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@@bradmaas6875 Please, everybody who gets this should report it as spam, like you did. I'm assuming that eventually it will make UA-cam kick them off as a user. Of course, they will just use a different name, but then we'll get them kicked off in their new name. Hopefully, eventually, UA-cam will find a way to prevent this in the future.
It looked like the slab cracked while driving on it, only because the ground under the slab became soft and gave. You can see the ground flexing when you drive over it. one of the shots the slab lifted and can see its solid but the ground was giving.
I saw and thought the same thing, I'm not sure if rebar would have helped because there just isn't enough compaction under the concrete to support a "small" slab.
Yes , I've driven on driveways made from those 16x16 by like 1.5" stepping stones and some of them break but not all of them . Because of what's underneath.
I'm glad to see someone actually approaching this from a somewhat scientific approach instead of pushing an agenda by intentionally doing it in such a way that would guarantee failure.
Based on this video, I dry poured a 4'x8'x6" slab using sakrete rapid set concrete and it turned out AMAZING! I used a gravel base, put rebar down as well, and used rapid set mortar mix for a smooth screed. I misted/soaked it for 5 days before removing the forms. It was my very first concrete project, and turned out incredibly well and strong. It serves as the base for a 2280 lb concrete staircase and is supporting the load just fine. Thank you for this post!! You helped me save a ton of money!!
I wonder why you didn't wet pour the concrete and remove the forms after about 24 hours in stead of 5 days. You also could have used fiber glass re enforcement in stead of metal and come up with the same results. I've built custom homes for many years and there are different ways to use concrete and different things can be done with it. By using optic fibers you can even get light through a solid concrete wall without weakening it. Put titanium dioxide in it and it will actually clean the air it comes in contact with it. They use this concrete in Europe a lot in white concrete for churches and such where they want the concrete to stay white. The pad in this video would probably have withstood the truck driving over it had the concrete been poured with a monolithic type footing of another 4 inches or so around the outside edges. Dry pouring concrete is a novel way of doing it but by far not the best way.
@@russellkeeling4387 Just didn't want to wet pour, that's pretty much it. It's kind of messy. Regarding your comment about the 5 days...5 days, 10 days, 2 days whatever. The timeframe didn't matter to me. So if you like wet pouring, good on ya... this video isn't for you. But for those who want to dry pour, do so with complete confidence. My slab is still holding up like a boss and doing great.
@@russellkeeling4387 I can tell you why I wouldn't want to wet pour...the machinery and mess. If I could get similar results doing a dry pour but it takes longer? great. Maybe if you're a contractor and you're going for speed then great. totally understandable. if I'm on no ones time frame but my own? Dry pour seems FAR simpler and less resource hungry.
My dry slab seems to still be soaking in water when it rains a week after the original watering. Have you noticed the slab still taking in water with the rain? Haven’t seen anyone mention applying concrete sealer on dry slabs
I found your previos video randomly (or rather the YT algorithm offered it to me not so randomly). As a structural engineer my first thought was 'no way in heck that works'. But that was just because it's so different from what we were taught about making structures from concrete. Structures that are consistently and predictably strong enough, that is. After watching two of your vids about dry pouring and giving it some thought I can absolutely see why it has the potential to be even better for some applications than a traditional mixed and poured structure. One of the biggest problems in making really strong concrete is the water content of the mixture. Usually you have way more water than the cement needs to cure because you absolutely NEED that much to achieve a consistency you can work with, even with the best additives. But then when the excess water evaporates there WILL be pores in the concrete. This porosity determines its strength as much as the quality of the cement you use. The dry pour method you showed can be used to make a slab or whatever structure where the soaked outer layer is more like a traditional concrete but the inner core gets only the amount water required for the cement to cure, or just very little excess. So at least in theory it can be made even stronger. The one huge caveat is you have very little control over exactly how much water gets to the inside. If you want optimal results you need to have your method laid out and executed with extreme precision. So in conclusion: multi-storey building - nope; sidewalk, driveway, shed foundation - doable or even preferred, especially if there is no risk of freezing (mild and hot climates or absolutely no chance of water touching your concrete). For now I found no solid info on this but the idea might not be that new. It just never caught on in the industry as a whole because making a mixture you can control has the advantage of being predictable and repeatable which is a crucial aspect of designing and building structures.
Wet pour of that same sized slab would have failed the truck test also. Having the edges of the slab fully exposed is what makes the pressure too great. Had Michael just filled in dirt around the slab it would not have failed. I have a concrete mixer I might be listing for sale after watching these.
Looks like it is golden to me, also keep in mind a weigh bearing pad is typically a 6" pour with rebar reinforcement. So the fact that the pour lasted that long with a soft substrate and a thin, non-inforrced pour, is very impressive.
My mom is gonna help me do a 12 x 12 patio dry pour. I'm gonna do a 3in dry pour with 0.5in fiberglass rebar crisscrossed. I'll level the soil under the same way I did for the pool. Move the clay as much as possible and use the sand to make up the difference and soak it to settle it. My yard settles and dries like concrete anyway 🙄. Fiberglass doesn't have the same rust issues that steel does so it should outlast me. It won't hold a tank but it should be more than sufficient for what people typically do on a 12 x 12 patio. I'm not planning to do any of what he did to his, too mine. We're gonna do mundane stuff like sit on patio furniture and cook out. Edited to add: I'm also putting 1in foam insulation down under it that's actually what my frame will be built around with a light drop in pitch from the house. That way I can be sure it won't pool water where it shouldn't and I'll put river rocks around it to help divert rain water. My soil is so bad I just don't want to fight with it on that side anymore. The good Lord promised to bless the work of my hands and so far He's kept that promise so I trust Him to help us.
I bought a form to make concrete stone look walk, and could never get started cause mixing concrete is not my favorite pastime. I can see this will work like a charm for my use, and if I do one a day in couple weeks I can finish it with minimal effort. Thanks!
If the slab were larger, had a more compact sub base and didn’t rock back and forth while you drove over it, I don’t think it would have failed. Great video, I’ve been thinking about using this method to poor a patio extension for an out door kitchen. You’ve convinced me to try it.
Your concrete pad seemed to hold up under the compression load which was pretty light 30-50psi. What broke the pad IMO was the tensile load caused by a soft sub-grade.
Sounds about right. Above the center mass is under compression and below the center mass is under tension. he didn't put rebar in the lower section? I took a mechanics of materials engineering class and the homework problems were almost like this guys example but without actual calculations on loads.
Yes, I agree, but must add reinforcement wire and expansion joints. but that can all be part of the basic form, then just fill in with the dry pour, and water afterwards.
@@morzaprowashpressurewashin5673 A vehicle of this size only exerts about 25-35 PSI of ground pressure per tire. This concrete method is weak AF.
Nice to see people testing this dry pour slab method. In 2005 i built a 20x16 pole shed/barn. I dumped dry quickcrete and troweled it out very similar to this. 18 years of parking a 5000lb tractor in and multiple different atvs, no problems. I’m not sure mixing the bag concrete beforehand makes much difference other than huge amounts of time and work. I used remesh though. Pour it a couple inches deep, smooth it out put the remesh down and then put the other half on. Easy.
I was wondering what the result would be like if you mixed the bag dry and added some chopped fiber glass before dumping the powder in a form with rebar or wire mesh.
Hey Mike, was actually aiming to help a friend make a pole barn with this method. Can you spare any tips or concerns to look out for that might weaken the end result if we do something the wrong way?
