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Quik Krete Mix for Securing Posts

M

Moonlite37

Well-known Member
I usually pour concreter with 5/1mix with bank run gravel and sand for securing pipe corner posts
and the results have been good. I plan to try using Quik Krete and just pour in the hole and add
water. Will it be as strong as mixing the bank run stuff and pouring in the hole wet?
 
I've heard good and bad about that method.

If you have a good long time frame before putting the posts to use, it will probably work. I'm saying maybe a month or so depending on the moisture of the soil...

But for quick use I would recommend mixing and pouring.
 
I haven't bought a 97# bag portland cement in a while.
It used to cost about the same as one bag of quik krete.

I have all the sand gravel mix I need in my abandoned gravel pit.

I would load my cement mixer, portland cement, 100 gallon container of water and a few scoops of sand and gravel in my dump trailer. A scoop weighs about 800#. Put a portable generator in the back of the truck and mix what I need at the post hole..

If you want to be cheap, back fill hole with crushed white rock.

It's your money. I would continue doing what you have been doing. Mix it yourself..
Stop by and I give you a scoop of two of sand/gravel mix..
 
(quoted from post at 14:22:20 08/26/22) I plan to try using Quik Krete and just pour in the hole and add water. [b:d1d2d04ef6]Will it be as strong as mixing the bank run stuff and pouring in the hole wet?[/b:d1d2d04ef6]
Click to expand...

No. Probably strong enough though.
Hard to know when you got the correct amount of water without the""feel" of mixing. Too much water on top (brittle) not enough or none at the bottom.

That being said, it is done all the time by some folks.
 
Fill the hole with water and dump in the sack crete. the cement will lower and the water will rise to the top. Scrape off the excess water.
 
Moonlite37,

If by you 5/1 you mean 1 part cement and 2 gravel and 2 sand, it's almost the same as I do.
I do 2 part cement; 2 part stone, and 3 part sand. I also add lime @ 25% of the cement amount,

Guido.
 
I have set posts with just gravel tamped down . We have heavy clay here and just doesn't hold well unless moisture is perfect. All thats happening with concrete or gravel is your increasing the bearing area against undisturbed soil.
 
(quoted from post at 13:21:39 08/26/22) Unless you're setting a LOT of posts, it seems like you're stepping over dollars to chase pennies mixing your own.
Click to expand...


Barnyard, he told us that he plans to do only the corners. Generally line posts outnumber corners by a very wide margin.
 
The problem with just pouring the bag in the hole and adding water is that the cement settles out of the aggregate during shipping and handling. Mixing it up, even if you do it dry, is better than just pouring it out of the sack into the hole. But, like the others have said, it's probably strong enough either way.
 
We jusr set them in the dirt that came out of the hole. Been there since the 60',70',and 80's. The power company just uses crushed rock for back fill on power poles. If it is good enough for them I would guess it is good enough for that.
 
I like to put my mix in the bottom of the hole and let it set. Put my post in after the set up and I have the option of moving the post around on the footing to keep my line straight. I would pack around the post with the fines of the post hole removal and finish the last 8 inches or so with gravel for aeration at ground level.
 
(quoted from post at 19:19:45 08/26/22) No, it won't be as strong as mixing the cement first.
Click to expand...

The opinions that the concrete needs to be mixed before placing in the hole are correct. You should also figure out the water requirement per sack by weight or volume to obtain maximum strength. If you're going to put it in the hole dry and add water one way or another, you're wasting your money.
 
Actually it might be stronger if the water is added sparingly and gradually as the dry mix is added.Common for most people mixing concrete to add too much water this cuts the strength of the mix and the coarse aggregate falls to the bottom as the mix is poured resulting in weak concrete.
 
I had my own ideas when I had to put up 450 feet of barbwire fencing, but I looked it up online. There are several extension services that listed best practices. Corner/end posts have to be deep for stability. They said mix it and drop it in to eliminate air pockets and only fill to about 4 inches from ground level then add dirt over ground level to prevent pooling of water at the post. I cut used old aluminum gutters and made them into caps for the top because I've seen a lot of old posts rot at the top.
 
Instructions for post setting are on the bag. I fill the hole half full of water then pour the concrete mix in. Its probably not as strong as premixing but it works.
 
(quoted from post at 16:00:16 08/26/22) The problem with just pouring the bag in the hole and adding water is that the cement settles out of the aggregate during shipping and handling. Mixing it up, even if you do it dry, is better than just pouring it out of the sack into the hole. But, like the others have said, it's probably strong enough either way.
Click to expand...


I have recently used a few bags. There was no separating.
 
No need to add water at all unless your ground is really, really dry. The quick-krete will absorb enough water from the surrounding dirt to set up in only a day or two. In the mean time, the dry concrete will keep the post from falling over. Strength? It's widely known that the less water you add to concrete the stronger it will be.
 
No need to add water it will set up fine . I built pole barns for years and used quick-krete/sakrete in all the pole holes,90# in the bottom and 90#around the pole .Once when framing up a pole barn one Friday afternoon a farmer who we were building a barn for decided he wanted wider door ways after the barn was framed up .So come Monday morning we pulled the poles and has a really hard time getting them out with our loader tractor. The concrete was totally set around the poles and had a heck of time busting if off of the poles,and no rain over the weekend.I could not believe how it set around the poles.Poles had 180# hunk of concrete on the bottom of them.
 
There is a special mix of Quikrete just for post setting. Use that.

I do not understand why folks keep trying to use the old ways, particularly when there is a product made specifically for what you wish to do.
 
(quoted from post at 07:30:11 08/27/22) There is a special mix of Quikrete just for post setting. Use that.

I do not understand why folks keep trying to use the old ways, particularly when there is a product made specifically for what you wish to do.
Click to expand...



"I do not understand why folks keep trying to use the old ways"


I can't believe I am reading this on YT!!!


This forum is and always has been and hopefully always will be home of "Keep Using the Old Ways"!!!
 
The problem with filling the hole back in with dry cement mix is the Portland separates from the aggregate. If you removed such a post out of the ground at a later date the cement would easily crumble off where if the cement was mixed first there would be a solid concrete block on the end of a post. As far as someone mixing the cement adding too much water that is entirely possible. If a person is going to work with concrete mix they need to learn how.
 
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