Concrete Question

Concrete Helmet

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Irony....I know...:headslap:
Anyway I haven't messed with concrete much before, maybe 2 or 3 times for fence post or driveway patch but I recently had a situation that made it necessary to fill in a spot on the property and the 40# bag of Qwikcrete didn't fill it quite as high as I wanted it. It was after 4.30pm when I realized this problem but I really needed a beer(or 8) so I put my sh!t away and drank....Now what I'm wondering is if I go buy another sack of crete can I mix it up and pour it over the stuff already in the hole? Will it just dry on top of the other stuff and make 2 separate layers or will the 2 bind with each other?

I've also read somewhere that some fence guys just pour dry concrete mix in the open hole and the concrete mix will absorb the moisture from the soil and set itself ....Any truth to this?
 

Concrete Helmet

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This forum is screwed up tonight...I put this in the right GDed section and it ended up here. Is there a mod on this board anymore?
 

Concrete Helmet

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Negative.
I'd be happy to help keep this place straight, but Ox is Supreme leader and has made his ruling
Are you sure? I would pay a great deal to have the mod password....and besides I doubt anyone would know....I mean of the current mods 1 is admittedly useless...one is usually 5x more inebriated than me right now and the other is probably peddling his Star Wars action figures on his new Youtube channel as we speak....:headslap:
 

crosscreekcooter

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Irony....I know...:headslap:
Anyway I haven't messed with concrete much before, maybe 2 or 3 times for fence post or driveway patch but I recently had a situation that made it necessary to fill in a spot on the property and the 40# bag of Qwikcrete didn't fill it quite as high as I wanted it. It was after 4.30pm when I realized this problem but I really needed a beer(or 8) so I put my sh!t away and drank....Now what I'm wondering is if I go buy another sack of crete can I mix it up and pour it over the stuff already in the hole? Will it just dry on top of the other stuff and make 2 separate layers or will the 2 bind with each other?

I've also read somewhere that some fence guys just pour dry concrete mix in the open hole and the concrete mix will absorb the moisture from the soil and set itself ....Any truth to this?

You used a sack of concrete to fill in a low spot in the yard?
 

crosscreekcooter

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mail box post...

You could probably just fill it the rest of the way with dirt. A small sack of concrete weighs 60 pounds. But yes you could pour another sack into the hole, bonding isn't an issue. Nd it isn't called drying, the process is a chemical reaction causing hydration.
@Concrete Helmet - by the way, the mailbox should be set at 44" to the floor of the box.
 

Concrete Helmet

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You could probably just fill it the rest of the way with dirt. A small sack of concrete weighs 60 pounds. But yes you could pour another sack into the hole, bonding isn't an issue.
It is a post supporting 3 boxes so I went a little deeper and wider with the hole(that's what she said)...thanks for the confirmation.
 

Concrete Helmet

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u could probably just fill it the rest of the way with dirt. A small sack of concrete weighs 60 pounds. But yes you could pour another sack into the hole, bonding isn't an issue. Nd it isn't called drying, the process is a chemical reaction causing hydration.
@Concrete Helmet - by the way, the mailbox should be set at 44" to the floor of the box.
I understand that it's a good idea to have a small mound of concrete just a hair above the surface where the post goes in to keep water from puddling/settling and prematurely rotting the base of the post. I know it sounds like overkill but we have to have 3 boxes at our property since technically the cottages are considered 2 separate apartments...some weird postal thing and our old boxes were built into a small concrete block and brick veneer structure that is on the new neighbors property(used to be part of our lot)....
 

Detroitgator

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You could probably just fill it the rest of the way with dirt. A small sack of concrete weighs 60 pounds. But yes you could pour another sack into the hole, bonding isn't an issue. Nd it isn't called drying, the process is a chemical reaction causing hydration.
@Concrete Helmet - by the way, the mailbox should be set at 44" to the floor of the box.
Coincidentally, I set my post 44" from the floor of the box as well.
 

crosscreekcooter

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Sealing the bottom of the post before you set it is actually a better idea. Water will still travel down the post between the sides and the concrete as it doesn't make a waterproof bond. Termites will probably eat into the post before it rots from water.
Well consolidated concrete with a relatively high cement to water ratio while not damp proof will resist water (almost waterproof) but it doesn't bond tightly to wood, that is unless you don't want it to. Hydraulic cement is used to make concrete surfaces and cracks water proof by parging with it. It has a higher cement ratio to water and aggregate.
 
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Detroitgator

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Sealing the bottom of the post before you set it is actually a better idea. Water will still travel down the post between the sides and the concrete as it doesn't make a waterproof bond. Termites will probably eat into the post before it rots from water.
Well consolidated concrete with a relatively high cement to water ratio while not damp proof will resist water (almost waterproof) but it doesn't bond tightly to wood, that is unless you don't want it to. Hydraulic cement is used to make concrete surfaces and cracks water proof by parging with it. It has a higher cement ratio to water and aggregate.
Coincidentally... no, nevermind.
 

Concrete Helmet

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Hydraulic cement is used to make concrete surfaces and cracks water proof by parging with it. It has a higher cement ratio to water and aggregate
I used the stuff one time to re set a fence post....it got hot and then hardened in the bucket by the time I ran to the store to get beer....:lol:
 

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