My father is a stone mason. Has been for decades. He said the biggest problem is that you now have no way to know if the bottom is getting any water. He said it’s like when you make cake mix. You don’t just keep adding wet ingredients to the top or the top is gonna get soggy and the bottom’s gonna stay dry. You’re likely gonna have a firm top but a crumbly bottom. No one’s saying you should experiment, but there’s a reason cement is thoroughly mixed. If it takes you 19 to fully mix a wet mixture (which is a long damn time in his eyes), imagine what NOT doing that is gonna lead to with your dry mix.
We recently had to fill in he air vents on our foundation. First mistake was mixing one bag for a job he knew took two. It takes about 90 seconds to mix.
Your bottom will get water it will wick water out of the ground and if you feel you haven’t had any rain there isn’t any there is. But you can mist the ground first, then as long as you keep misting the top it will cure all the way through. I have seen a dry poor 6 inch’s thick you could drive on.
@@lonewolftech trust you? Have you done any work with cement? That top layer is the only layer that is hardened I can guarantee that. That water soaks down but a certain point it stops and starts to dry applying water again will do nothing bc the top is already hard.
Considering adding more water will worsen the comprehensive strenght of the concrete mixture, you need little amount of water for the hydration reaction to occur But let us see the result video whether this is concrete proof or not 🧐
Theres also bonding reaction that happens. If you look at concrere under a micrscope, when properly cured, the fibers spiderweb out and locks the cement in place. Its actually really interesting to see under a microscope. You dont get the same reaction in the fibers drysetting.
Water cement ratio determines strength. Not enough or too little water lowers the conrete strength. For bagged mixes, the instructions on the bag will give a measured amount of water for that bag which generally hits tje highest breaking point.
I work in the cement industry in a laboratory. We test the compressive and flexural strengths, as well as the tensile adhesion of our cement products. I've never tested a prism from a 'dry pour' method. I imagine it's terrible but I'd love to try it and get some numbers.
@@malcymackay6155 Do you know what's in this bag of cement or what kind of product it is? I'm not sure what ratio of materials to use if I was to test it. We usually make premium cement products for DIY and Construction such as self levelling compounds or tile adhesives and such, but I have the means to make anything.
I've done both. The dry-pour is great for little jobs like pavers, very light duty slabs, etc. However, mixing is the most reliable (and sturdy) because you know it's getting the correct moisture at all levels - especially if the thickness is higher.
Yeah, the wet mix might have taken you longer to pour, but once poured, leveled and smoothed, you were done. For your work shop, you clearly stated you had to return for several days after to add water to the surface of your slab. That time adds to the job as well. With the mixed concrete, you know that water has evenly saturated the concrete all the way through, once the top hardens on your dry poor, wetting it down a few days after doesn’t guarantee water will make it down to any unsaturated powder below the surface.
100% spot on. Also, constency matters during the pour. Want it stiffer if you're on a slope. I dont see the dry pour method working well at all on a steep driveway. At all.
The reason a dry pour works well with fence posts is that the ground surrounding it can transfer enough moisture from rain or watering to penetrate the three or four inches of concrete mix that incases the post. When you pour a sizable slab, the ability of ground moisture from rain saturation or watering, may not be enough to wick its way to the center of the slab.
The reason you keep wetting slabs with the wet pour is to keep the top from hardening up first. Because then it makes it difficult to evaporate the water below the surface. The idea is to mist the top just enough to keep it from curing. You don't want to add too much or it will never cure because you are adding as much or more than being evaporated. This method helps the concrete cure more evenly. It can take years for concrete to cure fully sometimes.
There is what is called a slump test. It one of the the parameters it tests for is water content in the concrete. It's why concrete isn't poured dry on high rise and is mixed with water. Your dry mix may be faster, but when you add up how many times you have to replace that slab because it broke up, I think mixing with water will win out in the end
Indeed. I bought a house with a shed full of quick set concrete that was likely two years old. I used it for fence posts where gravel would have likely sufficed. I certainly would not have used it for anything else.
For a dry pour, wouldn’t it be an advantage to wet the soil first. So the concrete can pull water from the bottom too. I think I would have also mist sprayed after first bag. Then added second.
