3 Important Uses of Polyethylene Film in DIY Concrete Projects

16 March 2016
 Categories: Industrial & Manufacturing, Blog


Polyethylene builders' film is becoming very popular because of its affordability, versatility and light weight. This article discusses how you can exploit the usefulness of this material as you conduct a concrete project in your home.

Curing Concrete

As concrete cures, it gradually loses the excess moisture in the concrete mix. However, ambient conditions, such as high temperatures can make the surface layers of the concrete dry out before the entire slab has cured. This can result in the moisture in the deeper layers being trapped beneath the dried out concrete. You can prevent this situation by wetting the concrete surface regularly during the curing process. This process is tedious and costly because you keep pouring water on the concrete so that that extra water can evaporate. An easier way is to place polyethylene film on the surface of the poured slab. This film will slow down the rate at which moisture is lost from the curing concrete. Consequently, your concrete will cure uniformly and you will be free to devote the time that you would have spent wetting the concrete to other tasks, such as cleaning up the construction debris.

Form Lining

When you pour concrete into forms, the side of the concrete develops marks similar to the grain pattern of the form material you used, such as plywood. Such a surface has to be prepared (by scraping it, for example) before it can be painted. This added work can be avoided by placing polyethylene builders' film on the forms before you pour the concrete. Once the concrete cures, you can remove the forms and the film before you paint the smooth concrete surface.

Slab Separation

You may be making a concrete cover for a sewer tank. Such a slab may be hard to separate from the surface onto which it was poured if no measure was taken to prevent it from adhering to that substrate. A polyethylene film can come in handy to save you from damaging your sewer tank cover as you forcefully rip it from the surface where you poured it. The polyethylene builders' film forms a barrier between the substrate and the newly poured concrete. Once the sewer cover cures, you will lift it easily from the slab where it was poured.

As you can see, some of the challenges that make concrete DIY jobs difficult can be addressed by using polyethylene builders' film. For more information, contact The Tubeworks or a similar company.


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