call in January that they could get me installed.  I said, yea no, trees still need to be removed and I'm not inclined to evict the squirrels in the dead of winter.

I'm going to take care of this on Monday.  

[Mindy D]

@Bird mama @I learn or realize something new everyday. I never even thought about this before. 

[Bird mama]

@Mindy D   Here in SE Michigan we joke that the state flag should have a construction cone on it.  Communities are perpetually working on the roads so I've seen concrete poured in all kinds of weather.  That said, there are additives that help concrete cure when the weather is stifling hot and really cold.  My city just required its residents to pay for replacement sidewalk squares in summer 2022 and I watched every step of what the crew did in front of my house.  It was hot hot hot when they did mine in July and the crew leader/foreman (whatever) said they sprayed a coating to slow down the curing.

My next door neighbor had to have her driveway approach done and they didn't get around to it until the week of Thanksgiving.  They poured the concrete and covered it like a baby with tarp and something else.  The crew came by and checked on that thing daily before they took the blanket off of it.

I'm no expert however I saw enough this summer/fall to make me question a few things.

[Janey2]

I have to replace concrete. I started researching doing it in the winter and everything I read said do it in the warmer weather. Try for spring or early fall. According to the spruce.com ...if the weather is too cold freezing temperatures can cause water particles in concrete to freeze and expand, breaking the concrete and causing cracks.

[stevieb]

Bird @Bird mama... Of course he's pushing you. He probably has no work right now, but will be busy when it warms ups... Stick to your guns...  That said, there is information on Google about how to pour concrete in cold weather by ensuring the water and aggregates are effectively warmed... 

[char1976]

As someone who has worked with placing concrete in the winter in Arkansas you can do that but certain things have to be done. The preferred temperture is above 40 degrees but you can do it. The concrete should be made with hot water, additives are added and the ground should not be frozen.  Concrete produces heat when it is curing and you place a special blanket on it or sometimes the contractor will have portable heat sources to place under the blankets. In highway construction we have to have certain concrete mix designs for whatever projects we were working on. I'm retired and when I was working I was certified in concrete testing. Personally I would wait till it warmed up some. Plus your ground is going to freezing and thawing also. Don't know if that helps any.

[Carmie]

We once had to do an emergency concrete repair in the winter.  The contractor added some type of antifreeze to the concrete.  The work was fine.  

That said, I think I'd prefer to have expensive work that can wait done when the weather is warmer.  

We had a new concrete drive and sidewalk done last spring.  The sidewalk already had a crack in it by the fall.  Concrete is so fickle.

[Bird mama]

@Carmie  If I lived on what I call the inside of the neighborhood I would probably not be sweating it.  As it is, my backyard abuts an open school field.  All of us on this side of the block are the windbreakers for the rest of neighborhood.  I specifically chose products and installation wind rated at 140 MPH.  Now do I expect 140 MPH?  Who knows with climate change.  I can tell you the fence is going to need to stand up to 80 MPH winds without keeling over.