DRY POUR CONCRETE (YES OR NO)? Part 1 (Mike Haduck)

I do some examples of dry pour concrete and wet pour concrete and give my opinion. All my videos are my ways and ideas, I always suggest anyone doing any type of work to consult professional help.

[jerrys.]

Well, in fairness to the Cajun Couple, for example, they do not say to just drench the dry concrete like that - for the very reason the aggregate will surface. They demonstrate a light mist at first just to darken it slightly, then wait a while (one hour i think?) so a crust forms at the top. Then they follow up with a periodic soaking every couple hours or so. Specifically they note a specific amount of soaking over a 24 hour period (?) each hour depending on how thick the slab is. Their final product did not expose aggregate much, if any, as I recall. They even drove a vehicle on top of a 2 inch slab with no resultive cracking.

[corysturgis]

Loved the skit at the end! Especially the guy calling everyone a hippie. Pure gold

[xiexieantonidas]

Didn't screed the dry pour and didn't appear to follow the watering instructions from the Cajun couple...not sure this is a fair comparison.

[harpintn]

I was taught how to mix and pour concrete by my late grandfather. We mixed it wet like you are supposed to do. A small pad that we poured in the late 1970's still looks great. I can't imagine doing a dry pour.

[petenutt]

You're the man, Mike. I watched your videos to remind me of how I used to work with my dad around the house when I was a kid. He definitely had the basics, but your ratio and tips to pre-wet very much helped me when I parged my basement walls last year. Allowed me to do the work while thinking of my dad. Thank you!

[timdonnells]

Retired disabled Navy Vet, Your videos have inspired me to do some DIY projects! Thanks for giving me purpose and challenges via your knowledge👍 looking to repair old broken cemetery vertical stones from the early 1900 ?
Thanks Mike
Tim from the Finger Lakes Region NY🧱

[jameslmorehead]

When I was little, my dad helped the local municipality build a walkway through a portion of marsh by placing whole bags of concrete in place and just stacking them. It ended up being two bags wide at the top, with the bags going along the length of the path. I'm not sure how wide the base was, but I know they drove round fence posts into the mud under the first layer. It has been 30+ years, and other than algae growing on it, the walkway looks nearly brand new. This technique can be used if you know what you are doing. You know wet pour concrete very well, but down't know dry pour.

As for putting down dry concrete in a humid environment, you can get a much stronger product than a wet mix. That's why slump is so important. A low slump means less water taking up space within the concrete. This does make it harder to work, so some contractors will go for a higher slump. Assuming just water and not the polymer additives available, the low slump with be a higher PSI than the low slump, but will take longer to cure. As the concrete cures, the water reacts and evaporates. This leaves microscopic voids in the concrete. These voids decrease the strength of the concrete.

To do a successful dry slab, you need a few things in mind different than with a normal pour. First, you must be willing to wait for the concrete to be ready in weeks rather than days. Second, the surface finish is not turn key. This is where you get out the floor grinders and polishers to give a finish that proudly shows off the aggregate in the concrete. A side effect of showing aggregate rather than a grey surface is the floor will be much more wear resistant and produce less dust. When laying down the concrete mix, it can't be vibrated slightly to compact it. It must be compacted like a crushed limestone road bed, with lifts of 1-2 inches. Each lift needs 3 cycles of compaction with a light, medium, and heavy compaction. If you try to hit a freshly spread dry mix with heavy compaction, it's just going to run out of the way. Give a very light mist of water before, between, and after compaction to help with dust and unwanted movement. Finish the slab about 1/8" to 1/4" high so you have sufficient material to grind flat and polish.

[dennisherrmann]

Hi Mike I live in south Jersey and have cracks in concrete pool deck also in cantilever coping how do I fix them,

[georgemorgan]

Thanks Mike. I was considering doing a dry pour for a shed foundation until I watched your video. Trying to do things the right way and I have really learned a lot from your channel. Cheers 🍻

[camouflagecutz]

My friend poured a 12x14 slap in Florida parks his ford f150 everyday no problem… I live in PA in berks county and I dried poured concrete and park my ram 1500 on it for over 2 years and not a single problem.I’ve even drilled through and framed a wall with no cracked or anything holds up perfect… The bag instructions are clear but they weren’t expecting people to dry pour… furthermore dry pouring concrete is supposed to be done on soil so it can suck up moisture from the ground as well. Misting multiple times before a shower multiple times as well… clearly dry pouring is not for foundations and holding up a house but anything under a house and a semi truck this should hold up perfectly fine!

