pouring concrete dry

[LD1]

If you compare prices you may find that having a truck come is less expensive than buying pre-mixed bags.

I mixed approximately 133 80# bags of concrete for my pole barn thinking that mixing it myself would be cheaper then having a concrete truck deliver.
Six months later, while building a new home I needed about the same amount of concrete to support a 16x24 ft. deck. Because of the size of the concrete pillers I was afraid I wouldn't be able to mix the concrete fast enough to keep part of it from drying before I was finished so I hired a truck to deliver the concrete.
Even with the extra charge for ordering under a certain amount of concrete I still came out cheaper then if I'd mixed it myself. Oh well, you know what they say about assume.

You'll never beat truck prices with pre-mixed bags. about the best you can do is break even. unless you get the really cheap stuff which isnt nearly as strong.

But you can beat the price if you buy bags of portland, sand, and gravel and mix your own. Last time I bought, a bag of portland was ~$10 a bag. For a 6-bag mix, (6 bags to a yard), thats $60. And a yard has about a ton of sand and about a ton of gravel. Sand is about $10 a ton and gravel is about $16 a ton. So for $86, you can make your own. BUT....for only about $20 a yard more, you can get a truck to deliver it already mixed:thumbsup:

Another thing I dont like about the bagged premix for larger jobs is IMO the stone is just too small.

 

[Don87]

Don't know if cheaper , but once done , the wall looks a heck of a lot better than cinder block or plain concrete wall .

8 in. x 12 in. Red Charcoal Concrete Garden Wall Block-M0404COTA181 at The Home Depot

I currently have 3 walls with the highest being 3+ feet tall and have drove my TC 30 New Holland along the edge without any movement of wall . I purchased mine at a local Masonry / brick / rock supplier . They actually make them on site so they are a little cheaper than big box stores . The link I posted is similar to what I used , but mine weigh in at 67 lbs. a piece . First layer Sucks . Pick up and lay down each block several times till it is level and pitched , but after that it goes pretty quickly , at least as long as your body holds up .:thumbsup:

Fred H.

I purchased blocks like that from Lowes. They totally disintegrated in 2 years. I personally like the ones from Pavestone, That's what I used for the retaining wall around my 11,000 gallon Koi pond.

Retaining Wall Blocks |

 

[FredH]

I personally never used Lowes or Home Depot's blocks . That is just similar to what I used . Mine are made Locally by a Company that if I not mistaken supply those same blocks to just about everybody here locally . Mine have been in place for better than 6 years and other than some discoloration from minerals in water when lawn sprinklers do their thing , they are still solid . As I stated , if you look at the one's in the Lowes link , their weight is maybe half the weight of the blocks I have . Think mine are 6" x 16" . Have made both outside and inside corners , but once completed , The look is far better than anything else .

Fred H.

 

[EddieWalker]

For a retaining wall, I agree that stacking blocks is the best way to go if it's not too high. This is what my 77 year old dad is doing by himself. He does a little bit at a time, and when he feels like it, he goes back and does a little bit more.

These are from Lowes.

Eddie

 

[/pine]

You'll never beat truck prices with pre-mixed bags. about the best you can do is break even. unless you get the really cheap stuff which isnt nearly as strong.

But you can beat the price if you buy bags of portland, sand, and gravel and mix your own. Last time I bought, a bag of portland was ~$10 a bag. For a 6-bag mix, (6 bags to a yard), thats $60. And a yard has about a ton of sand and about a ton of gravel. Sand is about $10 a ton and gravel is about $16 a ton. So for $86, you can make your own. BUT....for only about $20 a yard more, you can get a truck to deliver it already mixed:thumbsup:

Another thing I dont like about the bagged premix for larger jobs is IMO the stone is just too small.

FWIW...

General rule of thumb for mixing concrete by hand is "1-2-3"...meaning one part portland, two parts fine aggregate (sand) and three parts course aggregate...this will give you roughly a 2000# compression PSI with enough water to test with a 4" slump...adjust the portland/water ratio to increase the compressive strength...

in cold weather climates is is recommended to add an air entraining agent
When mixing by hand the "1-2-3" rule make it easy to remember and using a pail or bucket to measure helps

 

[CurlyDave]

I know there are going too be some comments because i always here you can't pour dry concrete for fence poles but my 2.5 acres has a 6 ft fence around it coming on 15 years know & is solid as a rock, anyway what i'am getting @ is, i want to pour a retaing wall 4 inch thick with rebar & about 25 ft long & probally 3 ft tall & was considering pouring it dry & was wondering if anyone has any experience with this i want to put a car port next to my shop with gravel base to park a boat but it slopes away & will need to raise the outer side up 3 ft to make a leval pad, will frame up & pour H20 as i fill & probally keep a sprinkler on the forms to keep wet for a couple of days any exp. doing this???

I seriously doubt that a 4" thick by 3' high retaining wall is strong enough to work, no matter how much rebar you put in it.

Most retaining walls have a base or foundation which is much wider than the wall. Even the stack block walls usually require a base of 3/4"- gravel, well compacted.

In most places, walls under 4' do not require engineering, so you can build whatever you want. But, when I built a 5' retaining wall to hold the earth for driveway, I used stack block, but both read the brochures on how to do it with that brand of block, and had an engineer design it. Select a brand of stack block and look them up on the internet. Most have a wealth of information on how to do it right.

Another thing to consider is that randomly mixing blocks of various colors produces a very pleasing look.

Higher quality block than Lowes or Home Depot carries will cost a few $ more, but will give a much better end result.

Any way you look at it, a well made retaining wall is going to be hours of backbreaking work. Spend a little more and get a lot more.

 

[Midniteoyl]

You'll never beat truck prices with pre-mixed bags. about the best you can do is break even. unless you get the really cheap stuff which isnt nearly as strong.

But you can beat the price if you buy bags of portland, sand, and gravel and mix your own. Last time I bought, a bag of portland was ~$10 a bag. For a 6-bag mix, (6 bags to a yard), thats $60. And a yard has about a ton of sand and about a ton of gravel. Sand is about $10 a ton and gravel is about $16 a ton. So for $86, you can make your own. BUT....for only about $20 a yard more, you can get a truck to deliver it already mixed:thumbsup:

Another thing I dont like about the bagged premix for larger jobs is IMO the stone is just too small.

Expensive truck prices.. last yard I bought was only $80, and the driver helped me spread it.. The place here has 'specials' on Saturdays for residential low quantity pours. Ask them..

 

[crazyal]

I had a few bags of quickcrete left outside but never got wet. They sat for years. They set up hard but they didn't have the same strength.

 

[handirifle]

What's wrong with concrete "H" blocks set on a solid reinforced foundation? I did mine that way. It has the 8" wide blocks, with mortared joints and rebar set in the concrete foundation that the blocks slipped over. All openings were back filled with concrete (wet), and it was capped with used bricks, perpendicular to the blocks.

Oh, I must mention i did not mortar between the ends of the blocks, they were butt joined, but each row was mortared. This allows the excess water to dran through to the planters in front of the walls. It works very well too.

 

[vtsnowedin]

What's wrong with concrete "H" blocks set on a solid reinforced foundation? I did mine that way. It has the 8" wide blocks, with mortared joints and rebar set in the concrete foundation that the blocks slipped over. All openings were back filled with concrete (wet), and it was capped with used bricks, perpendicular to the blocks.

Oh, I must mention i did not mortar between the ends of the blocks, they were butt joined, but each row was mortared. This allows the excess water to dran through to the planters in front of the walls. It works very well too.

Nothing wrong with what you describe just a finished appearance that won't please most head landscapers AKA "She who must be obeyed".