Tips To Help You Work On Your Next Concrete Project

Concrete work in your property and around your home makes for some great improvements to your personal residence. Concrete can upgrade your gravel or dirt driveway and improve a wooden porch into a solid surface for years of use. But when you are ready to tackle your own concrete work, be sure you follow some of the most important rules to ensure a successful concrete surface that does not crack or fail you. Here are some tips to help you complete your next concrete project to choose your concrete product and combine the mixture for a proper consistency.

Get the Right Concrete Product and Tools

There are several types of concrete products available on the market suited for a basic DIYer on up to a professional concrete installer. And depending on the amount of experience you have in working with concrete, you can mix your own mixture with additives to help the concrete cure and remain stable in the outside environment for a longer-lasting surface. But, if you are looking to complete a basic concrete project with installing fence posts or building a pathway through your garden from formed concrete stones, you can look to buy a bagged, pre-mixed concrete product.

Concrete products that come pre-mixed with sand, aggregate, and cement already have the right measurements, and you only need to add in the required amount of water per bag and mix it in something like a wheelbarrow. You can also opt to use a portable cement mixer to combine the concrete and water instead of mixing it in a wheelbarrow. But whatever method of mixture you use, be sure to measure the consistency of the concrete to make sure it is not too runny or too dry. Doing so will prevent the concrete from cracking and failing on your project.

Mix Your Own Concrete

You may also want to mix your own concrete from a mixture of cement, aggregate, sand, and water. To do so allows you to get high-quality concrete but also be able to mix it into larger batches, which will help you pour concrete into a larger area, such as a driveway, patio slab, or garage pad.

Be sure you follow the recommended measurements to mix your concrete, which includes 1 part cement, 1 part sand, 1.5 parts gravel, and .5 parts water. Then, once you have combined the materials into your concrete product, make sure it has the right consistency to ensure it is properly mixed. The concrete mixture should hold its shape when you run a shovel down through the top of the mixture to create a trough. If the concrete runs together or crumbles apart, you know you have added too little of a component. 

To learn more, contact a ready-mix concrete supplier.


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