Lol, I'm still not sure about dry pour, but I'm going to do it as an edging border under my new fence. Hopefully will save time weed eating and keep the metal panel fence secure. Much easier than my 60 year old body mixing concrete! Great video, and does give people options. Thanks Michael
I used it to pour 2 column base fillers and I'm blown away by how well they turned out .I used non shrink grout and it cured without cracks,one I did a couple days earlier using the normal dry pack methods did Crack
Love your enthusiasm. Amazing - you can see it deflecting. One good thing about dry pour is that it's impossible to get the concrete too wet. A very common mistake is adding too much water. That weakens it.
6" to 10" thick will never be cracked when driving on! In this case, that's just too thin for driving on by the heavy truck, even with wet pour, still won't hold! Thanks for the test!
I feel that if the pad was level with the ground around it, the pad would have held up much longer. I have an area where I drive off my driveway, which was doing fine until the soil washed away. My driveway is now cracked where I pull on and off and this was a traditional poor. Thanks for the video.
Caught this video at the right time. Deciding whether to have concrete floor or raised wood floor joists for a 10’x16’ shed. Probably cheaper to use concrete. Also your a great show host. You seem to have the personality and attitude for being in front of the camera. Also a stand up, speak up, sit down presentation. Looking forward to more videos.
Why would you do that? Why on earth? What is the difficulty with just mixing your concrete to specification and getting the maximum strength? Just because it cured doesn't mean it cured well. Did you pour cubes and have them tested? No you didn't. You have no clue whether or not your results are good. You just think they look fine as far as you can tell. For now. Probably.
@@nelus7276 It was easier, cheaper, strong enough to hold to support my shed, zero need to rush, it was a fun project, and finally because I could do it. It it fails, no worries.
@@johnwick1289I am thinking about dry pouring a bigger slab for a shed or possibly anchor walls down for more of a shop/shed. What was your total cost for the slab? Did you look into a company pouring it and what was the cost difference between DIY dry pour vs company wet pour?
@@oakemaka My total cost was $1018. This included delivery, rebar, 108 bags of cement, and a few other cement tools. Ordered was placed at Lowes, and I received a 10% military discount. The estimates I received were $3k on the low end and $4800 on the high end.
I'm not a big fan of the dry pour idea....BUT! If there was wire mesh in that slab with a good gravel base it would have never failed IMO. Nice video Mike
i did a dry poor for a 10'x60'x6" pad for the lean to attached to my pole barn. compacted sand as the base, #4 rebar. i normally part my f350 KR dually on it, mind you it has 180 gallons of fuel plus semi truck 22.5 wheels and tires. also park my 6k lb tractor on it. has been fine for the last year and drive the dually min of 6 days a week. sometimes park a international 4400 dumb truck on it too. been a year and 1 month, plus michigan freeze/thaw and flooding from the river behind my shop. any my lean to is anchored into the dry poor concrete.
I’m thrilled with this outcome! Thank you, thank you thank you, Michael, for your efforts to do such a thorough test. And you still have more coming. 😃 I can’t say enough about how helpful this is. You rock.
I'm definitely with a lot of the other people here, if there had been wire or rebar in there I don't think it would have cracked; your non-scientific test just proved that for most around the house projects dry pour is a viable option. GOOD JOB !!!!
It certainly would have worked for a storage building. If the base is properly prepared, you should be able to drive on top of it. Had there been a hard-packed rock base, it likely would not have cracked. Steel reinforced concrete helps spreads the point load out over a larger area, reducing the flexing in the middle. That tiny amount of concrete flexing each time you drove across the middle of the concrete was enough to mash down the soil underneath the middle of the concrete. That gap eventually became large enough to remove any base support. Dry pour can certainly be effective for some uses, but the major problem I see with doing a dry pour is breathing in the concrete dust. Regular face masks, even N-95, are not actually sufficient in keeping all the dust out of your lungs. Even very small amounts of concrete mix dust in your lungs are a huge health hazard, which may not become obvious until years later. I recommend placing a fan, powered by a small generator, so the fan is constantly blowing the concrete dust away from your face. You do not want even a light breeze blowing those tiny dust particles toward your face. You can’t actually see the tiny dust particles that can end up going into your lungs. If you can smell it, you are breathing it in, even if you can’t see it.
Why am I still subscribed to your channel?? Because in one of your previous dry pour testing videos, I asked for a 30 day test, I got chastised for even suggesting the test by another viewer, and you still did it. Thank you.
The dry pour worked great for filling cracks in my patio and gaps between the paver stones. Appreciate the tips and tricks as it was a time saver and looks good. Probably would not do it for weight bearing purposes, but for sugar coating stuff its the bomb.
You were very fair in your assessment. I do believe that for my purpose it will work wonderfully. I’m only needing a small pad for a couple steps to get into my garage. I just wanted to give you kudos for your fairness and honesty in the testing process and your willingness to not automatically dismiss this
Hello Michael, I've been watching many dry pour method videos including yours and I'm definitely convinced that it works and I'm planning to do my porch this way. The only thing I've been waiting for is for someone to try the misting portion of the process with concrete color/dye to see if that works to give it some color. If you could consider trying that I think that would be something new for everyone. Thanks and continue what you're doing brother it teaches us alot.
I'm a disabled girl and I'm doing this for my walkway! I've been wanting a walkway and couldn't afford it. Now I can break it up and do a little at a time with joints between and it won't break my pocket on a disabled income. I'm so excited.
Christy I am so excited for you!!! I'm trying very hard to look for easier and different ways of doing tuff projects like this. It's comments like this that remind me why I do this. Please let me know if you have any questions :)
I've dry-poured fence corner posts for 20 years on the farm- it draws moisture from the ground around the post. Works well and eliminates the need to hauls water out to remote areas.
I bought my first home 3 years ago and have severe allergies, so I want a concrete patio. I live in an affluent area but don’t have affluent money, lol. I ran across the Cajun couple, a few months ago and started researching. Called a guy and asked what he’d charge to pour me a patio. It’s a town home, ably 15 X 10 or so and there is a side walk already out there. So maybe a 5x10 slab. He wanted 1800 dollars. I cannot afford that, so been wracking my brain as to whether or not I should try the dry pour. I don’t trust me with wet cement and I have no where to keep mixing buckets after done, we have no garages. I watched you do this and I now feel confident I me and my daughter can pull this off. The clearing and digging will take us a bit, but I thunk I can do it, even if in small sections at a time. We won’t be driving on it, we’re little women so don’t think we’ll crack lol. I think I will finally have the patio of my dreams by fall. Now..can you show me how to build a safe free standing fire pit? Kidding. Imma just buy that. Thanks Michael!
Very interesting I still think the wetter it is when you start the better. We did the similar thing while installing satellite poles just did a 6 inch cap .
This would totally work for a walking surface, I have wanted to do this between my patio and to continue my sidewalk on the side of my house. But have had many of the concerns you addressed in the video
Thanks for testing this dry pour process. It may not be the answer to all concrete applications, but it is for many. I live in a northern climate.. so I wonder about freezing etc. And I wonder if this dry pour process will work with kitchen counter tops too?
You need to put a dry pour and wet pour next to each other and do the same abuse to each one. All we know now is how dry pour performs, not on whether it performs worse.
I am not in any way a handyman. But I saw the first video you referred to and I made up my mind right away to to try it! I will be making a walkway from my front door to my driveway. And to be fair, the original people said not to drive on it. But you test was great! Thank you.
I like how you're looking into this from different aspects (plexiglass form to see water wicking; 24 hour vs 14 day curing strength,; cutting into samples of different methods to see cross-sections of the cured cement). Thanks for being thorough! I guess the only thing left to try is an ASTM strength test and see what percentage of strength can be achieved with dry mix vs regular mixed concrete.
I am not sure why folks are so suspect of dry pouring concrete when you understand that concrete is porous. Truly, if you ever tried to store a concrete bag in your garage and ended up with a solid brick you KNOW this to be true. Use whatever method works best for you.