@@SitNSpinRecords it doesn’t however. It may seem logical but I assure you it doesn’t because I have done the dry technique and it works great. I’m 42 year old a maintenance supervisor that has worked for a concrete company for about 2 years in my 20’s and that’s were I learned it and have used it too many times to count. But your idea of spraying between bags works very well too. Actually better. Sorry if I misunderstood the first part. I started typing this and couldn’t go back to recheck what you wrote :p
No don't prewet!! you want the water to migrate down, not up!! Otherwise the bottom will actually start curing before watering is done. Rule #1 is to forget everything you know about doing wet pours!! It's why most pro who try it mess it up! They think they know better and keep trying to "fix" the process!
@@professorg8383 I just watched a dry pour video where a side crumbled off while checking results, not even mixed, just dust, which makes me think spraying in-between bags would work best too.
It’s faster in the long run. On a dry pour you’re gonna have to come back to it several times. The traditional way, you lay it and it does all the work for you.
@@lucascoxe1481 Doing things one way because “that’s how we’ve always done it” is a fallacy. If there’s a better way to do it you should absolutely do it that way.
You claim this, but he had to come back to it it took like 10 seconds each time. He poured this slab, misted a few times, it cured all the way through and he was able to jump on it with no issues.
Fortunately this is 10 trillion less the risk & a chesp easy fix if it dont hold up. Stfu grunts. Bunch of 18$ an/hr mudders giving a shitt what a homeowner does.
I dry poured a 12x12 slab for my little shop, 4 inches thick, was religious about watering and actually kept it wet under plastic for 3 days. Slab has no issues and doesn’t have a crack 3 years later. I used zero reinforcement. Also worth noting, I live in the Deep South. Risk of hard freeze is minimal and I don’t run heavy equipment on it. That said, I have a 125 Gallon Aquaponics system on it and an ATV. It’s holding up perfect
The dry pour is definitely faster but it unfortunately isn’t as strong and suffers from air holes making parts of the slab weak, this happens as the cement drys and is the reason for the wet mix being the more common method as this minimises it. Like most things in life the easy way usually isn’t the best way.
@@fizzinsoda being that you can’t see how many air holes there are it will most likely crack over time regardless of weight. But 2000 pounds will destroy either.
Listen, I’ve tried both. And used both for different reasons. One time a client asked for “semi-removable”stepping stones in her pathway. So we did the dry concrete and sprayed water on top. This was strong on the top and sides for the most part, however the center was not as strong as the ones we had premixed. It came up easier than the ones we premixed too. I would assume that the top solidifies and dries before the center/bottom has a chance to get decently wet and stick to the other powder particles
Concrete is porous and water will soak right through. The usual problem with partially mixed concrete, is that the powder is not weight bearing, the the set concrete will crack. If you leave the pad long enough it will eventually entirely harden. If you want to do your weird trick, use gravel, or sand, instead of uncured concrete. As to the idea of powdered concrete on top of a foundation, why would you do this? The foundation is intended to protect the wood and other materials of your structure from the earth. To do this, it requires a secure connection wherever the two meet. Powdered concrete would interfere with that mechanical connection, imo.
I just watched this video and don't know nothing about wet concrete but my opinion is that you follow the instructions thoroughly because the manufacturer engineers already did all the years of R & D in the product and after years of development they know what's best👌
I think the issue is with how you're measuring the time. You're counting the time you're actively doing something, everyone else is counting the time until you don't have to do anything. The wet pour takes 30 minutes. The dry takes hours.
@@AnarexicSumo Oh? So, when someone asks, "how long will it take to build the house?" You don't tell them the date the house should be done, but the number of hours of actual work it should take?
@AnarexicSumo "how long to drywall this room"? "About 2 hours including finishing" "So it'll be done today, right"? "😅" "So... it'll be done today... right..?" Since it seems you have limited understanding of these jobs I'll explain, it'll only take about 30 minutes to hang it, then another 20-30 to mud, then you have to let it dry, typically giving it almost a full day, then come back to finish and touch up, let it dry again, come back and give it the final dust off on the 3rd day.
