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Dry pour concrete - how stupid is this?
Posted on 7/24/24 at 7:53 am
Posted on 7/24/24 at 7:53 am
Been seeing some videos pop up on my YouTube of people dry pouring concrete walkways, sidewalks, slabs even. There's just no way this is as structurally sound as normal concrete.
Just a dumb fad or is there a reasonable application for dry pouring?
Just a dumb fad or is there a reasonable application for dry pouring?
12
Posted on 7/24/24 at 8:57 am to BoogaBear
I've been in the concrete industry for almost 20 years in some form or fashion. I have never seen in person or done a "dry pour". The basic principle of a concrete mix is that the cement or cementitious material needs water to form a paste which bonds the aggregate together.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 9:03 am to BoogaBear
Videos are compelling 
I've seen several from people with a lot of concrete experience and they were doubters until they did it. Requires constant light watering so it isn't just as easy as dumping and soaking and walking away.
I've seen several from people with a lot of concrete experience and they were doubters until they did it. Requires constant light watering so it isn't just as easy as dumping and soaking and walking away.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 9:20 am to BoogaBear
I know bags of dry concrete get rock hard just from moisture in the air, had several in my shed to long. I would think it would be fine for small walk ways or pads.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 9:31 am to LSUSports247
quote:
I would think it would be fine for small walk ways or pads.
As long as you only have human weight walking on it, it will last a little while. I would worry more about erosion. We get a ton of rain in central Alabama, and I can't imagine that runoff year after year would make even a small pad or walkway last more than a decade. I get that concrete is cheap, but a couple hours of labor to mix, pour, and set the right way, with a little rebar in it means it would last more than twice as long. Sure there will be surface cracks, there always will be with concrete, but dumping a few bags dry into a form and watering it just looks like a bad way to make it last.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 9:44 am to BoogaBear
Long story short, yeah you don't want to put anything super heavy on a dry pour.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 9:46 am to BoogaBear
Worked good for fence posts 
Posted on 7/24/24 at 9:48 am to BoogaBear
quote:
Just a dumb fad or is there a reasonable application for dry pouring?
Just a dumb fad. Saw a Tik Tok pop up about this on my feed and just immediately thought man people will literally convince themselves of anything if it saves them a few minutes of work
Posted on 7/24/24 at 9:56 am to BoogaBear
I did dry pour for fence posts and my mailbox. It's worked well. IDK if I'd trust it for anything else, though.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 10:11 am to BoogaBear
saw a video where a guy tested 5 or 6 different mixes (all dry pour) then drove a truck over them after they had set.
some definitely failed but some held up. he did a core for each and you could see which ones were solid to the center.
but then again..this was a youtube video so...
eta isn't this the same principle used for the cold set pothole patch kits?
some definitely failed but some held up. he did a core for each and you could see which ones were solid to the center.
but then again..this was a youtube video so...
eta isn't this the same principle used for the cold set pothole patch kits?
This post was edited on 7/24/24 at 10:12 am
Posted on 7/24/24 at 10:45 am to CAD703X
it’s fine for set posts I do it all the time…plumb the post, pack a little dirt at the bottom to hold it and dump the bags in dry. The moisture in the ground is enough to let it kick
flat work is another matter entirely and that sounds like a really stupid idea
flat work is another matter entirely and that sounds like a really stupid idea
Posted on 7/24/24 at 10:55 am to LSUSports247
quote:
I know bags of dry concrete get rock hard just from moisture in the air, had several in my shed to long. I would think it would be fine for small walk ways or pads.
My father in law uses them for erosion control at his lake house. He has a jetty of concrete bag shaped rocks
Just throws em out there and they harden then the bag washes away.Posted on 7/24/24 at 10:58 am to TheBoo
quote:
Worked good for fence posts
I live in Mid-City in N.O. and if I dig a post hole in my yard for a garden trellis or fence post, the hole will start showing water------usually several inches deep if digging a 2 ft. deep hole.
So, there's water immediately available for the concrete to get saturated.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 11:25 am to TheBoo
quote:
Worked good for fence posts
And deer stands
Posted on 7/24/24 at 12:15 pm to CAD703X
quote:
eta isn't this the same principle used for the cold set pothole patch kits?
If it is......run away and never think about using it. That's all we can get around me as far as road repair goes, and they do it every few months. They'll be back out soon after the heavy rains we've had. It all just keeps getting worse and worse, and they just keep throwing more and more cold patch at it. After the ice this past Winter sizable sections of road just crumbled away. How'd thet fix it? Raked up all the crumbly bits with a shovel and threw down a couple buckets of cold patch.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 12:41 pm to BoogaBear
I definitely mean more so to flat work, I dry set my posts often as well. No issues there.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 4:14 pm to BoogaBear
The fence post thing with bags of dry mix I definitely get - done that myself. I was really just thinking of flatwork or cast-in-place. Water is literally part of the mixing and production process of concrete. When mixed with cement it forms the paste that bonds everything else together. It's not really a mix without water.
Posted on 7/24/24 at 7:18 pm to BoogaBear
I did it for a garbage can pad just to try it. It’s been fine. However it was a pain in the fricking arse screeding the dry concrete. Mixing it is just easier.
I’ll post some pics when it isn’t storming.
I’ll post some pics when it isn’t storming.
Posted on 7/26/24 at 10:25 am to BoogaBear
quote:
Dry pour concrete
it works. i would not believe it if i didn't see it myself. changed out a fence post. Put the post in the hole, dumped a bag of quickrete in around the post. next day it was solid.
Did the same for my mailbox post.
Posted on 7/26/24 at 12:03 pm to MorbidTheClown
I did it on 2 small 3.5" thick slabs that were entrances to out buildings. Each took about 17 bags. Only weight is foot traffic. It worked great. For me is was way easier than mixing the conventional way. Build forms, add dry mix and spray top with a extra fine mist about every thirty minutes for 1.5 hours then every hour for eight hours. I screeded both dry and wet.
I was home anyway and each spray only took 20-30 seconds. When I removed the forms it was set up the entire thickness of the slab.
From now on it's the only I will pour a slab when it will have only foot traffic.
The next time I do one, I may add water when cement is 1/2 thickness then mist the top.
I was home anyway and each spray only took 20-30 seconds. When I removed the forms it was set up the entire thickness of the slab.
From now on it's the only I will pour a slab when it will have only foot traffic.
The next time I do one, I may add water when cement is 1/2 thickness then mist the top.
This post was edited on 7/27/24 at 6:38 am
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