You should definitely do a more real world test. Which would be with 1/2” #4 rebar at 12” each way for reinforcement which most slabs with loads on them would have placed into them
rebar in a tile 🤣 can you think of any way to destroy the nature anymore, because i cant the producers will tell you the right time to mix concrete to obtain its strength.. they will tell you this is tested and it does not work. how about just mixing it after the producers advise. so it works. this material is not sustanible, so using it so it last for a few years is not cool. gravel is also a resource we dontr have anuff ofAre you guys making new gravel?? because you can make new concrete out of gravel from concrete it could last as long as roman concrete or as german bunkers. and the producers will tell you it wont work this way, how come you guys think you can do it better and these people are wrong 🤭.
If you are open to additional tests, I would be curious if you did a hybrid setup. e.g. wetted the ground, then filled in half the form, wetted pretty good, then topped off the form dry and followed their "top coat" watering (e.g. the hourly misting and so forth). Doing this would allow for the dry concrete on both sides to absorb the water faster, still not require any mixing, and allow one to do the dry troweling/prep to give the same surface finish. I'm going to be doing a 10' x 5' dry setup myself after seeing this, thank you for doing this!
I see what you're saying, but I also see the negatives against this which somefolks advise against bc the concrete begins to start setting picking up the water from the very wet ground before its really packed in well and uniformly. I will be soon building my shed base and a patio behind the back door hopefully in the next month or two using dry pour.
We’ve been curious about doing this method for an extension to our back lanai but weren’t sure how well it would hold up. We’re from the Midwest where weather is an issue but now live in FL where it doesn’t get -60 with the wind chill😂 so we don’t have to worry about the ground freeze like we once used to. Seeing so many tests done is a huge help so thank you! It answered a lot of questions we had to the strength dry pours could have. We’re excited to give it a try!
Fibre in your concrete is just a waste and was just a way to upcharge. When this first came out the reps pushed us heavily to sell it and we noticed that it did not actually add any real tensile strength or lasting durability over using rebar and roll wire. They even tried to push this over not using so much steel and it failed time and time again. I would not waste my money on fiber, plus it leaves a undesirable finish and for years you are left with hairy fuzzy concrete lol
Great video! I agree with a lot of people saying that you could have built that slab on level ground and inserted wire mesh or re-barb in the middle to help with stability. I'm glad somebody is experimenting with different types of dry poor methods and you will be the one to sort out the science behind it...😉
Excellent. Driveways are poured minimum 5-6" thick with wire/rebar and strong/tamped crusher run underneath. You convinced me it could work for a driveway. And of course, the only way to really test strength is with a Ford. 😉
Thanks for doing this series! Jumped on the wagon and did a dry pour 3'x3' pad this weekend. My takeaways were, you waste a lot of product because you need to overfill the form and you spend a long long time going back and forth finishing the surface. You also end up spending a lot of time while the product is in it's most hazardous state, light dust flying around, being careful not breathing it in or letting it get all over you.
🎉🎉🎉More tests ??? Excellent I would love to see you break with a sledge hammer a dry pour and a wet mixed block to see the difference, it would give us all a great pint of comparison 👍🏻
Thanks for the 30 day update on this dry pour. I think even with rebar in the center it would have cracked from the truck, only because the size of the slab, that size is more for walking on. I agree with the flea, a fair comparison would be with a wet pour and dry pour and do the same test under the same conditions.
I’m a construction project manager on huge projects. I would never do the dry pour method on anything. However, many smaller dams in the US are done with damp compacted concrete. The cement is brought to the site in regular dump trucks, and has the consistently of wet sand. It’s dumped out of the truck just like gravel or sand, and is spread with road grading equipment. It’s laid in 12 inch lifts, and each lift is then roller compacted with heavy roller compactors like those used in highway paving. It can be reinforced with rebar, fiber mesh, geo grid, etc. depending on the application. This makes for an incredibly strong & durable, laminated concrete. The problem with dry pouring is you don’t get even distribution in the slab, which means your concrete strength will be inconsistent. Another thing to remember is that there is a difference between drying and curing. Cement needs moisture to cure. During the cure time, a molecular change occurs as crystals form, and the molecules rearrange. This makes much stronger bonds. Maximum strength generally takes 28 days. If the concert structure is such that you can dampen your slab a little everyday, you’ll get an even stronger slab. Even just keeping it damp for a few days can have a huge impact on the crystallization and final strength. Soupy cement and dry cement can have the same problem . . . weak pockets in your slab due to inconsistent composition. “Wet, but not too wet”, is the general rule. But never dry.
Let me tell you, there are few things more stressful for a DIYer than pouring cement. It's like walking a tightrope, but instead of falling to your death, you end up with a lumpy, uneven slab that's not even remotely level. Trust me, I know from experience. My first attempt at pouring a slab for my front porch was a disaster. I had all the tools and supplies, but I just couldn't get the mix right. It was too soupy, and it took forever to cure. The surface was rough, and it just looked like a hot mess. That's why I was so intrigued when I heard about the Dry Pore method. apparently, you don't even need to mix the cement. Just make sure the powder is thoroughly wetted, and the rest takes care of itself. I mean, it sounds like magic, right? But apparently, the powder is porous and acts like a wick, so it draws in the water and sets up just fine. Of course, there are some downsides to Dry Pore. For one thing, it takes longer to cure, so you can't exactly pour it today and build on it tomorrow. But if you're a patient DIYer who doesn't mind waiting a little longer, Dry Pore is a perfectly acceptable alternative to wet pouring. Personally, I wish I had known about Dry Pore before I attempted my first slab. I mean, I spent an entire day mixing and pouring and smoothing, and it was still a hot mess. If I had used Dry Pore instead, I could have saved myself a lot of time and headache. And the best part? I wouldn't have had to deal with the cement mixer. Let's just say that thing is not my favorite tool in the shed. So if you're thinking about pouring a slab for a DIY project, consider Dry Pore. It might not be as quick and easy as wet pouring, but it could save you a lot of stress and frustration in the long run. And who knows? You might even end up with a better result. Just make sure you do your research and follow the instructions carefully. And don't forget the metal mesh! Trust me, it makes a huge difference.
As long as it gets hydrated (wet) all the way through, it will likely have the strenght listed on the bag. It just takes a lot longer with dry pour. Its certainly easier than renting or buying a mixer and easiervto work with for non critical work like sidewalks, driveways and pads. You'd need to be really careful for structural applications because you'd need to wait much longer than normal
I did a dry pour slab big enough to put two dodge ram 1500's and my lawncare trailer on few years back. Hasnt cracked yet. If your going to be driving/ parking on it. Most of the important work is preparing the ground under it. leveling, sand, gravel, and a absolute crapload of tamping.
One day I would like to see someone compare dry pour with standard pour by putting both in a press to get real numbers on things like comprehensive strength. I'm convinced that dry pour is perfectly fine for many non-critical projects, but it would be very interesting to know exactly what kind of difference in strength between the two methods... if any.
Id like to see the same thing. Im not convinced that there is complete hydration towards the middle/ bottom of the slab. But it would be cool to see a core sample and a couple of break samples to see whats going on. My understanding is that even conventionally mixed concrete benefits from having plasticizers in it to achieve complete hydration at lower water to cement ratios. The chemical plasticizers break the electrical bonds that form between cement particles and allow water to hydrate everything completely and evenly. This method doesnt agitate the mix at all, so I dont see how the cement particles would ever be completely hydrated without anything to help break the natural bonds that form between them when introduced to water. Concrete is typically weakened by having too much water added to make it easier to place and finish, but the opposite can also be true. If there isnt enough water to hydrate the cement, it will lose strength that way as well. I could be wrong, im definitely no scientist and i dont engineer this stuff, but I am a concrete guy that tries to stay educated on the stuff that actually goes on in the mix and keep up with the latest developments in mix designs so that I can produce better jobs. The core samples would take away all the theories though and put some hard numbers down that people could use when deciding if they want to use this method.
