In the west we build swimming pools using Shotcrete/ Gunite method. Cement mix is pumped dry through a pressurized 4 -6 inch hose under high pressure and shot out of the hose. There is a water sprayer on the top end of the nozzle. that sprays water on the dry mix in the air as it is shot against the rebar and wall of the pool. once complete the curing stage is to wait a day and water it 4 times a day for 7 days. This makes a concrete that is 10 times stronger than mixed concrete. The Gunite mix does have a higher concentration of cement in it. But what gives it the most strength is the fact that you are not diluting the cement with so much water and you are only giving it as much water as it absorbs during curing this results in a tighter stronger compaction of cement. this is very much similar to your method and explains the strength and lack of cracking you get with your method.
I have always dry poured my fence posts. It works great. Dig the hole, plumb up the post to desired height, usually place gravel in the bottom so the post is not wicking up water, pour in your concrete, water and cover with dirt. Works great.
More importantly, I've had to bust up those blobs of concrete with a sledge hammer. Toughest concrete you'll ever find. During the curing process you only need enough water to activate the chemical reaction. Any water beyond that weakens the concrete during the curing process A sledge hammer can break up a 4" wet poured driveway but a dry poured fence post blob will laugh at you as the sledge hammer bounces off
great job, folks! did this some weeks ago by pouring a base for my new tool shed over an existing patio. it worked perfectly well... exactly as shown by you in your video. thank you for encouraging me by sharing your experience. my base ist 2x3 metres, has absolutely no cracks, I fixed the tool shed with several big dowels and I have absolutely no doubt that it will last for decades! thanks a lot°°°!!
I hired someone to pour concrete in my backyard for my hot tub, and it's not level. I wanted to level it myself, but I've been afraid to, and wondered if I could redo the concrete this way. I"M GOING TO DO IT! Thank you guys! I'm excited to see your next video!
Don't forget LEVELS fine.. But.. TOO level and water will pool if it's got nowhere to Go.. So make sure it leans in the downward direction of the yard.. 1/8" should be fine for a hot tub..
Love the way ya'll explain how you do these things and why. Most people leave out the reason why, which is the most important thing in any instruction. Keep doing what you are doing. GREAT VIDEOS!
We wouldn’t expect or want someone to do this on their own just because we did it. We want people to have all the information we can provide them and let them be the judge.🤍
Y’all are saving my bacon! Starting a renovation on an old house stuck in the 70’s (literally) trying to do as much myself and save some money while also a learning experience
I did my first dry pour last week. It was my test for an area where my trash cans and firewood holder sitls by my shed. I came out better than expected. I'm in north west Florida and we had rain. Kept it covered for most of the week. Now that I kinda figured it out on to redoing my patio. Thank You'll for posting these videos.
I'm watching all your videos, currently on #33. I really appreciate you guys showing the product labels that you use, your great attention to detail and common-sense explanations. I'll be using these techniques to repair my walkway in the front yard.
@CajunCountryLivin I have a question. Can I dry pour a 1.7-inch concrete slab on top of a 6-mil plastic sheet in my crawlspace, or should I remove the plastic first so the moisture in the ground can interact with the concrete? Thanks.
Thank you guys I am wet pouring a 200 square ft slab and it’s kicking my rear 😣 it’s so much work. But I have 3 more projects so I’ll follow your advice for the rest of my projects, God bless you.
Great tutorial this gives me a solution to my old crack patio that everyone wanted to charge me thousands of dollars to make new again. I’ll just pay someone to make me the forms and I’ll try doing it the dry pour way you show here. Thanks you might have just saved me a bunch of money.
I just built a 20'x8' shed on a dry poured reinforced slab 2 expansion joints 4" thick with 6" footings. 9'x8' high shed roof, 2 skylights, lp smart side, fully insulate, 36" steel door, standing seam roof. On one exterior wall is a wood accent wall, with tv for our jacuzzi installed on battons over pressure treated plywood. 5 rows of shelving inside, camping gear, tools, 2 dirtbikes parked in it right now, just withstood the CO storms that came through. No issues. Entire shed is built out of leftover material from job sites, i only purchased $250 in wood and the $600 in concrete. Metal supplier hooked up the metal panels for a 6 pack of beer. (I'm a sheet metal roofer) Yall made this project possible. Withstood some freezing temperatures also 👍
Very good point on the PH. I work in the Oilfield Cementing wells. We prefer the water to be closer to 7 and lower because downhole temperature and pressure already has an impact on drying or set up time of Cement. We don't use an aggregate such as gravel or sand so it can't set up fast. Chlorinated water from a city water system can accelerate the drying process, so making sure it's not really high on the alkaline side is probably a good thing for concrete pour as well.
Very well explained and illustrated video! Your professionalism in Concrete is Nothing compared to the talent you have in Video production, and your talent in construction is Boss!
I am a 66 year old woman and I am building a pad for our trash cans! I will hire some friend’s muscles to get the bags here and to dig out the base. I am not stupid! LOL. Your video is fantastic! This method solves my issues!! I have watched all your videos!!
You do justice to do it yourselfers. Watching and hearing your process will make my decision to concrete projects `s i have around my home. Great lookin couple with a bright future wish you all the best.
Looks amazing guys. Thank you so much for sharing. This is a game changer for me. Can’t wait to get started. Most importantly, I love how the two of you work together as a team! You rock!
This is something I've pondered recently as we want to raise the walk from the porch to the driveway that been ponding. The adhesion question info was very helpful. But the "honeycomb" prevention had eluded me in the past. Wonderful job ya'll.