Look… cutting corners to get things done faster can cause shoddy work that can fail, or not last as long. Its better to take extra time to do the job right the first time to make your investment of time, money and effort not be wasted. I would not want to have dry pockets of cement powder that stay that way under that sealed surface. Thats the big issue. If you are bent on using that dry pour method, consider really soaking in the ground and forms in the pour area first so that the cement can pull in that moisture and mist the surface frequently so that the water can seep in from the surface more too.
My dad built a fence and poured dry concrete in the hole and sprayed it. The fence stayed there until we tore it down almost 20 years later. But when we pulled the posts up, they were separated from the concrete and the bottoms were basically clean. The 2 posts my brother poured where he actually mixed it were stuck solid. The dry method is probably great if you aren't putting any stress on your pads, but I wouldn't trust it to hammer an anvil on man. I hope it works out for you though bro
@rkizzle6126 yeah, we had like 2 feet of post hole that he filled with concrete iirc. I just remember him flooding it with water once and calling it good, but I was a kid then, so I mightve missed a step or two lol
If your way was better or preferred, rest assured that it would have been printed on the bag! If the strength of your concrete surpasses the factory methods, I would be extremely surprised. Faster is not always better!
Eh I’ve never met anyone who mixes fucking quickCrete for non structural products…. They always put it and satiate it with water and I’ve never seen it have any issues. Takes longer to dry but works just fine. There literary isn’t much difference…
Faster isn't always better, but it could be good enough depending on application (very limited & not load bearing or expecting decades of life out of the slab).
He’s not saying that dry is faster in regards to it should be the standard, just testing the theory to see which one would be actually stronger and time efficient.
The spraying takes at least 1.5 each subsequent spraying because want to soak the top, which has hardened. Said took 10 more sprays=15 min. + the initial 3 = 18. Saved 1 min ONCE at the hose each time, but you arent accounting for 10 MORE DAYS OF IT ON YOUR TO-DO LIST, mindshare, etc. saved a min, extended project time by over a week. So overall, the cost is more.
It depends on what you need the slab for. If this is for a path, or to hold a landscaping feature it should work fine, but if you are consistently moving anything over a few hundred lbs on it the dry pour is going to crack way sooner than the wet mix.
Large and small aggregate and sand should be completely covered with the portland cement paste to form a continuous matrix. Wet mixing is the best way of assuring this. BTW, concrete needs at least 21 to 28 day moist cure to reach optimal strength. Don't let it dry. Once set, keep it moist as long as you can.
With a wet pour its all activated evenly. With a dry pour the top layer activates first and the concrete underneath takes longer. To see which is faster you need to see which is totally solid first! The water doesn't dry out as such, it bonds with the mix!
The dry pour has zero strength 👈👎👎👎 no thing to do with TIME 👈🧚♂️ Speak to an engineer and he will explain it in simple , Terms !!! Leave Construction to Construction workers as Shortcuts means major Structural Failures 🎉
I think the water will not pinitrat down far enough. So, the concrete slab will only be the very top layer. You can flip them over to check this out. The one you mixed the water will be solid.
It'll never be the same as mixing it. Concrete is supposed to dry from the inside out. Hence the cream on the top. Without that heat it won't be the same... I've done dry pours on posts and when you pull them out they aren't even half as strong as if you did it correctly and you did it to a 4" slab. No bueno. Not at my house that I plan on having last my whole life.
The hardest concrete can be found on boat ramps that cure underwater. Concrete undergoes a crystalline process when hardening, and must be wet. Many architects specify spreading burlap on a troweled slab and sprinklers kept running on it for at least two weeks.
thanks for showing the result and verifying how the faster method turned out just as sturdy as the mix method. and how you didn't have to spray it multiple times
Don’t know why you got me scrolling down all these comments but the fact you acknowledge each one shows a very respectful, caring and humble person. All the best my man much love
What he said .. and thanks for the step by step adding links to see all of it I've been thinking about a dry pour and like you everyone swears it won't work ... Thanks for making the decision easier for me ... I'll add rebar for longevity and threat the concrete when it's done 👍
I do see where this could be useful, something fast in front of a shed not a lot of weight on it or no structural concerns but should consider laying in 2" wet it good then 2 on top to make sure it all gets water.