Love your videos man ! Answered all my questions about a dry pour for my smoker and blackstone. Tired of them taking up room on my concrete patio so i am doing a couple 4x6 pads on the side.
Forgive me if this was already asked, but did you try adding any super plasticizer to the water that you are using on the dry pour? It might allow the water to penetrate better. I was thinking you could add it to a soap or a chemical canister that attaches to the garden hose so that it mixes with the water
Glad you had the open mind, I would never have thought it was a good idea so I would never have even tried it. Here's something for you to try.... Make a very flat dry pour then build a heavy pendulum over it with a point like one of those mesmerizing sand art things, Once its made its pattern - mist it to cure it. oh and happy fathers day
Mike: One thing to remember is that concrete is a powder which will absorb water, this is why dry pour is used for post holes. You could do a full driveway like this BUT you would need to use screen reinforcing to make the drive sturdy enough. And I agree with @larrytyler1578, there was a bit of rocking with the slab when you drove over. I think the cracking was due to the slab rocking and you just happen to go over it at just the right angle for the slab to be raised on when side and lower on the other causing a fulcrum action which caused the slab to crack.
on Nov. of 2021 we repaired an asphalt private road with dry concrete method. About 15' x 6' x 4 in thick is a triangular shape (patch) it was done with rebar, gravel, broken asphalt and rocks. All size cars and trucks drive over it, even dump trucks loaded with rock lol my skid steer been on it for hundreds of times. The repair has last all this time with zero cracks. so definitely dry pour has its place but if you want to insure your investment add some rebar and gravel or small rocks.
I'm 65 yo and I'm needing to do some cement work and I'll be doing it by myself. Dry pour looks like a godsend. Found another vid about a civil engineering trick where rather than put rock and sand as a base to pour over, you mix 15 - 20% concrete into the dirt and let it harden. Cheaper and easier.
I love that you're devoting some videos to this. This will be a cool playlist for anyone who wants to know the ins/outs/successes/fails of dry pouring. For you, it'll just be another tool in your belt! I mean, another segment of your channel. lol
Man, it's always a pleasure to watch your videos, since I saw your first video I risked working with cement on my own, in my house of course. I would like you to send me a greeting my friend saying my name on your next video 🫣🫢🫢I always try to do something or copy your ideas, although more often than my wife gets mad with me because she says that I only spend my money trying to do something that I already know is going to go wrong. 😂😂But I don’t care brother!Greetings my friend from Eagle Pass Tx.👍🏻👍🏻
Im convinced, Im going to try it for the concrete pad to stand a wood burner on. Mine will be about 4"thick on a wooden base and tiles on top. Im tempted to put a bit of rebar in there but Im not sure yet
For what it's worth, thirty-five years ago and building trades class we were taught to set mailbox post in dry ready mixed concrete. Like, grab the top of the sakrete bag and pour it in, then template down, then put a little soil on top and tamp it down. We didn't missed it, we didn't water it. It soaked up moisture from the soil, and, if you've ever dug one of those up, they were solid!
Good video and fair testing. I use this method for decades - lazy way for "on ground" cement pour not thicker than 10-15 cm.- with or without metal or plastic rebar inside.After the "misty wetting" while still not hardened, it is possible to make some "relief pattern" on the surface.Good idea is to spread and cover the surface with very thin layer of pure cement powder (after wetting) for reinforcing that surface and making it smoother. Can also use cement dye for colouring the surface. Dry pour is nothing new.By the way, cement and its mixtures are hygroscopic and will harden like a rock even just on open air and time of hardening depends only on the air humidity and takes longer time if not wetted on purpose.
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ATTENTION VIEWERS! Someone is impersonating me in the comments on this video. MY replies will have my name highlighted in gray with a checkmark next to it! Thanks for watching!
Wondered what was going on?
Reported as spam
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yeah i received a reply from "you"" to text you on another app?" not sure if it was you or not but i don't use that particular app so...
@@bradmaas6875 Please, everybody who gets this should report it as spam, like you did. I'm assuming that eventually it will make UA-cam kick them off as a user. Of course, they will just use a different name, but then we'll get them kicked off in their new name. Hopefully, eventually, UA-cam will find a way to prevent this in the future.
It looked like the slab cracked while driving on it, only because the ground under the slab became soft and gave. You can see the ground flexing when you drive over it. one of the shots the slab lifted and can see its solid but the ground was giving.
I was thinking that could have been the cause as well....
I saw and thought the same thing, I'm not sure if rebar would have helped because there just isn't enough compaction under the concrete to support a "small" slab.
Yep. I saw the same and would agree. Had it had the proper gravel base, rebar, and 4”-6” thick, it would perform as well as a wet pour driveway.
Theis would be perfect for my walkway. I'm doing mine next month.
Yes , I've driven on driveways made from those 16x16 by like 1.5" stepping stones and some of them break but not all of them . Because of what's underneath.
I'm glad to see someone actually approaching this from a somewhat scientific approach instead of pushing an agenda by intentionally doing it in such a way that would guarantee failure.
Based on this video, I dry poured a 4'x8'x6" slab using sakrete rapid set concrete and it turned out AMAZING! I used a gravel base, put rebar down as well, and used rapid set mortar mix for a smooth screed. I misted/soaked it for 5 days before removing the forms. It was my very first concrete project, and turned out incredibly well and strong. It serves as the base for a 2280 lb concrete staircase and is supporting the load just fine. Thank you for this post!! You helped me save a ton of money!!
That’s AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing that project!
I wonder why you didn't wet pour the concrete and remove the forms after about 24 hours in stead of 5 days. You also could have used fiber glass re enforcement in stead of metal and come up with the same results. I've built custom homes for many years and there are different ways to use concrete and different things can be done with it. By using optic fibers you can even get light through a solid concrete wall without weakening it. Put titanium dioxide in it and it will actually clean the air it comes in contact with it. They use this concrete in Europe a lot in white concrete for churches and such where they want the concrete to stay white. The pad in this video would probably have withstood the truck driving over it had the concrete been poured with a monolithic type footing of another 4 inches or so around the outside edges. Dry pouring concrete is a novel way of doing it but by far not the best way.
@@russellkeeling4387 Just didn't want to wet pour, that's pretty much it. It's kind of messy. Regarding your comment about the 5 days...5 days, 10 days, 2 days whatever. The timeframe didn't matter to me. So if you like wet pouring, good on ya... this video isn't for you. But for those who want to dry pour, do so with complete confidence. My slab is still holding up like a boss and doing great.
@@russellkeeling4387 I can tell you why I wouldn't want to wet pour...the machinery and mess. If I could get similar results doing a dry pour but it takes longer? great. Maybe if you're a contractor and you're going for speed then great. totally understandable. if I'm on no ones time frame but my own? Dry pour seems FAR simpler and less resource hungry.
My dry slab seems to still be soaking in water when it rains a week after the original watering. Have you noticed the slab still taking in water with the rain? Haven’t seen anyone mention applying concrete sealer on dry slabs
I guess a fair comparison would be with a wet pour and dry pour and do the same test under the same conditions. Dry looks pretty good though.
I'd like to see a comparison as well. If your reading this Michael.. Yo buddy, pal!!! We got an idea here. Apples to Apples comparison.
@@daveconner9520 I think he already has a test curing
I was thinking the same.
Watch the end of this and he does show some testing with the traditional mixing pour method coming up in a future video.
I'd like to see a proper compression test to actually compare strength of dry VS wet poured.
