concrete

[steve from staten island]

Im pouring a new foundation under my garage. I can only do a section at a time as i don't want anything to sag. Im removing the old block and footing,forming a new section and pouring. I just started doing it and was using quickcrete or ready mix. One section i did tonight i used seventeen 80lb bags. I need to just get some sand and stone delivered and get some Portland
My question is for one bag of portland how much sand and stone. Years back i had the formula with a half bag of portland and so many 5 gal buckets of sand and stone… Anybody have any knowledge or thoughts

 

[conv67bdere]

The numbers that I can remember are

1 part Portland Cenemt
2 parts sand
3 parts stone

When I mix up concrete at my house I do it by volume . . . I'm not one to buy quickrete bags . . . it takes a few to get done what I'm working on.

Good luck !

 

[monaco66coupe]

Todaythe cheap stuff is 1 to seven portland. I to six is better. More the Portland is better.

 

[Dibbons]

The "recipe" is printed on the outside of the bag on the Mexican cement I just used to pour a pad at the entrance to my two car garage. There were five different mixes with various proportions of cement, sand, gravel, and water. The pad i poured is a little larger than the garage itself and we used about two tons of cement. The less sand and water you use, the stronger the mix will be. The thinnest mix is for simple floors, and the thickest mix is for support of heavy structures. The leftover bags of cement are still at the construction site which is about twenty miles from home, so i can't read the recipes until tomorrow evening. If you still need them, let me know. I could bring a bag home with me Saturday.

Found the recipes

This is for one 50 Kilogram sack (110#) of Portland Cement:

Measurements are based on how many 5 gallon buckets

weakest mix. followed by 3 medium strengths and last but not least the strongest:

water 3
sand 8
gravel 8.5

water 2.5
sand 5.5
gravel 6.5

water 2
sand 4
gravel 6

water 1.5
sand 3.5
gravel 5

water 1.5
sand 2.5
gravel 4.5

 

[Richard Cranium]

i don't want anything to sag.

You're old, everything sags.

 

[steve from staten island]

You're old, everything sags.

when i went to home depot i was loading like eighteen 80 lb bags on a cart. The bags are on a pallet but under a shelf and its hard to get them out. One guy stopped and offered to help. Next at the check out a young home depot kid helped me push the cart to my truck and load the bags. I gave him a good tip and he was happy….. I told my wife i guess i look that old LOL

 

[Richard Cranium]

18 80 lb bags sounds like too much work to me. I don't know what it is about you, I-talians, but just about every one I know loves playing with cement!

 

[steve from staten island]

Thats true. Years back you called a mason for a job and all the workers were Italians. Now there are still some companies owned by people of Italian decent but the workers are all Mexican and from other South American countries. Hard workers and very capable

 

[hemi*guy]

18 80 lb bags sounds like too much work to me. I don't know what it is about you, I-talians, but just about every one I know loves playing with cement!

Yeah ,we are real good at making boots out of it for people that make fun of I-talians!! LOL!!!!

 

[Richard Cranium]

At least I didn't refer to I-talians as wops.

 

[hemi*guy]

At least I didn't refer to I-talians as wops.

I think we prefer GINZOS'

 

[uwss]

Pouring concrete by the bag is hands down the most expensive way; get a truck out there and pour it; block it off using a 2x4; when you are ready remove the 2x4; drill and put the steel in it and continue on. I always use 5/8" versus 3/8". Been doing this for over 30 years. The water is catalyst, the more water the weaker the concrete.

 

[hemi*guy]

Im pouring a new foundation under my garage. I can only do a section at a time as i don't want anything to sag. Im removing the old block and footing,forming a new section and pouring. I just started doing it and was using quickcrete or ready mix. One section i did tonight i used seventeen 80lb bags. I need to just get some sand and stone delivered and get some Portland
My question is for one bag of portland how much sand and stone. Years back i had the formula with a half bag of portland and so many 5 gal buckets of sand and stone… Anybody have any knowledge or thoughts

Basically what your are doing is underpinning your house,,we do basically the same thing when we excavate next to a building that the foundation is above the elevation that we need to go. If you could dig a section skip 5 or 6 feet and do another section and get a few sections ready then calling for a redi mix truck would be the best option. Keep in mind in NY 3200 PSI concrete could be anywhere from 90-110 dollars a yard and if you order less than three yards you get a 'short load charge" in my opinion if you are going to use the bags get the high strenth ready mixed and rent yourself a small electric mixer.

