Concrete/cement ratios

[BuzzLOL]

A two wheeled wheelbarrow has more stability but is harder to turn as it will not pivot.

????? ... They turn effortlessly! One wheel rolls forward, the other backwards... (unless it has axles locked by a spool... LOL !!! ) https://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/large/SUM-730075.jpg

 

[Eddie_T]

YMMV but a single wheel turns on a dime (sometimes when you don't want it to). With two wheels one has to have a wider area clear of debris to pivot. I have both single and two wheel barrows and usually use two wheels for heavy loads and a clear path.

 

[Sparky617]

A single wheel wheelbarrow is certainly easier to push along a plank.

 

[BuzzLOL]

For safety's sake your work area should be clear of debris, anyways...

 

[Eddie_T]

For safety's sake your work area should be clear of debris, anyways...

I guess we can keep this one going, I have never seen a construction area clear of debris, especially if gravel is involved. I use mine around the yard and in unlevel wooded areas so I choose according to the terrain.

 

[BuzzLOL]

I've worked construction professionally so we had to keep the worksite reasonably free of debris so no one gets hurt... we want workers to be able to work 5 - 7 days a week for 40 - 50 years and then retire with no injuries or deaths... 100,000 safe hours per person dealing with human nature... of course, the odds are kinda against that... so a good effort has to be made...

 

[Eddie_T]

That's a noble goal. The guy I bought my property from was a builder and he said he spent his time on the worksite trying to keep it clean so the workers didn't have to stop and move stuff out of their way.

 

[bud16415]

A single wheel wheelbarrow is certainly easier to push along a plank.

I knew one guy that had no problem running a two-wheeled wheelbarrow right up a 6” wide plank. His name was Joie Chitwood. He got out of construction though and put his talents to different uses.

 

[Eddie_T]

My last project was a wolf dog kennel in the woods behind my house. Access was by a footpath that meandered. It wasn't easy to get sand and bricks to it even with a single wheeled barrow.

Building (or even yard work) in the mountains is a whole 'nother thing compared to flatland construction. I heard of a house near Highlands, NC where the drive wasn't put in until the house was finished so it could be aesthetically designed to complement the house.

 

[nljuan]

Hello,

I bought a few 94-lb bags of portland cement. I read that these are 1 cubic feet each.
I also bought loose sand and gravel to make concrete.

How many 5 gallon buckets of sand do I need to mix for each 94lb bag of cement if the mix asks for 1 part cement and 2 parts sand?

I'm getting mixed answers on the internet that a 5gal bucket full of sand is either 0.68 cubic feet or 0.98 cubic feet.

It is safer to just fill a bucket with cement and then fill two with sand to get the correct ratio?

Thanks in advance.

I have been mixing alot of cement the past few years and have found you can't rely on measures in pounds based on internet searches. I have been using a 4 cubic foot cement mixer, which really only allows about 1 cubic foot per mix. Just google "cement mixers actual cubic feet" and you will see the advertised cubic feet and the actual cubic feet they can actually mix is about half or more less. Regardless of that, they are very valuable in mixing for smaller jobs or if a bigger job is done at different times. With regards to your question, I would highly recommend if you measure out one 5 gallon bucket of cement you should actually measure out 2 5 gallon buckets of sand using a similar bucket size. I find it hard to lift 1 full 5 gallon bucket of sand or gravel so I use a marker to mark the buckets. Ie. For a 1:2:3 ratio of cement, sand, crushed stone I use two 1 gallon buckets of cement and put in a little extra, a five gallon bucket with measured sand marker line, based on previously using the same two one gallon buckets, and two 5 gallons buckets for the gravel/ crushed stone, that are marked as well, using a sharpie marker, based on those same one gallon buckets. Once you do the initial measurements and mark rhe buckets, you are good to go. Be careful when adding the water. With the mix above, using a cement mixer, I add 1 gallon of water to the mixer first, then the gravel, then the sand, and once that's mixed, the cement. Then I add less than 1/2 or maybe a 1/4 gallon of water. However, as I said I also add more cement after I 've added the second portion of water. The reason for the additional cement is because I've been adding, larger than fist sized rocks into the forms. Hope this info is helpful. The crushed stone I've been using is about an inch or slightly less wide. Of course the strength of the concrete mix depends on what you are using it for.