I found your previos video randomly (or rather the YT algorithm offered it to me not so randomly). As a structural engineer my first thought was 'no way in heck that works'. But that was just because it's so different from what we were taught about making structures from concrete. Structures that are consistently and predictably strong enough, that is. After watching two of your vids about dry pouring and giving it some thought I can absolutely see why it has the potential to be even better for some applications than a traditional mixed and poured structure.
One of the biggest problems in making really strong concrete is the water content of the mixture. Usually you have way more water than the cement needs to cure because you absolutely NEED that much to achieve a consistency you can work with, even with the best additives. But then when the excess water evaporates there WILL be pores in the concrete. This porosity determines its strength as much as the quality of the cement you use.
The dry pour method you showed can be used to make a slab or whatever structure where the soaked outer layer is more like a traditional concrete but the inner core gets only the amount water required for the cement to cure, or just very little excess. So at least in theory it can be made even stronger. The one huge caveat is you have very little control over exactly how much water gets to the inside. If you want optimal results you need to have your method laid out and executed with extreme precision. So in conclusion: multi-storey building - nope; sidewalk, driveway, shed foundation - doable or even preferred, especially if there is no risk of freezing (mild and hot climates or absolutely no chance of water touching your concrete).
For now I found no solid info on this but the idea might not be that new. It just never caught on in the industry as a whole because making a mixture you can control has the advantage of being predictable and repeatable which is a crucial aspect of designing and building structures.
You are teaching me so much!! As a senior woman, and trying to do stuff myself, you encourage me to just do it!!! Thank you!!! 🥰
Wet pour of that same sized slab would have failed the truck test also. Having the edges of the slab fully exposed is what makes the pressure too great. Had Michael just filled in dirt around the slab it would not have failed. I have a concrete mixer I might be listing for sale after watching these.
I have a mixer I should sell too!
Just make the slab a tad thicker and add some rebar and just dry pour it!
,
0
Looks like it is golden to me, also keep in mind a weigh bearing pad is typically a 6" pour with rebar reinforcement. So the fact that the pour lasted that long with a soft substrate and a thin, non-inforrced pour, is very impressive.
My mom is gonna help me do a 12 x 12 patio dry pour. I'm gonna do a 3in dry pour with 0.5in fiberglass rebar crisscrossed. I'll level the soil under the same way I did for the pool. Move the clay as much as possible and use the sand to make up the difference and soak it to settle it. My yard settles and dries like concrete anyway 🙄. Fiberglass doesn't have the same rust issues that steel does so it should outlast me. It won't hold a tank but it should be more than sufficient for what people typically do on a 12 x 12 patio. I'm not planning to do any of what he did to his, too mine. We're gonna do mundane stuff like sit on patio furniture and cook out.
Edited to add: I'm also putting 1in foam insulation down under it that's actually what my frame will be built around with a light drop in pitch from the house. That way I can be sure it won't pool water where it shouldn't and I'll put river rocks around it to help divert rain water. My soil is so bad I just don't want to fight with it on that side anymore. The good Lord promised to bless the work of my hands and so far He's kept that promise so I trust Him to help us.
Nope 4" pad is a standard drive way with rebar or welded wire
No. It failed miserably. Most driveways are 3 1/2 inch thick with minimal reinforcement
Six inches lol… nah… four inches is standard. Six inches for heavy equipment.
Yeah your patio is going to work because you asked your god nicely to help out. Isn’t he busy causing famine in Africa and other stuff?
I bought a form to make concrete stone look walk, and could never get started cause mixing concrete is not my favorite pastime. I can see this will work like a charm for my use, and if I do one a day in couple weeks I can finish it with minimal effort. Thanks!
If the slab were larger, had a more compact sub base and didn’t rock back and forth while you drove over it, I don’t think it would have failed. Great video, I’ve been thinking about using this method to poor a patio extension for an out door kitchen. You’ve convinced me to try it.
Larger slabs fail easier. The longer the slab the more tensile force exerted.
I think if the base was uniformly level and compacted, the slab would have held up just fine. I am going to give it a try as well.
Your concrete pad seemed to hold up under the compression load which was pretty light 30-50psi. What broke the pad IMO was the tensile load caused by a soft sub-grade.
Sounds about right. Above the center mass is under compression and below the center mass is under tension. he didn't put rebar in the lower section? I took a mechanics of materials engineering class and the homework problems were almost like this guys example but without actual calculations on loads.
I think mostly the concrete failed because the substrate gave way. Probably would work great for a patio.
Yes, I agree, but must add reinforcement wire and expansion joints.
but that can all be part of the basic form, then just fill in with the dry pour, and water afterwards.
Absolutely, the concrete kept shifting which means the weight wasn't being supported evenly.
it failed because the size of the slab it couldn't spread the weight and also because the lack of rebar.
Yep, you can see it move
@@morzaprowashpressurewashin5673 A vehicle of this size only exerts about 25-35 PSI of ground pressure per tire. This concrete method is weak AF.
Sunday breakfast and a Michele Builds great way to start Mothers day!
Nice to see people testing this dry pour slab method. In 2005 i built a 20x16 pole shed/barn. I dumped dry quickcrete and troweled it out very similar to this. 18 years of parking a 5000lb tractor in and multiple different atvs, no problems. I’m not sure mixing the bag concrete beforehand makes much difference other than huge amounts of time and work. I used remesh though. Pour it a couple inches deep, smooth it out put the remesh down and then put the other half on. Easy.
Thanks for sharing. 👍
I was wondering what the result would be like if you mixed the bag dry and added some chopped fiber glass before dumping the powder in a form with rebar or wire mesh.
Hey Mike, was actually aiming to help a friend make a pole barn with this method. Can you spare any tips or concerns to look out for that might weaken the end result if we do something the wrong way?
Lol, I'm still not sure about dry pour, but I'm going to do it as an edging border under my new fence. Hopefully will save time weed eating and keep the metal panel fence secure. Much easier than my 60 year old body mixing concrete! Great video, and does give people options. Thanks Michael
Good idea : )
Yes, sounds awesome!
I used it to pour 2 column base fillers and I'm blown away by how well they turned out .I used non shrink grout and it cured without cracks,one I did a couple days earlier using the normal dry pack methods did Crack
I was thinking of doing the same I'm going to give it a shot just wondering how well it would hold up in the pacific northwest with cold temperatures.
I dry poured a 12x2 patio extension. It worked really well.
Love your enthusiasm. Amazing - you can see it deflecting. One good thing about dry pour is that it's impossible to get the concrete too wet. A very common mistake is adding too much water. That weakens it.
Not really it just makes it harder to work and finish.
6" to 10" thick will never be cracked when driving on!
In this case, that's just too thin for driving on by the heavy truck, even with wet pour, still won't hold! Thanks for the test!
One of the best things about the dry pour… is seeing people who are against it, absolutely lose their marbles over it in the comments lol.
I sure do appreciate the time you took in testing this!! ❤
I feel that if the pad was level with the ground around it, the pad would have held up much longer. I have an area where I drive off my driveway, which was doing fine until the soil washed away. My driveway is now cracked where I pull on and off and this was a traditional poor. Thanks for the video.
Caught this video at the right time. Deciding whether to have concrete floor or raised wood floor joists for a 10’x16’ shed. Probably cheaper to use concrete. Also your a great show host. You seem to have the personality and attitude for being in front of the camera. Also a stand up, speak up, sit down presentation. Looking forward to more videos.
Completed a dry pour 12 x 16 with 4 inch slab thick with rebar in the middle. Great results!! Buidling a 8x12 shed and workspace.
