wroughtn_harv
Super Member
Professional fence men have been mixing good concrete for decades and decades out of a wheelbarrow. A decent crew, foreman and helper, can lay out, dig, and set sixty to eighty posts in a day if the digging isn't horrible. That equates to about two to three yards of sand and gravel mixed with portland cement in a wheel barrow.
There is a secret. It's not a big one, just one.
First important thing is the wheel barrow. A construction six cubic foot one works best. That's because the sides are steep and it can hold a considerable amount.
The next thing is the mix of sand and gravel. If you go to your supply yard where you buy your sand and gravel chances are you can get remix. Remix is where the yard takes a yard of sand and mixes it with a yard of gravel. That way you don't have to be digging from two piles and trying to remember the count of what and which. A couple of points on the mix. If you have too much sand it will be physically harder to mix. But if you have too much rock you won't have good concrete just like if you have too much sand your concrete will not be strong at all. I suggest half inch or smaller gravel. It's easier to mix.
I use a square point shovel. I lay out five shovels full of rock and sand in the bottom of the wheel barrow. This is usually leveled out to some degree intentionally. Then I like to use the square point shovel and break open the bag of portland cement. It's sort of a cutting the head off of a snake affair. I want to break it open so that I can stick the shovel inside the bag. I don't open it length wise. I then take a heaping, all the other materials were loaded on the shovel heaping, shovel full of portland and I spread it out as evenly as possible over the sand and gravel.
I repeat this process until the wheelbarrow is full. Now full is different for different folks. Full for me and other professionals is heaping. I'm talking the stuff is almost falling off the sides, front, and back of the wheel barrow.
There needs to be a warning about that mentioned here. A full six cubic foot wheel barrow is going to weigh in the neighborhood of four hundred to five hundred pounds. If you're not used to handling it the only thing I can think that might be comparable would be putting on roller blades and walking along the beach at the ocean. You're gonna look silly and chances are things are going to get messy. So if you're a rookie start with a three quarter full one and then put in more as you get experienced.
I use five gallon buckets of water versus the hose and sprayer. The reason is control. I can put in exactly how much I want instantly. With the hose it's a guessing game. You can have not enough, more hose handling, or too much, add sand and gravel and cement.
You get a decent round pointed D handle shovel. Make sure it's clean. If there's part of a label, some rust, or old concrete on it you will be working twice as hard and getting half as much done. I've come to believe profanity came with fence men working with dirty shovels. Of course those observing the noise making thought it was so cute that profanity is as commonplace as bad taste these days.
I take the shovel and gently, remember it's heaping, make a small bowl at the front of the wheel barrow. I pour some water, quart or just a bit more, in the bowl. I gently mix this with the shovel. When it's done I ladle it out. I now have a larger bowl with which to operate. I pour in more water and mix more. This process is repeated always taking from the front of the wheel barrow and only mixing what I can use. I'm cutting into it sorta like eating a layered cake going from the front to the back.
There are some secrets to using the shovel for mixing. Where the professional has an advantage is he's done it wrong often enough that he doesn't have to that anymore.
The biggest mistake rookies make is trying to all the work with their shoulders and arms. If you do it right at the end of the day you should feel like you've done about a thousand too many sit ups. It's a whole body event. I like to place my thigh against the front of the wheel barrow and pull through to to myself. I push the mix back with the shovel without lifting it out of the wheel barrow and then taking another bite pull it back towards me.
I might should had ought to point out something right here and now. Rookies who get to work with me the first time don't get all this advice. I show them how I want the concrete layered into the wheel barrow. I then mix a batch or two and then hand the D handle over to them. They then go through the learning process.
It usually works like this. They see my slow methodical mixing and assume it's because I'm old. So they jump on it and before they've done a wheel barrow they're sucking air. I just point out that I want it drier or wetter or more of it quicker.
When their eyes start to cross I step in acting like I'm really disappointed and do twice as much as they have in half the time and it's perfect every shovel full. They will have not taken notes, they fail the test. This will be repeated until I get just down right frustrated or I see that look in their eye that says they're ready to listen. They then get the lesson you just got.
I can rock and roll with a decent helper with this method. Twenty two years ago I was faster. My dad was my age. I had to hustle to stay ahead of him with him mixing for me.