 

[Cranky]

Are there no places around for the weekender that will sell you a yard by the trailer load? Around here, you can buy it in a dump trailer and it's much easier that way. Your truck better be up to the task though....a yard of concrete isn't exactly light. Normal concrete is about 4000 lbs depending on how much water is in it. Whenever I'm doing it that way, I ask for a wet mix (but not too wet). It'll evaporate pretty fast in the Texas heat and with it being a bit on the wet side, it's a little easier to handle and gives you a bit more time to get a good finish. I've done it like you are before too and imo, it's much harder and a lot more work.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Actually, I must confess; I can relate to Steve's project as I did pretty much the same thing at our NH cottage 12 years ago Not to hijack Steve's thread, but when we bought the place, our basement was dirt & rock and my wife & I hand dug out as much as we could and lowered the dirt level about a foot and a half. Next, we had to get a commercial rock drill to drill holes in the granite and got some chemical rock cracker to break up the rocks. The rocks were later used to build a new stone wall on the shoreline. We then made forms around the furnace pad, water filter and around the foundation. I used my dad's old 1960's cement mixer and we mixed up well over 100 80 lb bags. It was friggin backbreaking job, but we got it done. next we had to wheelbarrow in a truckload of stone. When it came to pouring the floor, concrete under the deck and walkway down to the pier, I had that done professionally.

 

[steve from staten island]

Great replies and thanks for the advise. I have to have a good amount of dirt dug out. One guy i do some work for has Bob cats so he will do the digging. Next footings i will order some gravel and sand.
Around the mid seventies my father bought a cement mixer from Montgomery Ward. It was all heavy steel with a cast ring gear. He had a 1/2 horse motor on it that was underpowered. He poured his whole driveway with it
Years later i used it at my mother in laws home. At some point it went to Jersey and i used it at my daughters house
Its back home now. I bought a 1Horse farm duty motor from harbor freight. Now i can mix two 80lb bags at one time. Last night i was thinking of my dad and when he had that mixer. I remember when he bought it and we picked it up,can't believe its 40 years ago and that old mixer still kicks ***. My brother said after I'm done with it this time its time to part with it,he may be right

 

[Nick2317]

I poured concrete for 10 years .....if it was me Id order a truck and just put some keyway in and pour it in sections ....youll be waiting forever for it to set up using the small mixer and stuff ...

 

[kiwigtx]

Mr Cranium, is there no end to your talents? That is a great looking basement.

Steve, have you contacted the concrete companies in your area about partial loads? I know here that you can pick up the end of a load cheaper than ordering as it saves waste. Might be worth a few calls. ..you might have to wait a few days longer but if your boxing is ready it won't be a problem. Could save you money and a back operation.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Mr Cranium, is there no end to your talents? That is a great looking basement.

I am more than just a pretty face.

 

[747mopar]

I've mixed allot of concrete over the years and I've always started out by loading the mixer 12 shovels of gravel, 6 shovels of sand and 3 shovels of Portland as Kahn suggested. I stated "start out" you want to look at the gravel, if you can see the color of the stone there's not enough Portland and of coarse you need enough sand to create a nice consistency.

- - - Updated - - -

Great replies and thanks for the advise. I have to have a good amount of dirt dug out. One guy i do some work for has Bob cats so he will do the digging. Next footings i will order some gravel and sand.
Around the mid seventies my father bought a cement mixer from Montgomery Ward. It was all heavy steel with a cast ring gear. He had a 1/2 horse motor on it that was underpowered. He poured his whole driveway with it
Years later i used it at my mother in laws home. At some point it went to Jersey and i used it at my daughters house
Its back home now. I bought a 1Horse farm duty motor from harbor freight. Now i can mix two 80lb bags at one time. Last night i was thinking of my dad and when he had that mixer. I remember when he bought it and we picked it up,can't believe its 40 years ago and that old mixer still kicks ***. My brother said after I'm done with it this time its time to part with it,he may be right

I'm still using my grandpa's mixer from the 60's, it will run circles around the plastic crap they sell today.