Why would you do that? Why on earth? What is the difficulty with just mixing your concrete to specification and getting the maximum strength? Just because it cured doesn't mean it cured well. Did you pour cubes and have them tested? No you didn't. You have no clue whether or not your results are good. You just think they look fine as far as you can tell. For now. Probably.
@@nelus7276 Maybe because of the results on channels such as this showing a potentially easier way for the average person to get good concrete?
@@nelus7276
It was easier, cheaper, strong enough to hold to support my shed, zero need to rush, it was a fun project, and finally because I could do it. It it fails, no worries.
@@johnwick1289I am thinking about dry pouring a bigger slab for a shed or possibly anchor walls down for more of a shop/shed. What was your total cost for the slab? Did you look into a company pouring it and what was the cost difference between DIY dry pour vs company wet pour?
@@oakemaka
My total cost was $1018. This included delivery, rebar, 108 bags of cement, and a few other cement tools. Ordered was placed at Lowes, and I received a 10% military discount. The estimates I received were $3k on the low end and $4800 on the high end.
I'm not a big fan of the dry pour idea....BUT! If there was wire mesh in that slab with a good gravel base it would have never failed IMO. Nice video Mike
I was thinking that if he did use mesh in the pour then it would have been able to handle that truck weight.
Haha I definitely am still not 100% on board yet either but I’m gettin there lol
wire mesh might have still failed. Rebar would be best
@@kkp4297 goes without saying
I’ve been waiting for this. 😄👍
Me too! Lol 😂
Posted 53 minutes ago and 2.4k views you and I aren't the only ones
@@jaredhall5996 THATS WHAT IM TALKIN ABOUT! 😊😆☺️👍🏻💪🏻
Mate, really useful testing. Much appreciated
i did a dry poor for a 10'x60'x6" pad for the lean to attached to my pole barn. compacted sand as the base, #4 rebar. i normally part my f350 KR dually on it, mind you it has 180 gallons of fuel plus semi truck 22.5 wheels and tires. also park my 6k lb tractor on it. has been fine for the last year and drive the dually min of 6 days a week. sometimes park a international 4400 dumb truck on it too. been a year and 1 month, plus michigan freeze/thaw and flooding from the river behind my shop. any my lean to is anchored into the dry poor concrete.
thank you!! this is the video I was waiting for. Someone who actually let cure fully before taking it apart! very good video. thanks!
Michael, Two words... "Excellent presentation." How can one NOT like this guy...
I’m thrilled with this outcome! Thank you, thank you thank you, Michael, for your efforts to do such a thorough test. And you still have more coming. 😃 I can’t say enough about how helpful this is. You rock.
I'm definitely with a lot of the other people here, if there had been wire or rebar in there I don't think it would have cracked; your non-scientific test just proved that for most around the house projects dry pour is a viable option. GOOD JOB !!!!
It certainly would have worked for a storage building. If the base is properly prepared, you should be able to drive on top of it. Had there been a hard-packed rock base, it likely would not have cracked.
Steel reinforced concrete helps spreads the point load out over a larger area, reducing the flexing in the middle. That tiny amount of concrete flexing each time you drove across the middle of the concrete was enough to mash down the soil underneath the middle of the concrete. That gap eventually became large enough to remove any base support.
Dry pour can certainly be effective for some uses, but the major problem I see with doing a dry pour is breathing in the concrete dust. Regular face masks, even N-95, are not actually sufficient in keeping all the dust out of your lungs. Even very small amounts of concrete mix dust in your lungs are a huge health hazard, which may not become obvious until years later.
I recommend placing a fan, powered by a small generator, so the fan is constantly blowing the concrete dust away from your face. You do not want even a light breeze blowing those tiny dust particles toward your face. You can’t actually see the tiny dust particles that can end up going into your lungs. If you can smell it, you are breathing it in, even if you can’t see it.
We pretty much quit using metal re-enforcement in concrete slabs years ago. Fiberglass works as well if not better and cuts out a lot of work.
Why am I still subscribed to your channel?? Because in one of your previous dry pour testing videos, I asked for a 30 day test, I got chastised for even suggesting the test by another viewer, and you still did it. Thank you.
You’re awesome cause you always have awesome things to say on my videos!
For a DIY’er this is an absolute winning product and method. I’m extending my patio and I think I will be going with this method.
I love the way you're testing the cement
The dry pour worked great for filling cracks in my patio and gaps between the paver stones.
Appreciate the tips and tricks as it was a time saver and looks good.
Probably would not do it for weight bearing purposes, but for sugar coating stuff its the bomb.
You were very fair in your assessment. I do believe that for my purpose it will work wonderfully. I’m only needing a small pad for a couple steps to get into my garage. I just wanted to give you kudos for your fairness and honesty in the testing process and your willingness to not automatically dismiss this
Hello Michael, I've been watching many dry pour method videos including yours and I'm definitely convinced that it works and I'm planning to do my porch this way. The only thing I've been waiting for is for someone to try the misting portion of the process with concrete color/dye to see if that works to give it some color. If you could consider trying that I think that would be something new for everyone. Thanks and continue what you're doing brother it teaches us alot.
You can practice adding the colorant yourself with a small patch of concrete mix.
Thank you. This could save me thousands, because I'm now confident I can put a simple walkway in my side yard using this technique.
We are still subscribed to your channel because we love your content Michael !!!!❤❤❤❤
☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️
Very true!
I'm a disabled girl and I'm doing this for my walkway! I've been wanting a walkway and couldn't afford it. Now I can break it up and do a little at a time with joints between and it won't break my pocket on a disabled income. I'm so excited.
Christy I am so excited for you!!! I'm trying very hard to look for easier and different ways of doing tuff projects like this. It's comments like this that remind me why I do this. Please let me know if you have any questions :)
I've dry-poured fence corner posts for 20 years on the farm- it draws moisture from the ground around the post. Works well and eliminates the need to hauls water out to remote areas.
I bought my first home 3 years ago and have severe allergies, so I want a concrete patio. I live in an affluent area but don’t have affluent money, lol. I ran across the Cajun couple, a few months ago and started researching. Called a guy and asked what he’d charge to pour me a patio. It’s a town home, ably 15 X 10 or so and there is a side walk already out there. So maybe a 5x10 slab. He wanted 1800 dollars.
I cannot afford that, so been wracking my brain as to whether or not I should try the dry pour. I don’t trust me with wet cement and I have no where to keep mixing buckets after done, we have no garages. I watched you do this and I now feel confident I me and my daughter can pull this off. The clearing and digging will take us a bit, but I thunk I can do it, even if in small sections at a time. We won’t be driving on it, we’re little women so don’t think we’ll crack lol. I think I will finally have the patio of my dreams by fall. Now..can you show me how to build a safe free standing fire pit? Kidding. Imma just buy that. Thanks Michael!
You proved it was cured all the way through. Nuff said.
☺️
Very interesting I still think the wetter it is when you start the better. We did the similar thing while installing satellite poles just did a 6 inch cap .
This would totally work for a walking surface, I have wanted to do this between my patio and to continue my sidewalk on the side of my house. But have had many of the concerns you addressed in the video
Thanks for testing this dry pour process. It may not be the answer to all concrete applications, but it is for many.
I live in a northern climate.. so I wonder about freezing etc.
And I wonder if this dry pour process will work with kitchen counter tops too?
I expect more micropores in the resulting concrete, letting more water in and thus faster deterioration from freeze-thaw cycles.
I would like to see a dry pour kitchen counter top also.
I 100% believe reinforced slab would not have cracked. Thank you for this video. I'm building a 4x7 lean-to, and I'm going to do a dry poor.