I drypoured my walkway yesterday!! It looks great. However, I did not have the tools to round the edges out. I am worried the edges may chip. I am praying it holds up as it really looks GREAT!!!! I had to do it in stages cause the heat in the New Orleans Metro area was sweltering. It was 95 degrees. It took 7 - 60 lb bags 2" deep. I spent most of the time leveling it out and finished it off with the paint roller (which made a world of difference in the finish). If you ignore my poorly constructed frame you would not think it drypoured!!!! Thanks ever so much. Really saved me a lot of money!!!!
Great Videos! I've always wondered about dry-pouring concrete since it gets hard in the bag if left in high humidity long enough. I didn't know dry-pouring is a "Thing" until I saw your video. I am 71 years old, and I have a few projects that I thought were too large for me to do by myself. I was going to hire someone experienced in concrete work, who recommended I get a cement truck to pour them. This was going to cost several thousand dollars. The first project was pouring a 12-foot by 12-foot slab for a shed. It will be made of concrete & rebar-reinforced walls. I live in South Florida and it has to withstand a Cat 5 Hurricane. The second project...I have an enclosed 10' X 14' back porch with a concrete floor. But the floor is 4 inches lower than the floor inside the house, so I wanted to pour 4 inches of concrete in there to make them level. I was going to ask you how do you screed a floor when there are walls? But I found the answer on the internet. You make a frame along two parallel walls an inch or two from the walls. Then you can screed. After the concrete has set you can fill in the two gaps. So now my question is.. I have many 20 in. x 20 in. Concrete Step Stones, can I use them as fill? I don't need 4 inches of solid concrete on top of an existing concrete floor. I can lay the stones like floor tile with an inch gap around them. And fill between them with dry concrete. I would put 1 to 2 inches of dry concrete above them. I don't think it will crack. What do you think? It doesn't freeze in South Florida. It can't move since the side walls are concrete. And the floor will be covered with a lamenet.
You just can't repeat this often enough! I see so many videos of folks who say they're following your recipe, then totally not doing so. Sure, the comments they get are harsh, but it would be better if the recipe became "idiot proof", which you are doing more of every time. This video convinced me to add a layer to an existing broken patio slab rather than demolishing it as part of my mostly-DIY remodel. My plan is to chip open all the cracks, chip off the high parts, then do the new dry-pour layer with steel wire mesh added. I figure the parts of the broken slab have settled well enough to form a good base, perhaps a better base than demolishing it and starting over! Question: What if I have to stop before the screeding is done, but dew or rain is expected? Would it be enough to cover everything with a plastic sheet (going out well beyond the forms), then removing it when I'm ready to continue? Thanks!
I had things come up and couldn't get to this week's videos until today. That's probably why I was bummed earlier in the week. I've decided from now on if Jim and Lydia can do it I can. You explain it in such simple terms. I like when someone steps outside the box and says let's see if there's another way to do this. Many people don't have the resources whether it man power, equipment, and the finances to do it the way we're told it should be done. To know that I can make a concrete slab by myself with just buying the concrete and using tools I already have. That blows my mind. The fact that you could do a new top over the old slab. How cool is that. Well I've got to get over to the next video to see the end of this project As always wishing you the best Stay safe Love you guys
Hi Cajun family. After seeing your video for the 5 by 5 dry pour slab, I tried it out in our shed where I laid some electricity, to cover it up. Seemed like a good opportunity to try it out. I actually figured that using a tube like the ones you used for the vent lines (a little wider diameter perhaps) gives a nice and easy finish without having to shake back and forth like with the board. Always so nice to see your video's. Have a great day!
Thank you both , you got a fan here in 🇬🇧 who’s going to give this a try. I am envious of the land you guys have in the USA and Good luck with the house building, I’ll be watching 👍🏻
We are about ready to do our dry pour thanks for doing another video on the subject. Jill and I will be reviewing your videos on dry pour. We have finished the drywall taping in the garage looks pretty good. Even though we are fairly old we are still learning new ways of doing things, thanks to your UA-cam channel, looking forward to Wednesday 😊.
Thanks for all the information you've provided, I still haven't seen anyone pouring concrete over existing pavers which I thought about trying because I didn't want to pull them up not to mention having to throw them away
Hi! Quick question. I have a concrete slab that has a large, uneven crack on the edge of it with grass growing up through it. Should I remove that piece of concrete altogether or try lifting it up so it’s level before refilling it?
Yes delamination between pours is a major problem that most lay people wouldnt have knowledge of, man thats got to be an expensive way of doing it, when compared to using raw materials and mixing them, but its always fun watching y'all.
Awesome job as always!! Y'all keep raising the bar and finding new ways to keep this dry pour relevant. Thanx again for teaching us your specifics and congratulations on the explosion of followers, y'all deserve it. Be Safe!!
Excellent Ph discussion. If you are doing a lot of masonry work (stucco for me,) and your skin is irritated from the ph of the crete, use a mild ACID to wash them. I prefer vinegar because it is cheap. If you wash in the mild acid your skin will heal faster.
You guys are so awesome. I love how well you explain things and demo everything. I have watched a ton of dry pour videos (more seem to be popping up every day since you guys started this amazing trend) and in one of them the guy rolls a piece of pipe (forward and back) over the surface for the skreeting process, which looks like it's less work than moving a board back and forth, and also may allow for skreeting if you have obstructions along side of where you are pouring that would make it difficult to impossible to do the back and forth motion of the board. (The same guy also did a video where he took a large glass bowl and filled it with concrete, then added water over time to show how the water gradually fully penetrated the concrete, which I found very instructional.) Maybe you could give that a try and see how it works. Would love to see your take on that method.
Nothing against dry pour, but the clear bowl test is not accurate. More water will always flow further down a non-porous side, including your wood forms although not as quickly. Think of it like this, the same amount of water can't continue flowing laterally, so it takes the quickest route vertically down. So the further in on that bowl, the powder will be dry while the sides show deeper wetness.
dats a lot of screeding. I really like this process, I only heard of it for the first time last year. Now I am sold as it being one of the only ways to do this for house size projects. Great info on the prep process. - Many thanks - cheers.
