Help! 3000 Pound Concrete Mix

[LWFrisk]

I was reciently given a 6 inch tapered 30 foot aluminum flag pole. The cast mounting flange was broken (had been hit by a car) and a couple of dents within 24 inches of the bottom. I have removed the flange, Pressed the major dents out and have put together a ground sleeve made from an 8 inch 5ft long sleeve with a framework of re-bar, dug a hole 3ft x 3ft x 3ft with a form exting upward from the ground surface that is 2ft square and 2.5 ft above the ground. These dimensions exceed specifications for the manufacture's installation instructions for a "sleeve" mounted flag pole. I purchased a small cement mixer; concrete grade sand, 3/4 in rock and Portland cement. The supplier of the material said to use a mix of 1 part Portland, 2 parts rock and 4 parts sand. Everything on the internet says 1 part Portland, 2 parts sand and 4 parts rock. What is the correct ratio of Portland, sand and rock 3000 pound concrete? I will attempt to attach a photo of the exposed form for the flag pole base.

 

[tc35dforme]

I vote for 1 cement, 2 sand, and 4 rock... I remeber 1, 2, 3 as a kid for cement, sand, and rock. A little more cement will make it a bit stronger. Important part is watch the water. You want enough to fully hydrate the mix, but too much will weaken the mix. Use angular rock and a coarse grade of sand ( not talc like stuff ). Final product wants a pretty stiff slump. You want to be able to plop a flower pot full upside down, remove the pot, and the pile will hold its shape. If its too loose ( high slump ) the aggregate can separate and you will loose strength and risk spalling off from the top.

Also, make sure you steel trowel the top ( after the cure has begun ) to seal the surface and prevent moisture from 'eating' the concrete. Start this process when the mix is firm to the fingertip. Mist on a bit of water if it gets away from you.

Also Also, cover the pour when complete to slow the cure rate. If its particularly warm or sunny, an occasional misting with the hose will do a lot to help the cure.

 

[yooperdave]

The purpose of the sand is so the grains fit between the voids of the larger aggregate. Hopefully your large aggregate is not all one size, but uniformly graded - minimizing the quantity of sand.

I would also think that 2 parts sand to 4 parts large aggregate sounds more acceptable.

If in doubt, you could always purchase premixed cement/aggregate in bags, add water and mix.

Good Luck

Yooper Dave

 

[Egon]

Adding a little extra portland will not hurt and it's not all that expensive.

For the home builder the cost of a few bags of portland cement is inconsequential. For a plant producing many yards of concrete per day it is a significant factor on the profit margin.

Egon

 

[LWFrisk]

Thanks To All Of You That Responded With Help!

I ended up mixing the concrete with one part Portland, two parts concrete grade sand and two parts 3/4 inch rock. I purchased a Harbor Freight Mixer that was on sale. It worked great, pretty light duty, but mixed the concrete well.

Last summer, I stopped at the local Taco Bell for a Burrito. Their flag pole had been hit and knocked down the previous evening. Happend that the manager waited on me and when he asked what I wanted, I replied "Thought you might have a flagpole for sale cheap". He said to "take it, just get it out of here as soon as you can". Next day, I took the trailer and picked it up. A little research on the internet valued the pole at about $2000. I removed the broken part remains of the cast aluminum mount, found an 8 inch steel pipe 5 feet long that I made up sleve (next post), put together a re-bar framework, dug a hole 36 x 36 x 42, built a form to extend 2.5 feet above the ground (makes up for the 28 inches of pole damage (most of which I repaired).

It worked out very well so some time in the next couple of weeks, I will set up the pole. I have made up a boom pole to mount on my John Deere 420/Johnson Loader to help set up the pole.

I will post more photos then. (Photo of sleve/form on next post.

 

[LWFrisk]

This is the sleeve and form. I had started mixing when my wife took the photo.

I will post more photos when I set the pole up.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( 6 inch tapered 30 foot aluminum flag pole. )</font>

Just curious, how do you make sure that the pole is perfectly plumb once you stand it up? Since it has a tapered design to it you can't use a level to plumb it. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[LWFrisk]

StanleyinMd

The pole has a "rotating truck" (Pully Setup) that the lanyard runs through for raising, holding and lowering the flag. This is like a built in plumbbob. A bit of weight tied to one of the lines should be the same distance from the pole all the way around the pole.

The attached photo was taken Monday morning after "de-forming" the base. My wife and mother-in-law gave me their approval for the work. It will be covered with veneer stone. The cement seems to be curing nicely. I have a blanket covering it and wet down several times a day.

More photos when I rase the pole in the next couple of weeks.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

What kind of rock are you going to use Leo?

Are you going to the fabricated stuff that's easy and looks so good or are you going to use something native or exotic?

This could be fun!

One of the things I like to do in these situations is put in a planter. I like to make a bowl in a rock and then put it in the wall. The bowl sits out and can either have a plant in a pot in the bowl or the bowl can have something like moss roses growing, to give the wall some color, naturally. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

(wife says I get carried away sometimes /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif)

 

[LWFrisk]

Harv

<font color="blue">What kind of rock are you going to use Leo?
</font>
I have done a lot of building with wood and steel but my masonery experience is pretty limited. I had planned to use Eldorado Stone (probably their Alterwoond Stacking Stone).