You need to put a dry pour and wet pour next to each other and do the same abuse to each one. All we know now is how dry pour performs, not on whether it performs worse.
you have officially convinced me to do a dry pour
It would be cool to see you do concrete bowls for planters or mini standing pond
I absolutely will! Jason from Bourbon Moth already beat me to it but I’m gonna do my own version haha
I was gonna suggest the same thing.
@@MichaelBuilds awesome can't wait to see it!
Yeah those things are fun and artsy! And I need to make something for my yard but can't find what I need at store anyways.
@@JourneyOnLife did you see your comment in the video?! ☺️
I am not in any way a handyman. But I saw the first video you referred to and I made up my mind right away to to try it! I will be making a walkway from my front door to my driveway. And to be fair, the original people said not to drive on it. But you test was great! Thank you.
I like how you're looking into this from different aspects (plexiglass form to see water wicking; 24 hour vs 14 day curing strength,; cutting into samples of different methods to see cross-sections of the cured cement). Thanks for being thorough! I guess the only thing left to try is an ASTM strength test and see what percentage of strength can be achieved with dry mix vs regular mixed concrete.
Thank you so much! I appreciate that!
I like the way you have fun doing projects. Really cool : )
I am not sure why folks are so suspect of dry pouring concrete when you understand that concrete is porous. Truly, if you ever tried to store a concrete bag in your garage and ended up with a solid brick you KNOW this to be true. Use whatever method works best for you.
people are always suspect of anything 'out of the norm'. but if we didn't try new things, we would still be blood letting and drowning witches.
Michael thank you for another instructional video. At this point, is it really worth the effort to mix cement thoroughly?
Only thing that isn't clear to me, would the same slab not crack if it was done with a regular "wet" pour?
Color me impressed. I'm gonna do this for my shed. I will be adding some 3/8 rebar. Thank you for this video
You should definitely do a more real world test. Which would be with 1/2” #4 rebar at 12” each way for reinforcement which most slabs with loads on them would have placed into them
Absolutely! 👍🏻💪🏻
Came here to say it failed because of the lack of rebar also
@@Victor43377 Exactly! No rebar, no 5000 pound trucks!
rebar in a tile 🤣
can you think of any way to destroy the nature anymore, because i cant
the producers will tell you the right time to mix concrete to obtain its strength..
they will tell you this is tested and it does not work.
how about just mixing it after the producers advise. so it works.
this material is not sustanible, so using it so it last for a few years is not cool.
gravel is also a resource we dontr have anuff ofAre you guys making new gravel??
because you can make new concrete out of gravel from concrete
it could last as long as roman concrete or as german bunkers.
and the producers will tell you it wont work this way, how come you guys think you can do it better and these people are wrong 🤭.
@@Hansen710 Apparently you lack the resource of common sense and absolutely zero grasp of the English language.
Hello. What is the maximum thickness of concrete that can be done with this technique?
If you are open to additional tests, I would be curious if you did a hybrid setup. e.g. wetted the ground, then filled in half the form, wetted pretty good, then topped off the form dry and followed their "top coat" watering (e.g. the hourly misting and so forth). Doing this would allow for the dry concrete on both sides to absorb the water faster, still not require any mixing, and allow one to do the dry troweling/prep to give the same surface finish. I'm going to be doing a 10' x 5' dry setup myself after seeing this, thank you for doing this!
And use rebar, just like you would with wet mix.
This is actually a great idea.
I see what you're saying, but I also see the negatives against this which somefolks advise against bc the concrete begins to start setting picking up the water from the very wet ground before its really packed in well and uniformly.
I will be soon building my shed base and a patio behind the back door hopefully in the next month or two using dry pour.
@@pakmandanI just bought a shed and am weighing my base options. How did yours work out?
This was such a fun video! I am a professional engineer and enjoyed the hell out of this. Thank you!
We’ve been curious about doing this method for an extension to our back lanai but weren’t sure how well it would hold up. We’re from the Midwest where weather is an issue but now live in FL where it doesn’t get -60 with the wind chill😂 so we don’t have to worry about the ground freeze like we once used to. Seeing so many tests done is a huge help so thank you! It answered a lot of questions we had to the strength dry pours could have. We’re excited to give it a try!
DIY weekender here -- Great! Now I see this after I bought a small mixer just for those small projects.
Maybe you should reattempt this with one of those fibre reinforced concretes. would be interesting to see those results
Fibre in your concrete is just a waste and was just a way to upcharge. When this first came out the reps pushed us heavily to sell it and we noticed that it did not actually add any real tensile strength or lasting durability over using rebar and roll wire. They even tried to push this over not using so much steel and it failed time and time again. I would not waste my money on fiber, plus it leaves a undesirable finish and for years you are left with hairy fuzzy concrete lol
Great video! I agree with a lot of people saying that you could have built that slab on level ground and inserted wire mesh or re-barb in the middle to help with stability. I'm glad somebody is experimenting with different types of dry poor methods and you will be the one to sort out the science behind it...😉
I really like your plans for the dry pour . Will be watching for your projects. 👍🏻
Excellent. Driveways are poured minimum 5-6" thick with wire/rebar and strong/tamped crusher run underneath. You convinced me it could work for a driveway. And of course, the only way to really test strength is with a Ford. 😉
Thanks for doing this series! Jumped on the wagon and did a dry pour 3'x3' pad this weekend. My takeaways were, you waste a lot of product because you need to overfill the form and you spend a long long time going back and forth finishing the surface. You also end up spending a lot of time while the product is in it's most hazardous state, light dust flying around, being careful not breathing it in or letting it get all over you.
You wouldn't waste if you poured the bags slowly, leveling as you go, like the couple from Louisiana did.
And a mask
🎉🎉🎉More tests ??? Excellent I would love to see you break with a sledge hammer a dry pour and a wet mixed block to see the difference, it would give us all a great pint of comparison 👍🏻
Thanks for the 30 day update on this dry pour. I think even with rebar in the center it would have cracked from the truck, only because the size of the slab, that size is more for walking on. I agree with the flea, a fair comparison would be with a wet pour and dry pour and do the same test under the same conditions.
/\ /\ /\ THIS! /\ /\ /\
I am considering this for a small walkway through my garden.
Michael, we really appreciate you doing all these tests for us! …and making it entertaining!
I’m a construction project manager on huge projects. I would never do the dry pour method on anything. However, many smaller dams in the US are done with damp compacted concrete. The cement is brought to the site in regular dump trucks, and has the consistently of wet sand. It’s dumped out of the truck just like gravel or sand, and is spread with road grading equipment. It’s laid in 12 inch lifts, and each lift is then roller compacted with heavy roller compactors like those used in highway paving.
It can be reinforced
with rebar, fiber mesh, geo grid, etc. depending on the application. This makes for an incredibly strong & durable, laminated concrete.
The problem with dry pouring is you don’t get even distribution in the slab, which means your concrete strength will be inconsistent.
Another thing to remember is that there is a difference between drying and curing. Cement needs moisture to cure. During the cure time, a molecular change occurs as crystals form, and the molecules rearrange. This makes much stronger bonds. Maximum strength generally takes 28 days. If the concert structure is such that you can dampen your slab a little everyday, you’ll get an even stronger slab. Even just keeping it damp for a few days can have a huge impact on the crystallization and final strength.
Soupy cement and dry cement can have the same problem . . . weak pockets in your slab due to inconsistent composition. “Wet, but not too wet”, is the general rule. But never dry.
Let me tell you, there are few things more stressful for a DIYer than pouring cement. It's like walking a tightrope, but instead of falling to your death, you end up with a lumpy, uneven slab that's not even remotely level. Trust me, I know from experience. My first attempt at pouring a slab for my front porch was a disaster. I had all the tools and supplies, but I just couldn't get the mix right. It was too soupy, and it took forever to cure. The surface was rough, and it just looked like a hot mess.
