concrete mix

JOB · Apr 20, 2010

I plan on mixing a little concrete and was wondering what a good mix is. I think I used to mix 4 parts rock and 4 parts sand and 1 part portland. Is that a good mix or should it be 3 parts rock, 3 parts sand and 1 part portland.
Thanks guys

parisspringstom · Apr 20, 2010

5 gravel 2 portland 1 sand. But some may have a different opinion

Dave Sherburne NY · Apr 20, 2010

I've always mixed it 3 gravel 2 sand and 1 cement

Anonymous-0 · Apr 20, 2010

I ditto what dave say's mike

Weldon K · Apr 20, 2010

#

# The proper mix of ingredients is determined by the intended use of the concrete.

# For foundations and retaining walls, use about 6-1/4 gallons of water for each sack of cement if the sand is damp. However, if the sand is wet, 5-1/2 gallons of water will easily do the job.

# Concrete that's mixed for pouring sidewalks, stepping stones, slabs, etc., requires about 5-3/4 gallons of water per sack of cement if the sand is damp and about 5 gallons if the sand is wet.

# If you are pouring heavy footings for walls where waterproofing is not a factor, mix the concrete with 1 part cement, 3 parts sand and 4 parts gravel.

# For sidewalks, steps, driveways, etc., use 1 part Portland cement, 2 parts sand and 3 parts gravel.

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/h2pourconcrete#ixzz0lh6QsSI6

jm. · Apr 20, 2010

Job I afraid your 4 -4-1 would be very weak. Might be alright for something like setting post or something but not good concrete. In the absence of spec the goverment(army) always used
1/2/3/ That is pretty good concrete.

Mike (WA) · Apr 21, 2010

I never heard of anyone actually measuring the water used in mixing concrete. Mixed many a yard with my dad, we always just put in water while mixing, until we had it "right". I never remember a concrete session where he didn't say, at least once, "Don't drown the miller", meaning don't put in too much water. Have no idea where that saying came from, but now that dad's gone, I try to remember to carry on the tradition when my sons help me with concrete.

bc · Apr 22, 2010

Yep Mike(wa). Same here except for quikcrete. Our old mixer wouldn't take a full bag anyway. Slit the end of a cement sack with the shovel and measured everything by the shovel full. It didn't take long to figure how much of a bucket of water to add then use the same every time. As I recall, I'd add water, then cement, then sand, then gravel but it has been a while.

eastexan · Apr 22, 2010

I had a slab poured for my shop a couple years ago, and had concrete trucked in and poured out.
But I didn't order quite enough and needed just a tiny bit more in one corner. So I added 2 or 3 bags of Sakrete that I had on hand.

But right away, I noticed that it was a different looking mix. The Sakrete wasn't as smooth and had larger gravel in it.
Maybe it's as strong as the commercial concrete, but it seemed to look inferior to me.

concrete mix

JOB

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parisspringstom

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Dave Sherburne NY

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Anonymous-0

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Weldon K

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jm.

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Mike (WA)

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bc

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eastexan

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