This is a photo of the Alterwood Stacking Stone

 

[LWFrisk]

Harv

<font color="blue"> This could be fun! </font>

You got my wife's attention. (She had a back injury at work over two years ago and is usually in a lot of pain. They still have not found the problem.) Just previous to her injury, she got interested in making "things" from cement. She made some figurines, flower pots, etc.. She is very artistic in carving and molding things. Her pain has kept her from persuing her interests. Don't be surprised if she also answers your post as she too has become an avid reader of what you write. You are the topic of many of our conversations amoung family and friends. Many comments like "Harv could do it", or "How would Harv do it" or "Ask Harv, he would know how" come up all of the time.

She has viewed your photo album and is always saying "you could build me one like Harv made". She specially liked your flower pot that you made out of the round ball and the rocks that had planters in them.

Here is what the Pole Base looks like this morning in the rain. The gray covers are Electrical Boxes. I plann on putting a spot light to display the flag, a street number on the street side and a flood light toward the house.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I like your choice of stone. We see some of that style out here. It has the "no mortar" look which ain't bad.

Check around amongst your acquaintances and business contacts to find if you have someone that cores concrete etc. If you don't then you're facing either having a professional service do it, formula is diameter times depth times dollar amount, cut some holes in some of your larger stones for holding vases. Or you can rent a wet drill and the sizes of bits you want.

What is interesting for me about coring is how the bits have to have different diamond content for the different hardness of stone or concrete. If you have a bit with a too coarse a cut rate then it won't do squat on a really hard surface. And if you use a too fine a cut rate on a soft stone it will fill up and not cut. It's comparable to using a rip blade to cut plywood or cutting studs with a plywood blade.

Let's pretend you use your stacked stone. But the boss lady would like to have a couple of plants on each side and maybe two to three on the front, just for grins you understand.

The stone doesn't like impact drilling. It isn't like granite who can take an impact drill and dance with it all day for fun and then wonder what's up for after dinner. So masonary bits with just water and a regular drill is the safest way to drill for pins in that kind of stone.

Pins? you ask. Let's pretend you have seven large stones drilled for vases or pots. You want them to protrude out from the rock wall and just stand there looking good, mostly because no one else in the neighborhood has such a thing, probably the best reason in the world to do something.

So very carefully you take the edge that's going against the concrete and you drill three--eighths or half inch holes into the side of your rock about two inches deep. You put rebar or all thread rods into the holes with about two or three inches sticking out. I like to use a hydraulic cement like quick rock, pour stone, etc as an adhesive to keep the pins in place.

When you've got your stone built up to where the boss lady would like to have a planter stone placed you use the protuding pins to mark the concrete. You drill matching holes and use hydraulic cement again to attach your planter stone to the wall.

It's a lot of extra work for just a little effect. But down the road when you walk out and see a nice clay pot sitting in the rock work with moss roses or some other gorgeous flowered plant dripping down looking absolutely gorgeous, well, it wasn't really that much work at all. And it is the only one on the block. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

And it wouldn't take too much to take the principles I've laid out to disguise your light for the flag with the same kind of technique. A small halogen low voltage spot on three sides just coming out of nowhere would be a very special look.

Like I said, this could be fun.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

This boss lady enthusiastically agrees! We've got about 10 large landscape boulders around the yard as well as Leo's flagpole base, and I've always wanted to have them sprouting plants from the top or sides. Leo's going to be real busy drilling with his rotohammer drill.............hehehe
At least I'm not asking him to dig more holes for a while, right?

 

[LWFrisk]

My friend Mark Owen was working across the street with his big backhoe so he stopped over an put the flag pole in the sleeve base. The attached photo is of the Pole, the backhoe, Mark, his helper and I lowering the pole into the sleeve. Next post is of the pole setting up straight.

The pole weighs less than 100 pounds, but it was to high for my John Deere 420 and boom pole to reach. When I tried to approach it straight on (30 foot of pole attached straight out in front of the buket and attached to the boom pole) and curl it up with the bucket, the left rear wheel would start to lift -- time for a heavier tractor.

 

[LWFrisk]

The Pole is standing straight and proud. As soon as the final anchoring is complete, it will be lighted and proudly carry our flag. I will post more photos when I get the new stacking brick veneer in place.

 

[Spencer]

Now thats a flag pole! Did you check to see if there are any ordinances regarding height in your area?

 

[19th_VA]

You kiddin me? He lives in California where the regulators have regulators! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[CTyler]

Noooooooo....Mr. regulator thats not a flag pole. Thats just the holder for the boom pole on my tractor /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[LWFrisk]

I had some very bad news tonight. My friend, Mark Owen, the guy that helped me raise the Flagpole with his Backhoe was killed in a trench cavein at 2:00 today. He was working on the footings for a new house across the street the day we set the pole up. I stopped by and asked him for some help, he stopped on the way home and did it for me. Didn't want pay for doing it. Why does it have to happen to the nice guys. Here is a link to the news link that covered the accident
News Coverage

The attached photo my wife took of Mark while we were raising the pole.

 

[Rick Jay]

Leo,

Sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. This is a very sad story. I will keep him and his family and friends in my prayers.

~Rick