That's why I was so intrigued when I heard about the Dry Pore method. apparently, you don't even need to mix the cement. Just make sure the powder is thoroughly wetted, and the rest takes care of itself. I mean, it sounds like magic, right? But apparently, the powder is porous and acts like a wick, so it draws in the water and sets up just fine.
Of course, there are some downsides to Dry Pore. For one thing, it takes longer to cure, so you can't exactly pour it today and build on it tomorrow. But if you're a patient DIYer who doesn't mind waiting a little longer, Dry Pore is a perfectly acceptable alternative to wet pouring.
Personally, I wish I had known about Dry Pore before I attempted my first slab. I mean, I spent an entire day mixing and pouring and smoothing, and it was still a hot mess. If I had used Dry Pore instead, I could have saved myself a lot of time and headache. And the best part? I wouldn't have had to deal with the cement mixer. Let's just say that thing is not my favorite tool in the shed.
So if you're thinking about pouring a slab for a DIY project, consider Dry Pore. It might not be as quick and easy as wet pouring, but it could save you a lot of stress and frustration in the long run. And who knows? You might even end up with a better result. Just make sure you do your research and follow the instructions carefully. And don't forget the metal mesh! Trust me, it makes a huge difference.
I am so happy to see you more active on UA-cam! Can not wait for more concrete video!
As long as it gets hydrated (wet) all the way through, it will likely have the strenght listed on the bag. It just takes a lot longer with dry pour. Its certainly easier than renting or buying a mixer and easiervto work with for non critical work like sidewalks, driveways and pads. You'd need to be really careful for structural applications because you'd need to wait much longer than normal
I did a dry pour slab big enough to put two dodge ram 1500's and my lawncare trailer on few years back. Hasnt cracked yet. If your going to be driving/ parking on it. Most of the important work is preparing the ground under it. leveling, sand, gravel, and a absolute crapload of tamping.
One day I would like to see someone compare dry pour with standard pour by putting both in a press to get real numbers on things like comprehensive strength. I'm convinced that dry pour is perfectly fine for many non-critical projects, but it would be very interesting to know exactly what kind of difference in strength between the two methods... if any.
Id like to see the same thing. Im not convinced that there is complete hydration towards the middle/ bottom of the slab. But it would be cool to see a core sample and a couple of break samples to see whats going on. My understanding is that even conventionally mixed concrete benefits from having plasticizers in it to achieve complete hydration at lower water to cement ratios. The chemical plasticizers break the electrical bonds that form between cement particles and allow water to hydrate everything completely and evenly. This method doesnt agitate the mix at all, so I dont see how the cement particles would ever be completely hydrated without anything to help break the natural bonds that form between them when introduced to water. Concrete is typically weakened by having too much water added to make it easier to place and finish, but the opposite can also be true. If there isnt enough water to hydrate the cement, it will lose strength that way as well. I could be wrong, im definitely no scientist and i dont engineer this stuff, but I am a concrete guy that tries to stay educated on the stuff that actually goes on in the mix and keep up with the latest developments in mix designs so that I can produce better jobs. The core samples would take away all the theories though and put some hard numbers down that people could use when deciding if they want to use this method.
Love your videos man ! Answered all my questions about a dry pour for my smoker and blackstone. Tired of them taking up room on my concrete patio so i am doing a couple 4x6 pads on the side.
Forgive me if this was already asked, but did you try adding any super plasticizer to the water that you are using on the dry pour?
It might allow the water to penetrate better.
I was thinking you could add it to a soap or a chemical canister that attaches to the garden hose so that it mixes with the water
dishwashing detergent perhaps? and use a garden bucket with a shower nozzle.
Glad you had the open mind, I would never have thought it was a good idea so I would never have even tried it. Here's something for you to try.... Make a very flat dry pour then build a heavy pendulum over it with a point like one of those mesmerizing sand art things, Once its made its pattern - mist it to cure it. oh and happy fathers day
Mike: One thing to remember is that concrete is a powder which will absorb water, this is why dry pour is used for post holes. You could do a full driveway like this BUT you would need to use screen reinforcing to make the drive sturdy enough. And I agree with @larrytyler1578, there was a bit of rocking with the slab when you drove over. I think the cracking was due to the slab rocking and you just happen to go over it at just the right angle for the slab to be raised on when side and lower on the other causing a fulcrum action which caused the slab to crack.
on Nov. of 2021 we repaired an asphalt private road with dry concrete method. About 15' x 6' x 4 in thick is a triangular shape (patch) it was done with rebar, gravel, broken asphalt and rocks. All size cars and trucks drive over it, even dump trucks loaded with rock lol my skid steer been on it for hundreds of times. The repair has last all this time with zero cracks. so definitely dry pour has its place but if you want to insure your investment add some rebar and gravel or small rocks.
Hey Michael. Could you do a video on how the strengths of concrete is proven? Would be very informative and highly entertaining.
I'd love to see a core drilled and crushed too, see if it breaks close to the 4000, or 5000 psi advertised on the bag.
I'm 65 yo and I'm needing to do some cement work and I'll be doing it by myself. Dry pour looks like a godsend.
Found another vid about a civil engineering trick where rather than put rock and sand as a base to pour over, you mix 15 - 20% concrete into the dirt and let it harden. Cheaper and easier.
I love that you're devoting some videos to this. This will be a cool playlist for anyone who wants to know the ins/outs/successes/fails of dry pouring. For you, it'll just be another tool in your belt! I mean, another segment of your channel. lol
I didn’t even think about making a separate playlist! Thank you! Haha
Man, it's always a pleasure to watch your videos, since I saw your first video I risked working with cement on my own, in my house of course. I would like you to send me a greeting my friend saying my name on your next video 🫣🫢🫢I always try to do something or copy your ideas, although more often than my wife gets mad with me because she says that I only spend my money trying to do something that I already know is going to go wrong. 😂😂But I don’t care brother!Greetings my friend from Eagle Pass Tx.👍🏻👍🏻
Great follow up! Proof that for a small application, the dry pour, when following CCL's method works.
This is the way to go for small projects. I’m convinced.
I’m definitely about to built a patio with this method 💯👌🏻
Great videos! 👍🏻 I think it was the soft ground that weakened the slab when it was driven on. I might try this.
Waited all day yesterday for this, after watching ALL your videos (in one day). Glad I found your channel. So many ideas I now have
Im convinced, Im going to try it for the concrete pad to stand a wood burner on. Mine will be about 4"thick on a wooden base and tiles on top. Im tempted to put a bit of rebar in there but Im not sure yet
You had me lol so much my dogs didn’t know what to think. You’re so funny. New to your channel, only second video I’ve watched so far.
For what it's worth, thirty-five years ago and building trades class we were taught to set mailbox post in dry ready mixed concrete. Like, grab the top of the sakrete bag and pour it in, then template down, then put a little soil on top and tamp it down. We didn't missed it, we didn't water it. It soaked up moisture from the soil, and, if you've ever dug one of those up, they were solid!
thank you for the time you took to make this. the drilling really surprised me a lot.
Good video and fair testing. I use this method for decades - lazy way for "on ground" cement pour not thicker than 10-15 cm.- with or without metal or plastic rebar inside.After the "misty wetting" while still not hardened, it is possible to make some "relief pattern" on the surface.Good idea is to spread and cover the surface with very thin layer of pure cement powder (after wetting) for reinforcing that surface and making it smoother. Can also use cement dye for colouring the surface. Dry pour is nothing new.By the way, cement and its mixtures are hygroscopic and will harden like a rock even just on open air and time of hardening depends only on the air humidity and takes longer time if not wetted on purpose.
Great video, and also, you’re very entertaining to watch . Thanks for the video.
Excellent! This is what backyard science looks like 🏡