Zoot wood balcony job.

[Gone West]

I've used the Hanson stuff before, it's good. Just follow the instructions on the bag, it does set quick. Have everything ready to go rather than going off to get water or open bags.

[markc]

Bit of water in bottom, fill up with dry stuff to top, if two bags then ok, poke some holes into dry mix, pour water into holes, poke a bit more and let it set

[zoothorn]

4 minutes ago, Gone West said:

I've used the Hanson stuff before, it's good. Just follow the instructions on the bag, it does set quick. Have everything ready to go rather than going off to get water or open bags.

Hi GW. It doesn't tell me - the ammount- it makes though.

 

This is crucial, for me, make or break this whole job. 
 

I need to get whatever concrete/ whatever on earth this comes as, to get to my rim of my bucket. Not 1 inch lower. Thst's no small ammount, but it's not a massive ammount. Itis though, because a post isn't taking up half the volume, probably more than a typical postcrete "job".

 

If I do not know how much a bag makes (& one bag sets in a ridiculous 3 minutes) I cannot prepare for the job. And, it seems wrong therefore, for the job if no postcrete bag tells me how much it makes.. & my 1st need, is to make a certain absolute ammount.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ProDave]

Forget postcrete.  It's horrible very quick set stuff for fixing fence posts in a hole. Pour it in, add some water and hope.

 

For what you are doing, mix up proper concrete with concrete mix (sand and agregate) and ordinary portland cement.  You can mix it and play with it on a board, when happy it is mixed, shovel it into your bucket, lefel it off with a trowel, take time to work it and make it neat, and if you have mixed too much, leave the excess in smalll lumps to set and be disposed of.

 

It will take several hours to go off so just mix it, use it, and come back next day to see how it set.

[zoothorn]

If I pour 2 litres water in here, with my hardcore 1" bed, & bigger stones making up 1/3of volume of bucket... it will not even be seen among the stones. Then, I'm supposed to pour in this dry bag ontop. This just makes no sense to me.

 

Bunging in most of a bucket of water, into a hole with a post in, then bunging in powder taking me nearly to top, is what I did before & made some sense ( once I mixed it up). This though.. is very very far from that.

 

I can't see how I can fill these two buckets confidently, unless I mix up/ create concrete myself, that doesn't set in 3 minutes.

 

If I'm not mistaken, I can do this in a barrow, with cement ( I have) & aggregate. 5:1 according to a youtube video. 
 

Am I insane choosing this option? I'm very confused that's for sure. Thanks, zoot

 

 

[zoothorn]

7 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Forget postcrete.  It's horrible very quick set stuff for fixing fence posts in a hole. Pour it in, add some water and hope.

 

For what you are doing, mix up proper concrete with concrete mix (sand and agregate) and ordinary portland cement.  You can mix it and play with it on a board, when happy it is mixed, shovel it into your bucket, lefel it off with a trowel, take time to work it and make it neat, and if you have mixed too much, leave the excess in smalll lumps to set and be disposed of.

 

It will take several hours to go off so just mix it, use it, and come back next day to see how it set.

Hi ProDave,

 

you've relieved my insanity-hour. Good. Im done with these postcrete damn bags. They cause me stress. And the fast set thing drives a newbie mad: we need TIME.

 

Ok aggregate, so a youtube clip tells me, includes sand. Is this not so? I made concrete in a mixer before, following my pro chap who left me his mixer, & I had the job he was doing to copy onward on my own.. but whether I/ we used sand too.. I can't recall.

 

I have cement, 1/3rd bag of some sort of 'building type' sand. Do I just need say 4 (25kg) bags of aggregate then?

 

Thanks, zoot

 

 

 

 

[Roundtuit]

I'd use a 'standard' mix - 1 part cement: 2 parts sharp sand (that's the gritty stuff): 3 parts 20mm gravel.  Mix in wheelbarrow, adding water a bit at a time.  When you think it needs just one more splash of water, stop, 'cos that's probably going to be one splash too many.  This is probably the least expensive part of the job and materials are easily available, so you could have a play around first if you wanted...

[zoothorn]

2 hours ago, Roundtuit said:

I'd use a 'standard' mix - 1 part cement: 2 parts sharp sand (that's the gritty stuff): 3 parts 20mm gravel.  Mix in wheelbarrow, adding water a bit at a time.  When you think it needs just one more splash of water, stop, 'cos that's probably going to be one splash too many.  This is probably the least expensive part of the job and materials are easily available, so you could have a play around first if you wanted...

Hi Roundtuit, I'm getting mixed up with ballast, sand, aggregate, hardcore. Urgh. I asked for sharp sand too, &  just got reply "we have builders sand". Wtf that means.

 

So, is ballast then a mixture of sand, & the aggregate needed? 
 

If so, then I don't need the sand? Is this the same as what you say? I've never seen 20mm gravel sold on bags you see, & "sharp" sand is elusive here; Ive tried, but some 'sheds' didn't even know what it was. So, if I could get a bag containing th3 sand plus the gravel... this... is what I must get.

 

5:1, simple as? This you see, is what one youtube 'mix concrete in a barrow' says. Ballast & cement. Nothing else. Apart from water. 
 

Thanks, zoot

 

 

 

 

[ProDave]

You can buy "concrete mix" already bagged up and ready to use.  Just add cement and water.  Don't make it harder than it has to be.

[Onoff]

1 minute ago, ProDave said:

Don't make it harder than it has to be.

 

Like we haven't been through these questions before!

 

 

[Roundtuit]

2 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Almost 3 yrs to the day!  Doesn't time fly when you're having fun! 🤣

[zoothorn]

3 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Like we haven't been through these questions before!