Thank you for all your clear info. I will try a dry pour around my fire pit and then redo my back porch. It's small but can't wait to try it. Thanks again
Well done!! Not only did ya'll do a great job with the slab, but you also did a great job explaining the process. I will admit, when I started watching this video, I had no idea we would take a trip to the rockies.😁🥰
Great info as always, now all I have to do is wait for the standing water to leave. Suppose to have dry sunny weather for the next 7 days, so maybe I will get my slab for side-by-side put in, just have to wait and see. Have a great week y'all. 👍👍
I like the sander tip. The pros use a vibrating probe to do the same thing on thick wet poured concrete. Fills any voids. I would seal the slab so it doesn’t stain and stays clean 😊Thanks for sharing.
I love this I am planning on doing this next month and wondered if I could go over the existing concrete. I’ve been looking for info on this I’m so happy you guys did this video!!
Thank you so much for your excellent videos and explanations! By the way, your video and sound quality are top notch! Like another fellow in the comments below, I, too, am considering a large pad, and like him, I'll be working by myself. You suggested that he divide the pad in half - two pours to make the screeding easier for one person. I think this would be a good idea for me too, but it does raise some questions: 1. How long should I let the first half sit/cure before pouring the second half? 2. I assume that I will be using the first pad as one of my screeding edges for the second half. Do I need to do anything to the first pad to keep the screeding board from scratching up or otherwise damaging the surface of the first pad? 3. Is it OK for the concrete of the second half of the pad to touch the concrete from the first pad, or do I need to leave some sort of gap/expansion joint between them? 4. If I do need to leave a gap, should there be some sort of expansion material between the two pads?
Thanks for the great video. I've seen some wet concrete overlay methods that recommend driving screws or rebar into the existing slab to give the overlay slab something to grab onto. What do you think about that? Is that helpful or completely unnecessary when using a dry pour overlay?
Great question! Using anchors of any type like you are describing is always a good thing. The slab that we overlayed will only be subjected to light foot traffic and garden tools, chairs, and etc. And we have had really good results with the dry application adhering to the substrate without mechanical connections.
@@CajunCountryLivin thanks so much for responding. That’s great info. I’ve been watching all of your dry pour videos (and even noticing your comments on other channels’ videos when they do it incorrectly and then say it doesn’t work lol). Your method makes concrete work much more doable for the DIYer. I’m going to give it a try soon on a small patio extension
I have a small project for a landing, will definitely do this method. Thanks so much, love this channel. Oh, total respect for Lydia lifting those 80 lb bags. 💪 Way to go.
I recently dry poured concrete as well. The concrete I purchased was the same brand but weighed 60 lbs a bag. But I realized that I can't operate like you guys because it contains too much stone. Whereas in the concrete you guys purchased, the stones don't seem to be as much. So when smoothing out the surface, it will work well.
Great project. ❤ you guys. You really started a trend going. Everybody mentions your dry pour ideas! Take care, stay safe and happy! Steve and Pam in Wi.😊
You two are amazing... What a blessing that you work so well together. I like hearing your reasoning process. I love that you are working to free us from concrete mixers. You are excellent teachers. AND you are cute as can be! I'm going to seal my chicken coop floor - slanted slightly to the east for drainage - to save my chickens (& their eggs) from snakes. Since I'll be working in very cramped quarters, wish me luck. :)
I like your vids a lot I did a dry pour for my mom. I wish you guys would give the size of the dry pour and how many bags you used I’m doing a dry pour next summer that is 11x13 so would love to know how many bags I would need
Thank you both for your video!! If I was to finish the 8 showers for 4", should I cover it if was to rain during the night? If it was the rain during my 8 showers, should I have it covered? thanks again!!
Great video Captain Croc & Lydia I was so impressed with the chemistry lesson at the start of the video. It was nerd worthy Big Jim lol I like to pick and carry on with folks. God bless y'all I learn something new every episode. I really like this dry pour method thanks for sharing the do's and don'ts.
I still haven't tried it yet but as we speak my neighbor is out there Mixing concrete in a bucket with my powerful drill one bucket at a time pouring it the old-fashioned way. Of course I sent him your video but he's stubborn.
Instead of a palm sander, you could use a massage gun and put on the hard point head. It'll be cordless and you can adjust how fast/ hard you're hitting the board. Thoughts?
Quick question, if you were to do this in your backyard to put furniture/grill/ect on top would you place some rebar in the middle of the dry concrete to help it structurally?
I'm a granny and I'm going to try to do a walk way around the corner of the house sitting from a chair, or on my hands and knees and a scoop of quick-Crete at a time. I'll make a small 2 X 2 foot form and just see how this turns out! Sure am happy to hear I can do this on top of grass, yey! If I knew how to edit videos I'd make one, but I just haven't learned that yet. I'll let you know how it goes because I can only get one 60 pound bag at a time without hurting myself! Husbands older than me, so I always do these projects on my own. I love work-in outside. Take care now.
I have a shed with a concrete floor that's in very bad shape (it was pre-existing when I bought the property)-- by "in bad shape", I mean, there are holes where the concrete has worn away (either by large/heavy items being dropped on the floor, wear and tear, etc.). It appears that the floor may not have been poured properly (it appears to be less than a half-inch thick). Aside from the cleaning, could I use this method to repair the floor, or would you recommend something else?
You can definitely use this method to repair the floor, but it sounds like a complete overlay might be your best best for a nice looking finish. Let us know how it turns out! 😊
I do not know if others are having this issue, but this is the 3rd video of yours that has not shown up in my feeds. We assumed you didn't put a video yesterday because my husband watches for yours like clockwork😂 it turned out there were 3 that was not in our feeds.
