Replies

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 26, 2018 01:21pm | #1

   Debra,
   The higher quality the tape, the more likely you can use it on green concrete. I would say, as long as you are using a high quality tape, you should be able to tape to concrete as long as the concrete doesn't feel damp.

   Framers routinely start framing the floor assembly almost immediately -- in some cases, the day after the concrete is placed. Be careful about backfilling, however. You need to have the floor assembly in place, and a certain amount of concrete curing time, before you backfill.

2. 
   Debra_Ann | Jan 26, 2018 09:01pm | #2

   I will have high quality tape. But I also thought that concrete needs to remain moist for a period of time in order to cure properly to full strength and prevent excess cracking.

   As for framing the floor assembly right away, I would like to keep the crawl space as dry as possible from the beginning, to reduce potential mold issues (I'm hyper-reactive to mold). Fresh concrete releases a LOT of moisture.

   Hoping I can run a dehumidifier under there as soon as the house is dried in, connected to the temporary electric. But a dehumidifier might dry out the concrete too quickly, if it hasn't had a chance to complete some initial curing first.

3. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 27, 2018 05:52am | #3

   Debra,
   By the time the framers have completed their work, and the window installers, and the roofers -- in other words, the time it takes to get your house dried in -- your concrete will have been curing (hopefully in a moist environment) for a month or two. That's long enough. If you have a roof, you can plug in a dehumidifier at that point if you want.