@@chrisstockwell9235 Wouldn't it be easier to just wet it ALL first, pour it, and then leave it forever ?! Ya know like , mix the cement as it's supposed to be done ? Doing 2 inches at a time and having to "rinse and repeat" is the literal definition of RETARDING something.
I set about 25 4x4 fence posts dry. 3 days later, I took off the braces, and half of them moved. I had to clean up and start over. Cost me 3 days labor x2 guys. Never again.
What was the compressive strength from a cube test, and cost per m3? I imagine that the conventional wet mix with appropriate aggregate and vibration would win.
I am with you he honestly didn’t really do anything in his so called dry poor. I’ve poured concrete for just around 5 to 7 years now and I can tell you right now just by sprinkling a little bit of water on top isn’t going to make the concrete cure and do what it supposed to do so I can expect him to be redoing that concrete in about five or six months
@@HunterBidenscrackcan you get monkeys to design and pour concrete foundations for buildings? Footings for bridges? Reinforced concrete beams? It’s not at all easy, especially when you consider the effort put into designing and laying forms. Vertical components you need to get creative on. Crawl back to your hole at least this guy builds infrastructure that we all use. What do you do?
Ive done dry pour multiple times. Just depends on what your doing it for. If its nothing crazy, you got good dirt and its not structural you should be fine.
@@kenburrell3825 that can work. A neat thing ive seen a few times is where people make walls out of concrete bags that they just pour water on. Its not the most structural thing ever but if thats not a problem the aesthetic is actually kinda nice. You can google some good examples.
The speed issue is in how long till it is usable IMO. The wet pour will have most of its strength by day 7. The dry pour will probably take nearly a month and probably won't get as strong permanently. I have never seen test data for it though. The quality will be hard to control too as you don't know how wet the inside gets. That makes testing it difficult
@@SamuraiDuck735yep here in America we can say whatever we want and we the people decide what’s true to us or hopefully if you’re smart you research yourself. So yes. Thank god for free speech or we would have people like you trying to censor Ya damn democrat
You said in the original video that you sprayed it 10 times. Make sure you add that time into the equation. Then test the samples and see which slab is stronger, higher quality concrete. Factor that in as well.
You should be soaking the ground first. It will draw much of the needed moisture from the surrounding soil. This method works especially well in areas that get frequent rainfall. If you’re in an arid area, I would recommend a wet pour. Also, this is for a slab that won’t have heavy objects in it… like a picnic area or possibly a shed.
The relative humidity in the area where this is done will affect the outcome considerably. I don't think this would have the same results in Arizona as someone in Alabama. Places where humidity exceeds 70% daily (tropical) will probably have the success as the ground is often damp. Bags of quickset turned hard, without rain, under a tarp in 2 weeks in my backyard. Couldn't be broken with a hammer, so whatever is dry inside is safe at this point. Been walking on those "bags" for years now. Put them to use as stepping stones.
I like dry pour concrete because I don't have to mess up any buckets, wagons, totes, containers, etc. It's also quicker. When my sister and I needed to get a mailbox up, dry pour set in 30 minutes after a little portion of water. 🎉
As a person who lives in a Super humid climate, I have seen many a solid bag of Quickset. They seem prone to breaking,but that might be the rounded shape doesn't support itself. Interested to see your testing rubric and results.
Rounded is stronger then square problem is all the air particles something hardening from no mix and only a mist topical solution or humidity will always be inferior. But realistically rounded objects are always stronger.
I'm pretty sure to have the same strength as a wet pour concrete you would have to do it four times as deep with a dry poor because you only get 25% of the strength in a dry poor I use voice texting I hope it came out already
I would think the only problem with a dry pour is if it rains would the ground under the dry pour get wet enough to make the whole slab settle in an unlevel fashion/possibly crack the dry pour slab. Would love to hear how this goes
I'm no cement expert but with how thoroughly you smoothed the top of the "dry pour" gently misting the top seems like it wouldn't allow the water to penetrate all the way through the slab to allow the firming agents to activate. Mixing the cement seems more tedious but it allows you to ensure that the mixture gets most or all of the firming agent activated and creates a solid foundation.