Thank you! Love your videos... fun, positive, and educational! We've got a sidewalk that needs some repair but haven't been able to do it because of the cost, but now we can finally get it done on our own!
If you want a good bond to old concrete wet it down good take straight Portland cement make a paint out of it in a bucket and paint it on over wet slab best bonding agent their is old school trick
How thick can you go with this method? I would like to build wide steps coming off my back porch & also a slope up to my storage building. Would it be better to do it in one pour or in layers?
Loved your videos. Thank you. I just dry poured a slab on side of my house for trash cans. I live in NE so we do have extreme temperature changes. I used expansion gap material along the house. I also laid down about 3in of quickrete then on top of that I poured about 1in of mortar to help with the smooth texture on the top. What are your thoughts on that? It’s still curing as I just poured it yesterday. So far so good. Do I think it will hold up? Or crack and get ruined?
Once again you guys are so great with educational advice . Nice job Captain crocks and the princess at the dry pour games !!! Love it have a great week .
Hey if you all are using the same board to screen back and forth how about screwing a long drawer pull on top of each end so that you have a better grip and not wear out your fingers... Just a thought. Love watching your videos.
I would suggest pouring it in sections…. Maybe 12.5’ x 10’ sections. This will also give you the control joints that you need to prevent cracking over time.
So cool, can't with for Wednesday!! Is it a good practice to take note of what the whether is doing before attempting to dry pour? I.e. If I dry pour today and by tomorrow it rains, will that mess up the slab? The question is open to anyone.
Thanks for the great tutorial. I'm planning my first dry pour. What is your recommendation for thickness of a patio stab that will house a garden shed for lawn mower and garden tools?
Great work, if no palm sander I think we could lightly tap the edge of the forms to settle voids ? Ever dealt with tree roots that raised concrete, how do we settle & level the concrete ? Might make a good video ? Even if you don't have a that kind of repair at home you might find sidewalks around town and talk us through the repair.
Could it be that wet poured concrete may contain residual bubbles and cavities that weaken the entire slab? Since you have to work so fast with a wet pour, to me it's conceivable that bubbles can lurk inside the poured concrete and cracks could start at those points. Dry pour won't have bubbles (obviously) because the concrete mix is porous to air, at least until you start misting it and wetting it down. Dry pour seems a ton more forgiving about technique. Anyway, thanks for the awesome instructional content!!! You folks rock. I need to repair a cracked driveway apron and this technique is a game changer.
Do you treat the form wood with anything to make sure they don't stick to the cured concrete? Also, how thin can you do a dry pour? I ask because I am about to dry pour over my sidewalk... but it sank only at one end. The other end (near my steps to the house) didn't sink...so I have to feather my sidewalk thinner with new concrete as I get to my house steps. Any tips are much appreciated! Nice video btw
We just finished a large slab done this way and it looks great. Do you water it at all over the following days or just leave it alone after finishing the initial watering schedule?
You can pour any size. There is not limit, but if you want a one time pour, the cost effectiveness goes out the window when you start talking about large slabs. Having a project that you would typically have a concrete truck haul your mix in will end up being cheaper than the concrete you would get at the store on your own most likely. This is great for smaller projects or projects that you break up a large section into.
In the west we build swimming pools using Shotcrete/ Gunite method. Cement mix is pumped dry through a pressurized 4 -6 inch hose under high pressure and shot out of the hose. There is a water sprayer on the top end of the nozzle. that sprays water on the dry mix in the air as it is shot against the rebar and wall of the pool. once complete the curing stage is to wait a day and water it 4 times a day for 7 days. This makes a concrete that is 10 times stronger than mixed concrete. The Gunite mix does have a higher concentration of cement in it. But what gives it the most strength is the fact that you are not diluting the cement with so much water and you are only giving it as much water as it absorbs during curing this results in a tighter stronger compaction of cement.
this is very much similar to your method and explains the strength and lack of cracking you get with your method.
I have always dry poured my fence posts. It works great. Dig the hole, plumb up the post to desired height, usually place gravel in the bottom so the post is not wicking up water, pour in your concrete, water and cover with dirt. Works great.
We do that too!
More importantly, I've had to bust up those blobs of concrete with a sledge hammer. Toughest concrete you'll ever find. During the curing process you only need enough water to activate the chemical reaction. Any water beyond that weakens the concrete during the curing process A sledge hammer can break up a 4" wet poured driveway but a dry poured fence post blob will laugh at you as the sledge hammer bounces off
This.
You put gravel in the bottom of the post hole so the rain water and so forth passes through the post into the ground to prevent dry rot.
Great video 👍👍
great job, folks! did this some weeks ago by pouring a base for my new tool shed over an existing patio. it worked perfectly well... exactly as shown by you in your video. thank you for encouraging me by sharing your experience. my base ist 2x3 metres, has absolutely no cracks, I fixed the tool shed with several big dowels and I have absolutely no doubt that it will last for decades! thanks a lot°°°!!
I hired someone to pour concrete in my backyard for my hot tub, and it's not level. I wanted to level it myself, but I've been afraid to, and wondered if I could redo the concrete this way. I"M GOING TO DO IT! Thank you guys! I'm excited to see your next video!
@Advice from pickle Me too!
Please let us know how it turned out?
Don't forget LEVELS fine.. But.. TOO level and water will pool if it's got nowhere to Go..
So make sure it leans in the downward direction of the yard.. 1/8" should be fine for a hot tub..
I was going to attempt this at work to fix a broken sidewalk. The bleach sets me at ease with adhesion! Thanks guys
Welcome!!
this straight up has to be one of the best kept secrets...but now the secret's out. and we all thank you. VIVA LA DRY POUR!!
