Welcome to the Wet Season
If you're not from Florida, let me fill you in on summer - it rains. Every. Single. Afternoon. Usually between 2 and 5pm, sometimes earlier, sometimes it just goes all day. And it doesn't drizzle. It DUMPS. Like someone turned a fire hose on from the sky.
So how do you pour concrete when it rains every day? Carefully. And early.
We Start at Dawn
During rainy season the crew is on site by 6am. Sometimes earlier. The concrete truck shows up at first light and we're pouring by 6:30. The goal is to get the concrete placed, screeded, and floated before the storms roll in. If we can get 4-5 hours of work in before the rain hits, we're usually in good shape.
I check the radar about 47 times a day from June to September. Not exaggerating. I've got three different weather apps on my phone and I watch the Doppler like it owes me money.
What If It Rains on Fresh Concrete?
This is the question everyone asks. Here's the deal - light rain on concrete that's already been finished and is setting up? Not a big deal. The surface might get a slightly different texture but structurally it's fine.
HEAVY rain on concrete that was just poured? Bad news. It can wash out the cement paste, create pitting on the surface, weaken the top layer. That's why we have tarps and plastic sheeting on every job site during summer. If the radar looks sketchy we have those tarps ready to go.
Sometimes You Just Get Rained Out
I'll be straight with y'all - sometimes the weather wins. We had a job two weeks ago off Fruitville where we had everything set up, forms built, ready to pour, and at 5:30am a storm cell came through that wasn't even on the radar an hour before. Dumped two inches of rain in the forms. Had to pump them out and push the pour to the next day.
That's Florida. You can't fight it. You just work with it.
What This Means for Scheduling
If you're getting concrete work done between June and September, here's what to expect:
- We might need to reschedule. Please don't be frustrated - we want your concrete to be perfect as much as you do.
- Curing takes a little longer in high humidity but the concrete actually benefits from staying moist.
- We'll probably be done with the noisy stuff (trucks, equipment) before most people finish their morning coffee.
Rainy season is actually a good time to schedule work because we're slightly less booked than spring. So if you've been waiting, give us a call. We know how to handle the weather - been doing it our whole careers.