Yeah, for me the mixing is a trip. I like it. It feels good to work. But there is also this great truth that I can't defeat. My father was a lot more a man when he was my age than I am.
There is a secret. It's not a big one, just one.
First important thing is the wheel barrow. A construction six cubic foot one works best. That's because the sides are steep and it can hold a considerable amount.
The next thing is the mix of sand and gravel. If you go to your supply yard where you buy your sand and gravel chances are you can get remix. Remix is where the yard takes a yard of sand and mixes it with a yard of gravel. That way you don't have to be digging from two piles and trying to remember the count of what and which. A couple of points on the mix. If you have too much sand it will be physically harder to mix. But if you have too much rock you won't have good concrete just like if you have too much sand your concrete will not be strong at all. I suggest half inch or smaller gravel. It's easier to mix.
I use a square point shovel. I lay out five shovels full of rock and sand in the bottom of the wheel barrow. This is usually leveled out to some degree intentionally. Then I like to use the square point shovel and break open the bag of portland cement. It's sort of a cutting the head off of a snake affair. I want to break it open so that I can stick the shovel inside the bag. I don't open it length wise. I then take a heaping, all the other materials were loaded on the shovel heaping, shovel full of portland and I spread it out as evenly as possible over the sand and gravel.
I repeat this process until the wheelbarrow is full. Now full is different for different folks. Full for me and other professionals is heaping. I'm talking the stuff is almost falling off the sides, front, and back of the wheel barrow.
There needs to be a warning about that mentioned here. A full six cubic foot wheel barrow is going to weigh in the neighborhood of four hundred to five hundred pounds. If you're not used to handling it the only thing I can think that might be comparable would be putting on roller blades and walking along the beach at the ocean. You're gonna look silly and chances are things are going to get messy. So if you're a rookie start with a three quarter full one and then put in more as you get experienced.
I use five gallon buckets of water versus the hose and sprayer. The reason is control. I can put in exactly how much I want instantly. With the hose it's a guessing game. You can have not enough, more hose handling, or too much, add sand and gravel and cement.
You get a decent round pointed D handle shovel. Make sure it's clean. If there's part of a label, some rust, or old concrete on it you will be working twice as hard and getting half as much done. I've come to believe profanity came with fence men working with dirty shovels. Of course those observing the noise making thought it was so cute that profanity is as commonplace as bad taste these days.
I take the shovel and gently, remember it's heaping, make a small bowl at the front of the wheel barrow. I pour some water, quart or just a bit more, in the bowl. I gently mix this with the shovel. When it's done I ladle it out. I now have a larger bowl with which to operate. I pour in more water and mix more. This process is repeated always taking from the front of the wheel barrow and only mixing what I can use. I'm cutting into it sorta like eating a layered cake going from the front to the back.
There are some secrets to using the shovel for mixing. Where the professional has an advantage is he's done it wrong often enough that he doesn't have to that anymore.
The biggest mistake rookies make is trying to all the work with their shoulders and arms. If you do it right at the end of the day you should feel like you've done about a thousand too many sit ups. It's a whole body event. I like to place my thigh against the front of the wheel barrow and pull through to to myself. I push the mix back with the shovel without lifting it out of the wheel barrow and then taking another bite pull it back towards me.
I might should had ought to point out something right here and now. Rookies who get to work with me the first time don't get all this advice. I show them how I want the concrete layered into the wheel barrow. I then mix a batch or two and then hand the D handle over to them. They then go through the learning process.
It usually works like this. They see my slow methodical mixing and assume it's because I'm old. So they jump on it and before they've done a wheel barrow they're sucking air. I just point out that I want it drier or wetter or more of it quicker.
When their eyes start to cross I step in acting like I'm really disappointed and do twice as much as they have in half the time and it's perfect every shovel full. They will have not taken notes, they fail the test. This will be repeated until I get just down right frustrated or I see that look in their eye that says they're ready to listen. They then get the lesson you just got.
I can rock and roll with a decent helper with this method. Twenty two years ago I was faster. My dad was my age. I had to hustle to stay ahead of him with him mixing for me.
Yeah, for me the mixing is a trip. I like it. It feels good to work. But there is also this great truth that I can't defeat. My father was a lot more a man when he was my age than I am.