Y'all have started a full on revolution in the DIY concrete world!! Kudos
Love the way ya'll explain how you do these things and why. Most people leave out the reason why, which is the most important thing in any instruction. Keep doing what you
are doing. GREAT VIDEOS!
We wouldn’t expect or want someone to do this on their own just because we did it. We want people to have all the information we can provide them and let them be the judge.🤍
Y’all are saving my bacon! Starting a renovation on an old house stuck in the 70’s (literally) trying to do as much myself and save some money while also a learning experience
Thank you for watching!
I did my first dry pour last week. It was my test for an area where my trash cans and firewood holder sitls by my shed. I came out better than expected. I'm in north west Florida and we had rain. Kept it covered for most of the week. Now that I kinda figured it out on to redoing my patio. Thank You'll for posting these videos.
I'm watching all your videos, currently on #33. I really appreciate you guys showing the product labels that you use, your great attention to detail and common-sense explanations. I'll be using these techniques to repair my walkway in the front yard.
Lol I did that too, I binged watched until I caught up. I wasn’t disappointed.
We appreciate you watching!
😊
@CajunCountryLivin I have a question. Can I dry pour a 1.7-inch concrete slab on top of a 6-mil plastic sheet in my crawlspace, or should I remove the plastic first so the moisture in the ground can interact with the concrete? Thanks.
I’d leave the plastic down. It will act as a moisture barrier between the ground and your slab.
Great job guys. Me and the wife tried it for a slanted slab outside the shed and it came out better than we thought.
Thank you guys I am wet pouring a 200 square ft slab and it’s kicking my rear 😣 it’s so much work. But I have 3 more projects so I’ll follow your advice for the rest of my projects, God bless you.
Oh man that’s a lot on one person!!
Great tutorial this gives me a solution to my old crack patio that everyone wanted to charge me thousands of dollars to make new again. I’ll just pay someone to make me the forms and I’ll try doing it the dry pour way you show here. Thanks you might have just saved me a bunch of money.
I just built a 20'x8' shed on a dry poured reinforced slab 2 expansion joints 4" thick with 6" footings. 9'x8' high shed roof, 2 skylights, lp smart side, fully insulate, 36" steel door, standing seam roof. On one exterior wall is a wood accent wall, with tv for our jacuzzi installed on battons over pressure treated plywood. 5 rows of shelving inside, camping gear, tools, 2 dirtbikes parked in it right now, just withstood the CO storms that came through. No issues. Entire shed is built out of leftover material from job sites, i only purchased $250 in wood and the $600 in concrete. Metal supplier hooked up the metal panels for a 6 pack of beer. (I'm a sheet metal roofer) Yall made this project possible. Withstood some freezing temperatures also 👍
Very good point on the PH. I work in the Oilfield Cementing wells. We prefer the water to be closer to 7 and lower because downhole temperature and pressure already has an impact on drying or set up time of Cement. We don't use an aggregate such as gravel or sand so it can't set up fast. Chlorinated water from a city water system can accelerate the drying process, so making sure it's not really high on the alkaline side is probably a good thing for concrete pour as well.
Very well explained and illustrated video! Your professionalism in Concrete is Nothing compared
to the talent you have in Video production, and your talent in construction is Boss!
Thank you so much!
I am a 66 year old woman and I am building a pad for our trash cans! I will hire some friend’s muscles to get the bags here and to dig out the base. I am not stupid! LOL.
Your video is fantastic! This method solves my issues!! I have watched all your videos!!
You do justice to do it yourselfers. Watching and hearing your process will make my decision to concrete projects `s i have around my home. Great lookin couple with a bright future wish you all the best.
Thank you!
Looks amazing guys. Thank you so much for sharing. This is a game changer for me. Can’t wait to get started. Most importantly, I love how the two of you work together as a team! You rock!
I cant wait for this stamping technique! I'll be able to get my super patio project going once I learn this. 🤠
This is something I've pondered recently as we want to raise the walk from the porch to the driveway that been ponding. The adhesion question info was very helpful. But the "honeycomb" prevention had eluded me in the past. Wonderful job ya'll.
I drypoured my walkway yesterday!! It looks great. However, I did not have the tools to round the edges out. I am worried the edges may chip. I am praying it holds up as it really looks GREAT!!!! I had to do it in stages cause the heat in the New Orleans Metro area was sweltering. It was 95 degrees. It took 7 - 60 lb bags 2" deep. I spent most of the time leveling it out and finished it off with the paint roller (which made a world of difference in the finish). If you ignore my poorly constructed frame you would not think it drypoured!!!! Thanks ever so much. Really saved me a lot of money!!!!
Love what you are teaching all of us. Dry poor rules. ❤️🦋👍🇦🇺
Great Videos! I've always wondered about dry-pouring concrete since it gets hard in the bag if left in high humidity long enough. I didn't know dry-pouring is a "Thing" until I saw your video. I am 71 years old, and I have a few projects that I thought were too large for me to do by myself. I was going to hire someone experienced in concrete work, who recommended I get a cement truck to pour them. This was going to cost several thousand dollars. The first project was pouring a 12-foot by 12-foot slab for a shed. It will be made of concrete & rebar-reinforced walls. I live in South Florida and it has to withstand a Cat 5 Hurricane. The second project...I have an enclosed 10' X 14' back porch with a concrete floor. But the floor is 4 inches lower than the floor inside the house, so I wanted to pour 4 inches of concrete in there to make them level. I was going to ask you how do you screed a floor when there are walls? But I found the answer on the internet. You make a frame along two parallel walls an inch or two from the walls. Then you can screed. After the concrete has set you can fill in the two gaps. So now my question is.. I have many 20 in. x 20 in. Concrete Step Stones, can I use them as fill? I don't need 4 inches of solid concrete on top of an existing concrete floor. I can lay the stones like floor tile with an inch gap around them. And fill between them with dry concrete. I would put 1 to 2 inches of dry concrete above them. I don't think it will crack. What do you think? It doesn't freeze in South Florida. It can't move since the side walls are concrete. And the floor will be covered with a lamenet.
