Portland Cement ?

When does portland cement become unusable and effect final mix hardness to where it needs to be disposed of?

I have some bags I bought that has gathered enough moisture to become stiff, bag will stand upright on end by it's self.

If indeed it's history can it still be used for like concrete fence posts and such where maximum strength is not an issue?

T_Bone

I remembered something. If you put cement into 5 gal buckets w/lids, if stays good almost indefinitely. Whether it's worth the effort is a different matter.

I've travelled all over Arizona. It's my favorite state--for lots of reasons. One thing I've noticed is that no part of it is as cold and damp as the Puget Sound region. What will keep cement dry over a winter here should work okay there.

All the best, Stan

T_Bone

ON a few occasions (maybe several) I've been too lazy (and cheap) to run out and get new cement. I have broken up solid cement with a flat piece of iron, put it through fine screen and used it to mix motar. Never had any problems with it, though any sane person will realize it's not worth the trouble. I, on the other hand, have a sickness where I don't want to see anything go to waste. My wife makes fun of me because I am the only one she knows who picks his own trash!

Tim

Ive been an admirer of your vast knowledge and your generosity in sharing it for the several years Ive been reading this forum (of course, its no secret that practically everyone feels the same way about you.)

What Ive always done with questionable portland cement is use it to enrich my mix. For instance, if I'm mixing a 5 sack mix, Ill add another twenty percent of the old stuff. Then, I may have as good as a six sack mix but anyway (probably) no worse than the five sack mix the project calls for.

Im willing to live with my own mistakes, and Ive had plenty of opportunity to do so, but generally I wouldnt pass along a tip on something that 'seems' like it should work, or 'probably' wont make the situation worse. In this case, though, Im pretty confident. My concrete work has always been quite good, and my old projects have held up better than much of what I see around me everywhere, every day.

All the best, Stan

Well guys I was thinking of storing cement in bulk for a couple years but my sack cement was gathering moister as time went by. And Arizona is supposed to be a dry climnate...lol

T_Bone