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Thread ID: 107923 2010-03-07 11:47:00 Concrete easy to do? lance4k (4644) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
864743 2010-03-08 03:47:00 add a cap of dish washing liquid to keep the water from raising to the top, help keep the water well mixed... SolMiester (139)
864744 2010-03-08 03:48:00 Yeah, right. That premix stuff can be quite fast setting, so you may wind up with a low-capacity, heavy, but very quiet wheelbarrow, just like the one down the road.

Tap water is just fine.

There's plenty of time to mix it & use it. Unless you're an old woman & take all day over it
Phil B (648)
864745 2010-03-08 04:05:00 As people say it needs to be mixed I would suggest lance4k gets a pair of boots, climbs into the hole and stamps up and down until he can't.

This would suggest that the concrete has set.
Sweep (90)
864746 2010-03-08 04:53:00 As people say it needs to be mixed I would suggest lance4k gets a pair of boots, climbs into the hole and stamps up and down until he can't.

This would suggest that the concrete has set.

Now you are giving us ideas................

www.cartoonstock.com
Terry Porritt (14)
864747 2010-03-08 05:02:00 There's plenty of time to mix it & use it. Unless you're an old woman & take all day over it
With 3 bags of rapid premix in the barrow, your "plenty" is about as generous as the average tax rebate.
R2x1 (4628)
864748 2010-03-08 06:27:00 With 3 bags of rapid premix in the barrow, your "plenty" is about as generous as the average tax rebate.

3 bags? Who said anything about 3 bags?

My ex next door neighbour built a fence using that stuff for the posts. Just about all of them are now loose & I reckon it's cos he tipped the stuff down the hole & poured the water on top. You can't mix the stuff properly with a post stuck in the middle of it
Phil B (648)
864749 2010-03-08 06:32:00 3 bags? Who said anything about 3 bags?

My ex next door neighbour built a fence using that stuff for the posts. Just about all of them are now loose & I reckon it's cos he tipped the stuff down the hole & poured the water on top. You can't mix the stuff properly with a post stuck in the middle of it

The key is to make sure you wet the hole, so that the ground doesn't soak up the water you have carefully measured for the bag of drymix. If you do this, then you don't need to worry about 1) trying to mix the concrete in a wheelbarrow first, and 2) mixing it on the hole with a post stuck in the middle.

We built a fence about 10 years ago using RapidSet for the posts, followed the instructions to the letter, and the fence is still standing solid today.
somebody (208)
864750 2010-03-08 06:38:00 The key is to make sure you wet the hole, so that the ground doesn't soak up the water you have carefully measured for the bag of drymix . If you do this, then you don't need to worry about 1) trying to mix the concrete in a wheelbarrow first, and 2) mixing it on the hole with a post stuck in the middle .

We built a fence about 10 years ago using RapidSet for the posts, followed the instructions to the letter, and the fence is still standing solid today .

Absolutely - 3 keys to successfully setting posts:

- Wet the hole

- Dig it out a little deeper than you need and backfill with builders fill (like coarse gravel) so the post has a solid surface to rest on

- Bang 4 100x4 galv nails into each face of the post (far enough in so it can still get into the hole) - this gives the post an anchor in the concrete so it doesn't slip down slightly . . . . Sounds silly, but when you add the weight of rails/palings (esp . wet timber) it can happen (usually when you dpn't do step 2!! :p
nofam (9009)
864751 2010-03-08 06:52:00 3 bags? Who said anything about 3 bags?

My ex next door neighbour built a fence using that stuff for the posts. Just about all of them are now loose & I reckon it's cos he tipped the stuff down the hole & poured the water on top. You can't mix the stuff properly with a post stuck in the middle of it
The fellow down the road with the heavy barrow "KNEW" it wouldn't mix in the ground, he had three posts, so - - .
To avoid losing the water into the surrounding ground, put a large plastic bag in the hole then put the post in position slightly above the bottom of the hole. Put in the dry mix, stir it about a bit with a thin stick, check level and height of the post, then add the recommended amount of water, and after 2 or 3 minutes give the post a couple or three medium whacks with a calibrated hammer, go have some coffee and your post is set for many years.
Detergent in the water is a good scheme especially if you are blocklaying since the wet mortar is a little more flexible, and since you use less water there is less shrinkage and a more waterproof job. Where there is a specified water amount and no visible mixing to judge how much water is needed, it could wind up giving you a watery mix with too much cement in the wrong places.
R2x1 (4628)
864752 2010-03-08 06:54:00 Even a beetle has used this stuff successfully and the fences and gates are still standing...........
and no this stuff sets faster than anticipated, mixing in a wheelbarrow is a waste of time....... and a barrow, as the over mixing can waste a barrow sadly......... not that ive done it, but yes i did pre wet the post hole and i had no probs.

:)

we beetles can do anything............well almost........:)

beetle
beetle (243)
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