You just can't repeat this often enough! I see so many videos of folks who say they're following your recipe, then totally not doing so. Sure, the comments they get are harsh, but it would be better if the recipe became "idiot proof", which you are doing more of every time.
This video convinced me to add a layer to an existing broken patio slab rather than demolishing it as part of my mostly-DIY remodel. My plan is to chip open all the cracks, chip off the high parts, then do the new dry-pour layer with steel wire mesh added. I figure the parts of the broken slab have settled well enough to form a good base, perhaps a better base than demolishing it and starting over!
Question: What if I have to stop before the screeding is done, but dew or rain is expected? Would it be enough to cover everything with a plastic sheet (going out well beyond the forms), then removing it when I'm ready to continue?
Thanks!
Love watching you two work together! Thank you for showing us what is possible!
Thank you for watching!
I had things come up and couldn't get to this week's videos until today.
That's probably why I was bummed earlier in the week.
I've decided from now on if Jim and Lydia can do it I can.
You explain it in such simple terms.
I like when someone steps outside the box and says let's see if there's another way to do this.
Many people don't have the resources whether it man power, equipment, and the finances to do it the way we're told it should be done.
To know that I can make a concrete slab by myself with just buying the concrete and using tools I already have.
That blows my mind.
The fact that you could do a new top over the old slab. How cool is that.
Well I've got to get over to the next video to see the end of this project
As always wishing you the best
Stay safe
Love you guys
Australian viewer here. Love your videos, And love your accents! Thanks for the tips. Now Im inspired to fix up an outdoor sitting area I started
Nothing better than working and learning🎉
😍❤️🥰
Hi Cajun family. After seeing your video for the 5 by 5 dry pour slab, I tried it out in our shed where I laid some electricity, to cover it up. Seemed like a good opportunity to try it out. I actually figured that using a tube like the ones you used for the vent lines (a little wider diameter perhaps) gives a nice and easy finish without having to shake back and forth like with the board. Always so nice to see your video's. Have a great day!
This is so cool! We love to hear these ideas! So happy that it worked well, we will definitely have to try it out!
Can you clarify what you used instead of the board?
Thank you both , you got a fan here in 🇬🇧 who’s going to give this a try.
I am envious of the land you guys have in the USA and Good luck with the house building, I’ll be watching 👍🏻
Thank you!
so pleased to see captain crocks had his rubber shoes on when applying that bleach solution😉
Thank you both so much for doing this video. I have learned a lot from all of your dry pour concrete tutorials..
Thank you for watching. 🤍
We are about ready to do our dry pour thanks for doing another video on the subject. Jill and I will be reviewing your videos on dry pour. We have finished the drywall taping in the garage looks pretty good. Even though we are fairly old we are still learning new ways of doing things, thanks to your UA-cam channel, looking forward to Wednesday 😊.
Awesome! Y’all email us if you have any questions😄
P.s. Jill is really going to like Wednesday video.
Thanks for all the information you've provided, I still haven't seen anyone pouring concrete over existing pavers which I thought about trying because I didn't want to pull them up not to mention having to throw them away
Hi! Quick question. I have a concrete slab that has a large, uneven crack on the edge of it with grass growing up through it. Should I remove that piece of concrete altogether or try lifting it up so it’s level before refilling it?
Yes delamination between pours is a major problem that most lay people wouldnt have knowledge of, man thats got to be an expensive way of doing it, when compared to using raw materials and mixing them, but its always fun watching y'all.
Thanks for the info, I am using this method to pave my BBQ area,. I'm having fun with it. greetings from down under.
Awesome!!
Awesome job as always!! Y'all keep raising the bar and finding new ways to keep this dry pour relevant. Thanx again for teaching us your specifics and congratulations on the explosion of followers, y'all deserve it. Be Safe!!
Thank you for watching!!
This is so cool. Another advantage,... the top of this fresh new dry pour, is that its farther away from the wet ground.
Excellent Ph discussion. If you are doing a lot of masonry work (stucco for me,) and your skin is irritated from the ph of the crete, use a mild ACID to wash them. I prefer vinegar because it is cheap. If you wash in the mild acid your skin will heal faster.
Thank you!
You guys are so awesome. I love how well you explain things and demo everything. I have watched a ton of dry pour videos (more seem to be popping up every day since you guys started this amazing trend) and in one of them the guy rolls a piece of pipe (forward and back) over the surface for the skreeting process, which looks like it's less work than moving a board back and forth, and also may allow for skreeting if you have obstructions along side of where you are pouring that would make it difficult to impossible to do the back and forth motion of the board. (The same guy also did a video where he took a large glass bowl and filled it with concrete, then added water over time to show how the water gradually fully penetrated the concrete, which I found very instructional.) Maybe you could give that a try and see how it works. Would love to see your take on that method.
rolling a pipe. this channel is getting wilder and wilder every day!!
Nothing against dry pour, but the clear bowl test is not accurate. More water will always flow further down a non-porous side, including your wood forms although not as quickly. Think of it like this, the same amount of water can't continue flowing laterally, so it takes the quickest route vertically down. So the further in on that bowl, the powder will be dry while the sides show deeper wetness.
dats a lot of screeding. I really like this process, I only heard of it for the first time last year. Now I am sold as it being one of the only ways to do this for house size projects. Great info on the prep process. - Many thanks - cheers.
Awesome!!
Absolutely lov'n these videos... I'm looking forward to the updates as I'm learning so much b4 I do my own!!
Awesome!! We will keep y’all updated.
