I watched a couple do a dry pour slab and they told you how to do it. The first thing you do after screeting is mist it with water and let it set for half an hour I think it was then mist it a bit more. The trick is to lightly mist it so you don't wash the cement off the sand and aggregate.
Your missing 1 key thing in the dry pour process, the moisture from the ground being pulled into the cement! We do it all the time in Louisiana cause we have so much moisture in our soil. In your case you may have to wet the ground 1st
just so you know, you did several things wrong with the dry pour. It's hard to do it correctly if you don't watch one or two of the ones that have it worked out. It can be made smooth. It can be made very strong. It takes less work, but more time starting with sprinkling water every hour for a couple minutes for 5 hours. Yes you have to give it time to settle. It's not a one hour job, but since I don't have a mixer and don't want to rent one this is a good option. You don't have to worry about the concrete drying too fast either. You control that. Another guy did 2 glass bowl test the same way. Drove his van on both. Neither cracked. Another guy has cracks in his mixed slab and no cracks in his dry slab. Screeting is a part of the dry pour process. For smooth finish, they use a paint roller for the finished look.
Yeah you were supposed to finish surface prior to light light misting of water every 1/2 hour for the first hour. This will keep the aggregates below the top and once surface is hard you can rain shower the hell out of it for the next eight hours. Slower process but much easier
You obviously didn’t watch any dry pour videos. 24 hour process, adding a little water at a time. I think it’s not an acceptable method, but what do I know. I’ll keep calling the truck!
Hope you have done more research before you done your slab. Your dry pour is to be lightly misted first a few times, then you add more water to let it sink down slowly
Dry pour is all I've ever known for securing fence posts. That's the only concrete work I've done outside the wheel barrow amount. I doubt I'd consider dry pour for anything I care how it looks, as you said.
So nice to see you guys again, doing projects and sharing your tips and knowlege. It's like having old friends show up that you have'nt seen for ages and realizing how much you missed them. Thanks
I think a better vessel would of been a planter pot with drainage holes. Cause as you mentioned, the water tends to drain into the ground when set upon the area that you want it. Soo...maybe transfer the cement into 2 pots with a mesh liner to allow the water to strain as if it was the ground itself.
I saw this done on another channel and they criticed new and 1 year old slabs and 1 year old slab was still good. We did this to a small patio with slabs of stone dropped onto dry cement and it has lasted 37 years so far.
I have seen a few other sites recently who tried the dry concrete pour and from what I can tell it works. I have a small ramp for my lawn mower that I am going to dry pour. Better than buying or renting a mixer - if it works.
While your dry pour test is nice content, it has been around for quite some time at least since 2000. Mallard Builders that erected storage units, used dry pour in most to all of their support posts. the only wet pours they did was the slab. The reason I was told is the concrete would draw H2O from the soil at a steady rate and make the concrete stronger. I have never heard anyone say the support posts failed or seen any that looked in poor shape. Thanks for the review< nice to see you back on the channel.
I have seen this many times and want to try it. The biggest thing is how long it will hold up and does the middle cure fully. I can see the bottom and top and edges, but the center may be like an under cooked cake.
What if you hydrate slab from both sides by burying 3/8 inch perforated PVC pipes and ran water through them at the same time that you're wetting the top
The water can come to the surface as bleed water, and then evaporate. I mean, if you think about the stones and sand are heavier than the water and they’re all going to the bottom trying to force the water up to the top. I think that’s a reason why you don’t want to start working the concrete until the bleed water is gone or else you will get Spaulding from the excess water being pushed back in the very top layers
A great method for a natural pathway is to turn portland cement into the soil with a shovel and apply water. Best on sand & gravel pathway, but it looks natural and lasts for years.
Mike Day who is a concrete contractor looked into this, and it is not a very good way of doing concrete. Part of the small slab he placed hardened but other areas were still powder.
I think quickcrete has a dry pour mix designed for it, its only ment for 4-6" slabs. It has less rock, and lot more fines. It's also watered a lot more gradually as in hours to let it soak. Speed go wet mix, got time and no experience dry pour seams half decent.
I think that stuff "might" be good for a post hole where you don't care about the finish. Even then I don't believe it would mix thoroughly. Hard no on this product for me.
Interesting experiment. I've never used the dry method either, but there are several RU-vid DIYers who swear by it. As you demonstrated, the top finish is different between the methods. I'm wondering if the glass bowl's solid surface may have influenced both mixes in that it doesn't breathe and as such it doesn't allow the water to penetrate like it would in a more porous form.
Jesse, next time you go to the beach or the sandbox, bring a camera along. Never thought I'd be so impressed watching a grown man play with sand and rocks. Thanks for the video! 😁
Adding Salt to the water will make the concrete even stronger. just like what the Romans did back in the Day. you can still find places in the World were Roman Concrete is still strong from the day it was poured with added sea water
If you place concrete in glass bowls, instead of on the ground, this may be helpful. An expansion joint between the slab and the building might help, especially if you plan to move the building later.
i know a fellow who added on to his slab house. he set forms then filled it with sand. then spread portland on it, mixed in with a rake. then added water. i think it was a crappy job 35 years ago, but it has held so far. i would never do this, but to each his own.
Interesting. Cut him some slack people. It's his project and his life. I'm a retired concrete delivery person. I'm hoping for updates. Fiber reinforcement could help in preventing the top popping off though
Your dry pour experiment is all screwed up. Poor prep and too much water too fast on the dry pour. .. In the typical dry pour you never have standing water. Back to the drawing board. Really bad information.
Dry pour is nothing but laziness. Also to much water makes for weak concrete that will do what's called Spaulding where the surface basically cracks and flakes off after a few months, that batch you mixed would probably be like 8 or 10 slump...lol