 

 

Yes but I cant remember I even asked this thread Q before, far more sensible after this postcrete cockup to just ask again.
 

Proadave & roundtuit kindly replying asap proves this is perfectly acceptable. It's only you getting the hump.
 

Yes it takes me 20x the time it takes you, I've explained this many times ( plus my memory is next to none)... please, have more patience.

[zoothorn]

15 minutes ago, ProDave said:

You can buy "concrete mix" already bagged up and ready to use.  Just add cement and water.  Don't make it harder than it has to be.

Hi ProDave.

 

But this is what the youtube clip chap had. Cement bags. And ballast bags. Water. Nothing else.

 

So there is now a difference, from your post here, between ballast... & concrete mix in a bag? Unless you meant " just add water".. not " just add cement & water"-?

 

Why is this nearly impossible for me to understand!?

[Onoff]

@zoothorn I'm putting you on ignore. Sick to the t!ts of the same repeat questions and you expecting everyone to repeat what they've already spent time going over, often more than once.

[ProDave]

9 hours ago, zoothorn said:

Hi ProDave.

 

But this is what the youtube clip chap had. Cement bags. And ballast bags. Water. Nothing else.

 

So there is now a difference, from your post here, between ballast... & concrete mix in a bag? Unless you meant " just add water".. not " just add cement & water"-?

 

Why is this nearly impossible for me to understand!?

Different names.  Some call it concrete mix, some call it ballast.  I have never seen that sold with the cement already added, that seems unique to postcrete.

[Gone West]

14 minutes ago, ProDave said:

I have never seen that sold with the cement already added

It's a mix of sand, cement and 10mm aggregate.

 

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Blue-Circle-Multi-Purpose-Ready-To-Use-Concrete---20kg/p/133770

 

[zoothorn]

34 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Different names.  Some call it concrete mix, some call it ballast.  I have never seen that sold with the cement already added, that seems unique to postcrete.

Aha ok thanks. Concrete mix = ballast, fine that clears things up. I'll see what they have, but 3 bags of ballast seems enough in volume. 1 hour work time- a relief too.
 

It's just a job I have to do once, & get not 2nd chance, hence needing clarity to prep. The water disappearing before shot my confidence in potcrete tbh. A thick slop will mean this less likely.. is my take on it. And thicker the better.

 

Thanks, zoot

[zoothorn]

26 minutes ago, Gone West said:

It's a mix of sand, cement and 10mm aggregate.

 

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Blue-Circle-Multi-Purpose-Ready-To-Use-Concrete---20kg/p/133770

 

Ideal! Thanks, I'm off searching for this then.

 

Thanks GW

[TonyT]

5 hours ago, Onoff said:

@zoothorn I'm putting you on ignore. Sick to the t!ts of the same repeat questions and you expecting everyone to repeat what they've already spent time going over, often more than once.

 

if you put him on ignore you will miss the next ASHP saga..

[zoothorn]

28 minutes ago, TonyT said:

 

if you put him on ignore you will miss the next ASHP saga..

Thx, reminded me I need to dive back in re.this saga.. still not resolved/ but headway made. Need last bit of help help (I shouldn't think you'd offer any help tho TT, just the usual remarks aimed at me).

 

---

 

Changed my postcrete for concrete ready mix. But still 2 flaming litres of water.. argh! got 4 bags then.

 

30 mins this.. gives me hope I can just do this.

 

zh

 

[Gone West]

41 minutes ago, zoothorn said:

30 mins this.. gives me hope I can just do this.

That's not 30 minutes to fully set, just you should'nt be using it after 30 minutes. Explained in the document.

 

Edit:

https://media.wickes.co.uk/is/content/wickes/B3182_133770_TECH_0

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by Gone West

[zoothorn]

49 minutes ago, Gone West said:

That's not 30 minutes to fully set, just you should'nt be using it after 30 minutes. Explained in the document.

 

Edit:

https://media.wickes.co.uk/is/content/wickes/B3182_133770_TECH_0

 

Hi GW, thanks.. mine also says use 30 mins after water.. now I read the small print/ thanks (Hanson again/ so 2 Hanson Brothers per bucket).

A Puck Rock interlude, before the excitement continues.

 

Thanks, Zoot

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TonyT]

3 hours ago, zoothorn said:

Thx, reminded me I need to dive back in re.this saga.. still not resolved/ but headway made. Need last bit of help help (I shouldn't think you'd offer any help tho TT, just the usual remarks aimed at me).

 

---

 

Changed my postcrete for concrete ready mix. But still 2 flaming litres of water.. argh! got 4 bags then.

 

30 mins this.. gives me hope I can just do this.

 

zh

 

Everyone gave lots of help last year on this, you just wouldn’t listen to sound technical advice from multiple different sources.

 

 

 

[zoothorn]

3 hours ago, TonyT said:

Everyone gave lots of help last year on this, you just wouldn’t listen to sound technical advice from multiple different sources.

 

 

 

Believe me TT, I listened.

 

On what anyway? I made a thread on ballast -volume- 3 years ago; I had the recipe (4:1.. in huge 1 ton bags). That thread was on -volume-/ ammount. It had therefore, no bearing per se on ingredients, which was my questioning on here.

 

Don't jump to conclusions, to suit an agenda.

 

Thank you, zoot.

 

 

[zoothorn]

12 hours ago, ProDave said:

Different names.  Some call it concrete mix, some call it ballast.  I have never seen that sold with the cement already added, that seems unique to postcrete.

ProDave, can I ask you: how long before this properly cured? Used general purpose Hanson concrete 20kg bags, 30 mins work time. My 2 buckets filled, with my spikes set 6" down into the concrete/ job done today. 4 days or so-?

 

Thanks, zoot.