Guy at the supply yard told me to wet my forms an hour before pour

I always just sprayed them right before and wondered why my edges were always dusty. He said give it a full soak 60 minutes early so the wood swells and seals tight. Anyone else do this or just me?

1 comments

1 Comment

kai_brown231mo agoMost Upvoted

Ngl that sounds like a waste of good water. I've been doing this for 15 years and never soaked my forms an hour early. Just a quick spray right before the pour is all you need. The wood swells up within a couple minutes anyway. If you leave them sitting wet for a whole hour you're just asking for the forms to warp and get soft. Plus then you've got standing water mixing with your concrete which messes up the water ratio. I've seen guys do the soak method and their forms buckle under the weight because the wood got too saturated. Keep it simple. Spray and pour.