Home Repair forum - Concrete vs. Cement.... again

Author

Concrete vs. Cement.... again

Tennessee Tony

2005-08-30, 5:21 pm

Lets say my brother in law, yep definitely my brother in law, not me, I
wasn't even there.....

While he was making a footer or base for a porch support, he grabbed a
bag of "Dixie Type N Masonry Cement" instead of the "quickcrete".
Poured some cement and water into the hole a little at a time and mixed
well, (also adding stone and small rocks, but no sand or lime). This
seems to be curing quite slow. It has been kept wet, actually it was
covered with a pool of water, but it's not "green" at all like I'm used
to seeing with concrete. 20 hours later it is set up but just rubbing
my finger on it will easily cause it to wear away. Small dry splatters
can be ground up to dust in my fingers.

The porch itself has supports but in between it is developing some
sagging, hence the extra support. So in the worst case, it's not like
it's going to fall. So, is this going to be worth using or do I dig it
out and redo it? The 4x4 is not in the cement, I planned on using the
metal "feet" so it stays dryer.

I happen to have a few more bags of the same type of cement left here
from the old owner. When using it for something like this, how much of
what should I add to make concrete? (it was being used to make mortar
for a block wall and/or stucco)

Thanks, my "brother in law" appreciates your guidance.

Tony

----== Posted via droptable.com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.droptable.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Joseph Meehan

2005-08-30, 6:21 pm

Tennessee Tony wrote:
> Lets say my brother in law, yep definitely my brother in law, not me,
> I wasn't even there.....
>
> While he was making a footer or base for a porch support, he grabbed a
> bag of "Dixie Type N Masonry Cement" instead of the "quickcrete".
> Poured some cement and water into the hole a little at a time and
> mixed well, (also adding stone and small rocks, but no sand or lime).
> This
> seems to be curing quite slow. It has been kept wet, actually it was
> covered with a pool of water, but it's not "green" at all like I'm
> used to seeing with concrete. 20 hours later it is set up but just
> rubbing
> my finger on it will easily cause it to wear away. Small dry
> splatters can be ground up to dust in my fingers.
>
> The porch itself has supports but in between it is developing some
> sagging, hence the extra support. So in the worst case, it's not like
> it's going to fall. So, is this going to be worth using or do I dig
> it out and redo it? The 4x4 is not in the cement, I planned on using the
> metal "feet" so it stays dryer.
>
> I happen to have a few more bags of the same type of cement left here
> from the old owner. When using it for something like this, how much
> of what should I add to make concrete? (it was being used to make mortar
> for a block wall and/or stucco)
>
> Thanks, my "brother in law" appreciates your guidance.
>
> Tony
>
> ----== Posted via droptable.com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet
> News==---- http://www.droptable.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the
> World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms -
> Total Privacy via Encryption =----

How old was the stuff and how has it been stored. I suspect it is now
worthless.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Jimmy@the.shoppe

2005-08-30, 7:21 pm

On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 15:35:49 -0400, Tennessee Tony <tennessee.tony@planetc.com>
wrote:

>Lets say my brother in law, yep definitely my brother in law, not me, I
>wasn't even there.....
>
>While he was making a footer or base for a porch support, he grabbed a
>bag of "Dixie Type N Masonry Cement" instead of the "quickcrete".
>Poured some cement and water into the hole a little at a time and mixed
>well, (also adding stone and small rocks, but no sand or lime). This
>seems to be curing quite slow. It has been kept wet, actually it was
>covered with a pool of water, but it's not "green" at all like I'm used
>to seeing with concrete. 20 hours later it is set up but just rubbing
>my finger on it will easily cause it to wear away. Small dry splatters
>can be ground up to dust in my fingers.
>
>The porch itself has supports but in between it is developing some
>sagging, hence the extra support. So in the worst case, it's not like
>it's going to fall. So, is this going to be worth using or do I dig it
>out and redo it? The 4x4 is not in the cement, I planned on using the
>metal "feet" so it stays dryer.
>
>I happen to have a few more bags of the same type of cement left here
>from the old owner. When using it for something like this, how much of
>what should I add to make concrete? (it was being used to make mortar
>for a block wall and/or stucco)
>
>Thanks, my "brother in law" appreciates your guidance.
>
Too much water.
It will eventually cure but it might not be super strong.
Mortar mix has added lime (also slows the cure) so it will be weaker than
regular Portland.
Any concrete ready mix can go bad and lose strength over time, especially if it
can get damp.
Don't be a cheap bastard and buy yourself a $8 bag of Portland and add a part or
two of that to four or five parts of your bags of old product.

The less water you use the stronger the concrete. If it runs off the shovel you
used way too much water.

Tennessee Tony

2005-08-30, 8:21 pm

Joseph Meehan wrote:
> Tennessee Tony wrote:
>
>
>
> How old was the stuff and how has it been stored. I suspect it is now
> worthless.

It is probably 2 years old and stored in the crawlspace. The crawlspace
is dry, the floor is all concrete and the bags of cement where on
pallets, but I guess it's still too damp.

Now what do I do with the other 5 bags????????

Tony

Tennessee Tony

2005-08-30, 8:21 pm

Jimmy@the.shoppe wrote:
> On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 15:35:49 -0400, Tennessee Tony <tennessee.tony@planetc.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Too much water.
> It will eventually cure but it might not be super strong.
> Mortar mix has added lime (also slows the cure) so it will be weaker than
> regular Portland.
> Any concrete ready mix can go bad and lose strength over time, especially if it
> can get damp.

I think that is the problem. It's been in a crawlspace for some time.

> Don't be a cheap bastard and buy yourself a $8 bag of Portland and add a part or
> two of that to four or five parts of your bags of old product.
>
> The less water you use the stronger the concrete. If it runs off the shovel you
> used way too much water.

It didn't run off the shovel, it was thick. (The pool of water came
hours after it should have been cured.)

Thanks,
Tony

G Henslee

2005-08-30, 9:21 pm

Tennessee Tony wrote:
> Jimmy@the.shoppe wrote:
>

>
>
> It didn't run off the shovel, it was thick. (The pool of water came
> hours after it should have been cured.)
>
> Thanks,
> Tony

shoulda spit in the mix. gives it that personal touch.

Doug Miller

2005-08-30, 10:21 pm

In article <3nk7cvF1v96nU1@individual.net>, Tennessee Tony <tennessee.tony@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>It is probably 2 years old and stored in the crawlspace. The crawlspace
>is dry, the floor is all concrete and the bags of cement where on
>pallets, but I guess it's still too damp.
>
>Now what do I do with the other 5 bags????????

Landfill.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Doug Miller

2005-08-30, 10:21 pm

In article <3nk7k1F1t613U1@individual.net>, Tennessee Tony <tennessee.tony@gmail.com> wrote:

>I think that is the problem. It's been in a crawlspace for some time.

Then throw it away. It isn't any good.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Tennessee Tony

2005-08-31, 12:21 am

G Henslee wrote:
> Tennessee Tony wrote:
>
>
>
>
> shoulda spit in the mix. gives it that personal touch.

I did!

Tony

LinkBot