Old foreman told me my mud was too wet and I fought him on it for weeks

Finally tried his mix ratio of 3 parts sand to 1 part cement with just enough water to ball it up and my next wall didn't sag a single course, so who was right?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma_taylor477d ago

Tried the same thing a few years back with a retaining wall I was building. Kept adding water to make it easier to work with and the thing just kept slumping. Finally got a batch right with that 3:1 mix and a handful of water just enough to hold shape. It's still standing three winters later. Old timers know what they're talking about even if they can't explain why.

tylerj227d ago

Funny how that rule holds for so many things... less is more.

ninas675d ago

Ninas67: My grandpa tried to explain this to me about concrete slabs five years ago and i just rolled my eyes. Then i spent a weekend redoing a shed foundation three times before i finally listened and used way less water than the bag said. That slab is still flat as a pancake and i haven't had to touch it since.