Well I just watched the series and although slightly weaker when drilling and chipped slightly more when hit with the chipping hammer it still supported being drove over with an F-150
setting concrete is a chemical reaction between the water and the concrete powder. the stronger concrete is created by extending the drying time, commonly by covering the concrete with a plastic sheet and leaving for a few days.
I pour concrete electrical duct banks for underground conduit runs and underground storm sewer junctions. I pour it and backfill over same day. Maybe let it set up for a couple hours but that's it. That concrete is hard has hell to demolish later on that's for sure.
If your concrete is taking 'a few days' to set, you have done something horribly wrong. You should be able to stand on your concrete within a few hours, it should be fully cured within 36 hours. Concrete is not stronger just because it takes longer to set, i can put calcium in my mix, pour it, and have it set in less than 2 hours, its still just as strong as a mix i put retarder in that takes 12 hours to set. Nothing you do to concrete will make it take a few days to set. If its not set after 12 hours, its not gonna set up.
@@Justaguyuguys concrete does not "fully cure" in 36 hours lol. another confidently incorrect mouth breathing contractor. the curing process never actually stops meaning the concrete will continually gain compressive strength. for most purposes though, it reaches its maximum effective strength in 28 days. not 36 hours lmao source: civil engineer
@AZ-zn9lgFunny... Been dry pouring for every job for over three years now and have been doing it for 15+. Shocking, those slabs are still there with no cracks or breaks other than normal chips from tools etc over time. Never had an issue. Not once. 😂 idk what you thought you were doing with that comment but its not as big of a difference as your little brain thinks it is. For this job, it doesnt matter how you pour it. But it does matter how fast it dries.
For fast cheap mixing, Use a home depot bucket and a spade head drill with a paint mixing attachment. If you think your drill is tough enough, you can do that on a low setting too. Did it for years with fence and deck posts.
I was told from inspector there is nothing wrong with dry pour as long as it’s not structural. If you are doing dry pour saturate the ground first, and go in layers-concrete, spray,concrete, spray etc.. top layer do as this guy did
Cool, you been doin it for forty years, awesome, arguements from authority hold no weight....... All it does is tell me you know how to follow, thats like my dad tellint me he can easily machine parts, ok cool machines can do that now so what use are you?
@themanwithnoname1839 It wasn't an argument. It was a statement, not from authority, from experience. Go back to the basement little boy . Maybe your father had something to teach you. Maybe not.
All I know is that when I stored 8 bags of concrete for 6 months, in the original paper bags in my completely dry shipping container, it turned into completely solid concrete that I had to bust up with a sledge hammer. It was completely 100% hard as a rock!
indeed, but not as string as a proper mix, the impurities allow to break easier in most cases, hit it in the weak spot or put too much weight on it and itll start to fall apart. its shelf life will be less as well as itll break up over time faster.
i had a couple of bags solidify in my shed....then I used the solid bags for filler and it promptly broke into large pieces. conversely, a friend of mine who worked in specialized concrete applications for over 40 years would mix a single cup of water with one bag of concrete and then use a jackhammer to pound the mix into a formica lined form for a super smooth finish, if i recall correctly. he always said "the less water in the mix the stronger the finished product, though keeping the surface wet as it dries is a good thing.
Bet if you knock it open you'll find powdered cement. Might set completely in a year depending on how much rain you get. Would you suppose that would cause an irregular lift at the bottom core?
As soon as it rains once it’ll saturate it fully and harden to stone…. You cannot seriously think the power will not find moisture over time? Because it will
A swiss hammer on a walking pad? Most of the time no testing is done on sidewalks as they are not structural. This method isn't optimal but consider what he is making. Should he check for air entrainment as well? Temperature?
