How long after laying concrete before screeding?
You should start screeding as soon as possible after the concrete has been poured & rough worked. Usually about three passes will be needed to get the surface ready for floating, but be sure you’re finished before bleed water shows up. Once you’ve finished your screeding, you’ll want to start bull floating the surface, again, you need to be finished with the bull float before bleed water appears. When using a bull float, you’ll want to work at right angles to your screeding pulls. You can begin your final finishing when all the bleed-water has evaporated. Although the exact waiting time will vary depending on the mix contents and ambient temperature, plan for about three hours from the time the concrete is batched (meaning poured in the truck at the ready-mix plant) until there is an initial set–which means the concrete is too hard to work anymore. Finishing while bleed-water is present can cause surface crazing, dusting, or scaling. Good luck…