Thank you for all your clear info. I will try a dry pour around my fire pit and then redo my back porch. It's small but can't wait to try it. Thanks again
Well done!! Not only did ya'll do a great job with the slab, but you also did a great job explaining the process. I will admit, when I started watching this video, I had no idea we would take a trip to the rockies.😁🥰
Thank you! Hope that you enjoyed the trip y’all! 😂
Great info as always, now all I have to do is wait for the standing water to leave. Suppose to have dry sunny weather for the next 7 days, so maybe I will get my slab for side-by-side put in, just have to wait and see. Have a great week y'all. 👍👍
Absolutely!! Y’all holler if y’all need any help!!😁
God bless y'all, folks. I gotta say, y'all really helped me out big time. I sure do appreciate it.
Getting ready to do exactly what you did. Glad you did it first 😊
Awesome! Let us know how it goes!
I like the sander tip. The pros use a vibrating probe to do the same thing on thick wet poured concrete. Fills any voids. I would seal the slab so it doesn’t stain and stays clean 😊Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
I love this I am planning on doing this next month and wondered if I could go over the existing concrete. I’ve been looking for info on this I’m so happy you guys did this video!!
Thank you!
This is so cool. I had no idea you could pour concrete like this. I learned something new. Awesome, thank you sharing this.
Just did my first 4x5 dry pour yesterday it looks great I'm waiting a couple days to remove the forms thank you Cajun
Thank you so much for your excellent videos and explanations! By the way, your video and sound quality are top notch!
Like another fellow in the comments below, I, too, am considering a large pad, and like him, I'll be working by myself. You suggested that he divide the pad in half - two pours to make the screeding easier for one person. I think this would be a good idea for me too, but it does raise some questions:
1. How long should I let the first half sit/cure before pouring the second half?
2. I assume that I will be using the first pad as one of my screeding edges for the second half. Do I need to do anything to the first pad to keep the screeding board from scratching up or otherwise damaging the surface of the first pad?
3. Is it OK for the concrete of the second half of the pad to touch the concrete from the first pad, or do I need to leave some sort of gap/expansion joint between them?
4. If I do need to leave a gap, should there be some sort of expansion material between the two pads?
Thanks for the great video. I've seen some wet concrete overlay methods that recommend driving screws or rebar into the existing slab to give the overlay slab something to grab onto. What do you think about that? Is that helpful or completely unnecessary when using a dry pour overlay?
Great question! Using anchors of any type like you are describing is always a good thing. The slab that we overlayed will only be subjected to light foot traffic and garden tools, chairs, and etc. And we have had really good results with the dry application adhering to the substrate without mechanical connections.
@@CajunCountryLivin thanks so much for responding. That’s great info. I’ve been watching all of your dry pour videos (and even noticing your comments on other channels’ videos when they do it incorrectly and then say it doesn’t work lol). Your method makes concrete work much more doable for the DIYer. I’m going to give it a try soon on a small patio extension
I have a small project for a landing, will definitely do this method. Thanks so much, love this channel.
Oh, total respect for Lydia lifting those 80 lb bags. 💪
Way to go.
😁😁😁
I recently dry poured concrete as well. The concrete I purchased was the same brand but weighed 60 lbs a bag. But I realized that I can't operate like you guys because it contains too much stone. Whereas in the concrete you guys purchased, the stones don't seem to be as much. So when smoothing out the surface, it will work well.
hey yall got a factor sponsorship, that's great! I really enjoy my keto Factor meals for lunch at the office
Yes! They really are great and super easy!
Great project. ❤ you guys. You really started a trend going. Everybody mentions your dry pour ideas! Take care, stay safe and happy! Steve and Pam in Wi.😊
Thank you and thank you so much for watching!
You two are amazing... What a blessing that you work so well together. I like hearing your reasoning process. I love that you are working to free us from concrete mixers. You are excellent teachers. AND you are cute as can be! I'm going to seal my chicken coop floor - slanted slightly to the east for drainage - to save my chickens (& their eggs) from snakes. Since I'll be working in very cramped quarters, wish me luck. :)
I like your vids a lot I did a dry pour for my mom. I wish you guys would give the size of the dry pour and how many bags you used I’m doing a dry pour next summer that is 11x13 so would love to know how many bags I would need
Thank you both for your video!! If I was to finish the 8 showers for 4", should I cover it if was to rain during the night? If it was the rain during my 8 showers, should I have it covered? thanks again!!
Ive learned something new today. Did not know you could dry pour concrete. In Cajun spelling. Thanx
😁
Lady, you are really strong!!! I wish I could pick up the 80bl concrete like that
Great video Captain Croc & Lydia I was so impressed with the chemistry lesson at the start of the video. It was nerd worthy Big Jim lol I like to pick and carry on with folks. God bless y'all I learn something new every episode. I really like this dry pour method thanks for sharing the do's and don'ts.
I still haven't tried it yet but as we speak my neighbor is out there Mixing concrete in a bucket with my powerful drill one bucket at a time pouring it the old-fashioned way. Of course I sent him your video but he's stubborn.
you guys are so awesome at the dry concrete pour you make it look easy and the weather looks great there thanks for sharing watching from canada Eh
Thanks for always having nothing but support for us!!
Instead of a palm sander, you could use a massage gun and put on the hard point head. It'll be cordless and you can adjust how fast/ hard you're hitting the board. Thoughts?
Quick question, if you were to do this in your backyard to put furniture/grill/ect on top would you place some rebar in the middle of the dry concrete to help it structurally?
If there will be substantial weight and or if the soil isn’t high compaction soil. I would definitely add high tensile wire at least.
Great job! Its so nice you included your daughter in the video ❤
I'm a granny and I'm going to try to do a walk way around the corner of the house sitting from a chair, or on my hands and knees and a scoop of quick-Crete at a time. I'll make a small 2 X 2 foot form and just see how this turns out! Sure am happy to hear I can do this on top of grass, yey! If I knew how to edit videos I'd make one, but I just haven't learned that yet. I'll let you know how it goes because I can only get one 60 pound bag at a time without hurting myself! Husbands older than me, so I always do these projects on my own. I love work-in outside. Take care now.