@@ijustwanttonap - You don’t get it, do you? He is creating a video on RU-vid that audience watch - for money! He gets views for $$ money. He needs to create content. Besides, we all (engineers) know the difference between them but maybe not everybody does. 🙄😏
When you start to mix the concrete in the wheelbarrow, I immediately went back to the early 60s and "helping" my dad mix and pour concrete in the backyard. The sound of the shovel in a metal wheelbarrow and the shopping of the concrete is rising my ears.
Other than saving 19minutes by not doing it how engineers recommend? Whats the advantage. -is it stronger? -is it smoother? -does it last longer than traditionally mixed concrete? If you’re just going for “good enough” why don’t you just slap a rotten pallet down and build off of that? I like to know that when I’m personally building something that I build it to the best of my ability’s . When I ever say “good enough” it’s time to stop and ask yourself is this honestly the best I can do or am I just trying to be lazy
Looking forward to see how they both fare down the road. I seriously doubt if the dry method would work up north during the freeze thaw cycle each year.
Yeah, how can the first slab at least with the little amount of water you applied, really get completely saturated enough to be able to get the chemical reaction needed to give it its psi strength. Yeah it may be fast but I'll bet it won't be as strong. Great experiment though.
@@jsh3234 The dry mix will wick up moisture from the ground. Concrete takes 28 days to cure completely. There will be plenty of moisture to cure the dry mix over a period of 28 days. After the top 1/4" cures, it would be prudent to wet the slab every day for a month
@@lazaruslazuli6130 It doesn't work that way, concrete will create joints where part of it is already cured and part of it isn't. You don't have 28 days for the concrete to bond, more like a couple hours. There's a reason it's mixed then poured so it all cures as a solid piece instead of a bunch of concrete chunks.
@@lazaruslazuli6130 I can't swear to it, but I believe curing time is dependent on thickness. A few years ago I was watching a documentary about the Hoover damn. In it they said the concrete was still curing.
Idk much about pouring dry mix however I’m union bricklayer and have done concrete 14yrs. Many things matter when pouring between monolithic, conventional, fast setting and slump needed per specs. Pouring concrete is chemical reaction, turning liquid into a solid so you’re rite you’re avoiding 1 step w dry mix but I’m pretty sure every manufacturer will recommend mixing & pouring to achieve strength (psi) & longevity! Stay safe & God bless
Yeah the dry pour is a horrible idea for slab dry doesn't cook evenly and will cure unevenly causing strong and weak spots cracking is a assured. Also the core depending location may take ...or never see moisture leaving dry powder just cause it can be done definitely doesn't mean it should
Typically when I have to use Bagged Concrete, I also have an Excavator on site. I dump about 6 or 7 bags in the Bucket of the Excavator and add some water and then shake the Bucket around so that everything starts flipping and just do it for about 20 or 30 seconds, check if I need to add more water or Concrete and repeat. Only takes about a minute or 2 for me to get it all mixed up and blended together perfectly. But you have to know what your doing on the Excavator or you will just have shit splashing out the bucket everywhere.
How in the hell do you get it mixed perfectly? In that amount of time too. Either that’s sugar coated, if you got some mad ass skills that I’ve never seen
Concrete will harden surprisingly fast when not mixed but just exposed to some moisture. Had a pallet delivered to a job that was wrapped in plastic and then double tarped. It rained twice in a few days before we could get back there. The bottom two rows had completely solidified just from ground water under the pallet evaporating😅
I was driving on a dirt road in Nevada once and came on a pile of unopened bags of concrete. The bags were fairly intact so i got excited i found some free concrete. But they must have sat there through at least one rain - they were all bag-shaped rocks. Such are the mysteries of bagged concrete.
I build a fence with dry concrete. Posts are leveled and straight in minutes. Tamped. Build fence in a day. Moisture in ground sets concrete. Done in a day
Multiple hours?? Come on man, don’t be delusional! wetting it takes how long??? Maybe 3 seconds! Try and count, you literally see him wet it on the video! Even if he wet it over 10 times it’s still less than a minute! You got to use your head! Your argument is INVALID!! lol!!😆😆😆
Take a hammer to both of these and see how they break. I bet the dry pour is more powdery and the mixed is more solid.that would be a good comparison video
@@jamarjames9501 in my experience it doesn’t last as long but maybe that’s why people do it. I have done the dry pour for post holes but I don’t think it lasts long enuff for other projects.
