I used this stuff to set a hose spigot. I mixed it correctly, but today, two weeks later, its still moist and can easily be broken apart with your fingers. Ive used it before, but i dont remember it taking this long to harden up and dry. Maybe so....any ideas?

very odd. Should firm up in a matter of hours and be rock hard in a couple days. I have switched to a product called maximizer. It is 5500 PSI and you get one cubic foot per 80 lb sack...

don't mix sugar with it

Sounds like possibly the water leached into the soil too quickly if you mixed it correctly. Do you have a very very sandy soil, or possibly a gopher hole the water would have drained to?

If you mixed it correctly it should have set within 24 hrs max, with ultimate strengh in 3-4 days for Quicrete.

I have a very sandy soil, compounded by hidden gopher holes. When I set the posts for my deck, I used the quick set version. I mean quick, within 30 minutes it was set.

The soil here is clay. I dont know what the deal is. The quickrete is hard, but its still not 'dry'. IM not sure what to do except let it keep setting up. Does quickrete get 'old' or expire or anything?

The way it is now, after sitting for almost two weeks, I can EASILY press my fingernail into it and break out chunks of it.

[This message has been edited by jed1154 (edited 4/8/2009 12:43p).]

I'd think if it's not hard by now, you're out of luck. I set a couple dozen fence posts in regular Sakcrete a couple weeks ago, and they were firm after about 3 hours. This wasn't the fast setting stuff either. I hung the fence the next day and they were rock solid.


Isn't concrete supposed to be "pretty damn solid" after 3 days, and high 90 something percent of its total strength after 21 days?

Probably. Ive just never seen quickrete expire. This stuff i have had for a year or two, but its never been opened.

Did it rain?

Yes, but it was covered. Ive already dug it all out. THe part that is more than two weeks old was easily crumbled with a masonry hammer. I put a chunk in the oven at 200 degrees. Its totally dry now and it can easily be crushed with your hand.

Ill get some fresh quickrete.

Sounds like too much water to me. The more water you use in any concrete product the easier it is to mix and handle, but the lower the ultimate strength will be.

If I recall correctly for an 80lb sack of quickcrete, you only use 1 gallon of water. Most people way overdo it.

FYI, quickrete isn't a very hard concrete mix to begin with. It sets fast, but don't expect it to be like a portland cement mix or something.

I dont know how much i mixed. I just know that i usually make it such that if you sling it on the ground, it holds its shape....that might be too little or too much, i dont know, but i thought that was the appropriate test.

Maximizer is a great product, stronger, lighter, and goes farther.

You should never be able to "pour" concrete. You should have to place it.

Jed, that sounds +/- about right. Might have had a bit much, but it sounds like you were closer to the right amount than the way too much end of the spectrum.

It is possible that you got a sack that had at some point gotten damp and the cement had partially cured (but not enough for you to notice while mixing).

Go buy another sack and try again.

I think that happened. One of the sacks had a 'shell' on it, the other did not, but it was in teh same area, so, it must be a partial cure. THE final product sucks.

Ill have to get another bag and have another go at it. I know the water is important, but i have used this stuff where i mixed too much water and it was a slurry, and it still set up hard...

You can't put too much water in concrete to make it not set up. Too much water can make it not mix properly, or run out of the form/hole/whatever.

But the concrete will absorb exactly the correct amount of water needed for the chemical reaction. Concrete sets by chemical reaction with water. It isn't like making a mud pie and waiting for it to dry out.

The amount of water still affects the ultimate strenght of the material. Mainly because the extra water prevents contact between the cement, sand, and gravel when that chemical reaction takes place.

If i get the quikrete fast set mix, how long do I have from when i wet it to when I get it in the hole? 20 mins?

Ill just be happy to get the project done with and done correctly with cement that cures in less than two weeks. If its fully cured in three days that would be fine. After that, its going to get a soaking when i fire up the system.

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Agree totally. From what you posted earlier, I don't think you over mixed it. You got a sack that was already partially cured. Get a fresh sack and you'll be good to go!

Sounds like you're gonna have quite the garden when you're done!

What I will have is an round irrigation pattern on a square garden, making it the most inefficient system EVAH! However, it will be watered long and deep (fify protected) and I won't have to get off the tractor when i mow because i forgot to wrap the hose up. If I ever get a timer for it and some labor to weed it then the laziness factor is limitless!!!

I guess i figured a bag of quikrete, even if it had a hard exterior would still be good on the inside....turns out thats wrong.

[This message has been edited by jed1154 (edited 4/9/2009 10:04p).]

Now we know it was a partially cured bag to begin with.

The chemical process had already taken place long ago for the most part.

Still, for a quick set, try the fast set version of Quickrete.

It hasnt even been 14 hours and this stuff is already hard.