A sawzall ,less the blade, against the form boards makes a great vibrating motion as well !!
Awesome to know!!
You sir, are the luckiest guy on earth. Well done folks
Have never seen such clean bags of ready mix
I have a shed with a concrete floor that's in very bad shape (it was pre-existing when I bought the property)-- by "in bad shape", I mean, there are holes where the concrete has worn away (either by large/heavy items being dropped on the floor, wear and tear, etc.). It appears that the floor may not have been poured properly (it appears to be less than a half-inch thick). Aside from the cleaning, could I use this method to repair the floor, or would you recommend something else?
You can definitely use this method to repair the floor, but it sounds like a complete overlay might be your best best for a nice looking finish. Let us know how it turns out! 😊
I do not know if others are having this issue, but this is the 3rd video of yours that has not shown up in my feeds. We assumed you didn't put a video yesterday because my husband watches for yours like clockwork😂 it turned out there were 3 that was not in our feeds.
We have had several people that actually commented that we’re having this issue. Maybe UA-cam is mad at us🤔
Have you tried or know anyone who has done this over a brick walkway? I would guess this would work the same way. Love the videos on this.
Thank you! Love your videos... fun, positive, and educational! We've got a sidewalk that needs some repair but haven't been able to do it because of the cost, but now we can finally get it done on our own!
If you want a good bond to old concrete wet it down good take straight Portland cement make a paint out of it in a bucket and paint it on over wet slab best bonding agent their is old school trick
Thanks!
How thick can you go with this method? I would like to build wide steps coming off my back porch & also a slope up to my storage building. Would it be better to do it in one pour or in layers?
We have poured 8” so far. I would pour in sections so the you wouldn’t have to over water the top layer
How about bonding liquid I've seen at the box store? Can you dry pour over 12x12 stepping stone patio?
So informative. Great video you guys!! Love your channel.
Thanks so much!
Loved your videos. Thank you. I just dry poured a slab on side of my house for trash cans. I live in NE so we do have extreme temperature changes. I used expansion gap material along the house. I also laid down about 3in of quickrete then on top of that I poured about 1in of mortar to help with the smooth texture on the top. What are your thoughts on that? It’s still curing as I just poured it yesterday. So far so good. Do I think it will hold up? Or crack and get ruined?
Once again you guys are so great with educational advice . Nice job Captain crocks and the princess at the dry pour games !!! Love it have a great week .
Hey if you all are using the same board to screen back and forth how about screwing a long drawer pull on top of each end so that you have a better grip and not wear out your fingers... Just a thought. Love watching your videos.
I like your video what would you suggest on how to dry pour a 25x40 garage floor with a 3’ apron outside the doors?
I would suggest pouring it in sections…. Maybe 12.5’ x 10’ sections. This will also give you the control joints that you need to prevent cracking over time.
Can I use a concrete adhesive on the existing slab prior to adding the dry mix?
How big is this dry pour over the existing slab and how many bags of concrete did you use
So cool, can't with for Wednesday!! Is it a good practice to take note of what the whether is doing before attempting to dry pour? I.e. If I dry pour today and by tomorrow it rains, will that mess up the slab? The question is open to anyone.
The day that you pour is critical for the weather. If it rains on it after that, it will not hurt a thing.
Excelente trabajo muchachos Dios los bendiga
Thanks for the great tutorial. I'm planning my first dry pour. What is your recommendation for thickness of a patio stab that will house a garden shed for lawn mower and garden tools?
Great work, if no palm sander I think we could lightly tap the edge of the forms to settle voids ? Ever dealt with tree roots that raised concrete, how do we settle & level the concrete ? Might make a good video ? Even if you don't have a that kind of repair at home you might find sidewalks around town and talk us through the repair.
I was thinking the same thing. If you don't have a palm sander, gently tapping on the top edge of the forms should produce the same effect.
Could it be that wet poured concrete may contain residual bubbles and cavities that weaken the entire slab? Since you have to work so fast with a wet pour, to me it's conceivable that bubbles can lurk inside the poured concrete and cracks could start at those points. Dry pour won't have bubbles (obviously) because the concrete mix is porous to air, at least until you start misting it and wetting it down. Dry pour seems a ton more forgiving about technique. Anyway, thanks for the awesome instructional content!!! You folks rock. I need to repair a cracked driveway apron and this technique is a game changer.
Do you treat the form wood with anything to make sure they don't stick to the cured concrete? Also, how thin can you do a dry pour? I ask because I am about to dry pour over my sidewalk... but it sank only at one end. The other end (near my steps to the house) didn't sink...so I have to feather my sidewalk thinner with new concrete as I get to my house steps. Any tips are much appreciated! Nice video btw
Hi, Do you know if you can put a damp proof membrane under a dry pour concrete please ? Thank you
We just finished a large slab done this way and it looks great. Do you water it at all over the following days or just leave it alone after finishing the initial watering schedule?
Watering it won’t hurt anything. So up to you.
thanks for the quick reply!
Great job! Very helpful for us DIYers
Awesome!
I’ve got a pervious concrete driveway that has ravelings wondering if it’s possible to dry concrete over it and wet it to resurface!?? Thoughts
Nice what is the biggest slab is possible and should you put chicken wire or rebar.would you recommend dry poring a foundation
You can pour any size. There is not limit, but if you want a one time pour, the cost effectiveness goes out the window when you start talking about large slabs. Having a project that you would typically have a concrete truck haul your mix in will end up being cheaper than the concrete you would get at the store on your own most likely. This is great for smaller projects or projects that you break up a large section into.