Help !!

[jelsden]

Hi,

Think I might have an answer but want to be sure, I have layed a 1:10 cement to mortar base (dry) and started screeding it yesterday, unfortunately lack of light got in the way and I had to leave 1/3 unfinished, in the hope of doing it this eve. The day has been a lot hotter than i expected and the base has dried out a lot more than expected (looks impossible to screed or lay anything on at the moment).

I am going to wet the layer slightly to make the next work possible, is this a reasonable idea and if so how much water should I use?

Many thanks in advance

[Tony McC]

If you mixed sand with cement, you have around 4-6 hours working time. Leaving it overnight renders it more or less useless and simply adding water will do nothing but wet it. Water cannot reactivate day-old cement - that's not how cement hardens.

You should scrape down the old sand/cement mix and then top-up with fresh material that will be covered with paving before the light fades on you again!