Actually it is the same as the dry pour leeches water from the ground and is watered every hours for about 4 hours. No one who says this knows what the yare talking about.
@@SophiaAphroditeyou have to mix before pouring. cleaely no1 here has taken any school classes lmfao lole wtf.... you ever made dough??? you think HOW things are MIXED doesnt mayter just that eventually theres a bit of everytjing you neesed. what a clown world we live in jfcc
I am a concrete man. The only thing I dry pour is fence post footings. I still add the amount of water it tells you on the bag. Then rod it. Wet pour with rebar is the best.
Lot of good things going for you here. If it works, great! If not, bust it up, pull it out, and do it again. Don’t got all that rebar and wire to deal with. I’ve seen a number of these dry pour videos, and they seem fine for light duty area
I do fencing and decking for a living, and we never mix concrete always dry poor then water. The quickset concrete is like a sponge. It since really quick and cures fast.
The wet pour takes less time cause once you set it it's over, dry pour you have to keep coming back and spraying the concrete ever so often, so your tied to it till finished. That time still counts ! Not just the mixing time .
Dry set/pour works better when working on pitched areas, other than that, and fence post holes, it mainly just provides a lot more work time, and the ability to make a flat surface on a pitch.
And even then it doesn't soak through fully, but yes its the having to water it over the entire day that is nonsense to me. You cut out the short hard labor only to have to do a lot more easy labor.
A quick way to mix concrete is by pouring the bag into the center of a heavy poly tarp, make a little bowl in the top of the pile, add some water and pull up the corners of the tarp and roll it around. Add small amounts of water until you get a nice buttery consistency. I've done this alone, but goes really fast with 2 people.
@@bobbygetsbanned6049 Learned this doing landscaping in an area that was steep and too difficult to access. Way easier than using a shovel, and you can just pour turn it into a funnel and pour.
I did a dry pour of a 9” deep curb, 10” wide, for a small wall to stop critters from getting under a fence. Some areas the curb was only 5” deep x 10” wide. I lightly sprayed both sections, waited an hour, heavy watered both sections, waited an hour, heavily watered with water finally standing on top. I wet alm curbing again and left it sit overnight. The 5” deep curb was solid after removing batter boards. No issues. The 9” deep concrete (Rapid set with fibers in the mix for strength) did not get uniformly set and I had pockets of dry concrete mix over the entire length. Point is, you cannot guarantee the water will or channel its way through the mix, not penetrate deep or completely saturate the entire subsurface. I would only do this again for post holes, maybe with wire, a 4” deep landing at the bottom of some deck stairs. Having to stay on the job site for three plus hours to keep adding water was included in the labor and then to not be sure how the water was traveling on its was throughout the dry concrete was too much work.
I saw the comment too! My husband and I wanted to do it to our yard after watching your video we have the worst big back yard and we are trying to figure out how to do a cheap diy that doesn’t look cheap and you did a great job. We were inspired enough to wanna try it!
Don’t do it, save up for a bit longer and do it properly, that way it will last forever, this is a short term method for very light use, I could break up these dry pours with a butter knife, literally only the top half inch will be hard
@@joethompson8131 ty so much for your comment. It is nice to know that there are still ppl out there that actually give a shit! We will wait and do it right. Like my pop used to say, if your not going to do it the right way, don’t bother doing it at all.. 😉
I've never done concrete but I'm thinking the dry. If you're using the mist setting which won't disturb how perfectly flat it is. The mist is not going to get several inches deep into that concrete to fully cure all that stuff into. Basically rock. It's going to have the top solidify on top of a bunch of powder is what I'm thinking the complaint is
the slower cement is allowed to set up the stronger it is. using minimal water will defeat that purpose less water means a hotter chemical reaction which is not beneficial to concrete some of the strongest slabs have sprinklers put on them to slow the curing process
Imagine the RU-vid guy getting all bent out of shape by "angry" post on how to do it the right way, he doubles down and keeps going with the wrong way, trying to show everyone he got all knowlegde and makes another video..