[dsbigd]

Thanks, Mike, for your time and videos ....I am almost 100% done re-tuck pointing my old red brick foundation thanks to you and your videos "even some brick repair."

[dialdude]

Mike, I am in mid Atlantic Pennsylvania. I am glad I watched your video. I am collecting concrete and a 10x12 shed kit for my yard. I had been thinking I would do the dry pour cause its easier. NO. I am doing it right. Probably rent a mixer, and do it right. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience. Great video.

[Mr.FixIt]

Mike, I've been watching your videos for some time now. I wanted to take a minute to thank you. Just as an apprentice helping a journeyman and learning along the way, I used that approach watching your videos. And I'm nowhere near as good as you, but you've taught me well enough to do great work for people who need the help. Thanks!

Side note: I also do plaster refinishing, Frequently fixing the ugly done by others attempting repair work over 50 years... And when I'm doing sidewalks, I use a brush to make a similar pattern like I use on plaster and it turns out pretty darn fancy looking.

[MrTBoneMalone]

R E S P E C T!!! This is the "only' dry pour concrete video I actually like! Thank you, Mike!

[BasedBidoof]

Thank you for passing your knowledge onto us all! There's nothing like tips from an expert

[raybrensike]

Would the aggregate of the dry sample settled down if a wood screed would have been used instead of a metal float? I saw the wood screed used on the wet method, but not during the dry method. Also, it's important to remember that the dry method will likely need more water applied to it. Think of concrete as if it's a sponge. It's not waterproof. Water will pass through it. As long as it has both time and water, the bonding will continue.

A wood float is often used on wet concrete to work up a grout. I don't know if it would do that on dry concrete. I watched video on somebody doing that on the dry method and they said that screeding over and over would drive the aggregate below the surface and allow for the fines to come to the surface and from what I could tell by their video, that looked like what happened. I didn't see the rocks showing on their video.

I would like to know what would happen if both samples would have been submerged in water, after about 6 hours. Would doing that have allowed the dry method to have gained all the water it needed to set properly? What if both of them would have been submerged in water overnight? I wonder what would happen.

I'm also wondering if, when using the dry method, whether the concrete should be tamped. Would that help its strength and also, I wonder if that would help some of the aggregate to move below the surface. I'm wondering if tamping the dry would help with consolidation.

[MrCAcompora]

Perfect timing! I wouldn’t have dry poured the slab I am forming for an outdoor fireplace, but the rest of the tips regarding finishing etc are going to come in handy tomorrow. I poured footers two weeks ago and will pour my pad tomorrow. After that I have to start digging through the brick and stone laying videos again, as I form the fire box etc, then lay fire brick and flue. Going to finish with blue stone pulled from the face of library at Colgate University about 18 years ago when they re did their “Case Library”. I saw the blue stone in a coupl piles about a month ago, got that urge to finally use em up. I used Mike’s videos while building a pizza oven a few years ago, and now will use em for this project. Thanks Mike!

[craignehring]

Before I had the internet and way before YouTube I had to sort out the garage or it was going to fall down. I pretty much had to replace about 18% of my floor and I felt that I needed to create some type of foundation/footing. I read a few books on the subject and loaded my Volvo 240 Wagon with 18 bags of 4000 lb mix. That wagon was a beast.
I took it slow and easy, mixing a wheel barrow load at a time. 25 years later it is still holding up.
Thanks Mike, you are an inspiration

[colincolenso]

Great job Mike. I only do dry mix for fence posts or sometimes when placing steel UC posts at the base about 3-5 inches worth on 2.8m posts which are hard to steer by hand, for alignment of base, followed by wet mix.

[handsoffmygunmf]

Thanks for the video. As for the dry pour, and the rocks on the surface, I wonder if a guy could make a wire screen roller and roll it over the dry cement to force the rocks down before wetting it?