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Questions tagged [concrete]

Concrete is composed of cement, aggregate (including crushed rock and sand) and water. In homes, it's frequently seen in the foundation, driveway, sidewalk, patio, and stone walls. Note that bricks use mortar in the joints, not concrete.

For specific uses, see also:

For help with waterproofing and some interior construction, use

For brickwork, use or

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Is it OK to install a concrete slab without mixing?

Going upon the advice of a reputable builder, I used Quikrete fast-drying concrete for a small slab outside my house. Not load bearing. His recommendation was to dry-pour the whole thing. Framed, leveled, screeded and then watered every 30 minutes…
jerebear
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Rotating a concrete slab?

Is it possible to use a hydraulic bottle jack or similar to rotate a 10 x 12' x 6" a few degrees or about 5 inches? I have a recent pour not quite in position. 3/8" rebar throughout in a 6 x 6 grid formation (6 pieces at 9ft, 6 pieces at 11ft, 6"…
Merkd
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What is this concrete slab in my front yard?

House was built in 1964. Slab is about 3 feet across.
oilers128
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How do I build a form and pour a concrete pad?

I have a new safe that I want to put out in the garage. I'd like for it to be in a specific corner, but that corner has a few quirks. First, the slab is pretensioned. No cutting, drilling, coring, etc. All around the garage the concrete comes up…
Hounshell
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Is it safe to drill small holes in load-bearing concrete beams for expansion bolts?

It seems to be very common to drill small holes in any kind of structural concrete for mounting fixtures without worrying too much about any kind of reduction in strength of the structure, but I prefer to be safe than sorry… We have a concrete beam…
jbg
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Aluminum window screen as wire mesh be for strengthening concrete?

I am making a 2” slab of concrete for DIY 45 lb weight plate. I have some extra aluminum window screen that I’m not using. I was thinking of putting some strips of window screen into the concrete midway to make it stronger. You think this is a good…
nick carraway
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Why did I get concrete honeycombing

I mixed 1:1.5:3 by hand and using a bucket. I mixed the concrete on a plastic sheet but on hard soil not a concrete surface. I am not sure what I have done wrong. The portland cement bag suggested 1:4:3.5. It seems like that people here use more…
GorillaApe
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How can I color concrete?

I'm going to be using a mold to pour a concrete pathway and I was wondering about coloring options. I've done this previously with this quikrete product. It worked and turned out okay, but one bottle only does two bags of concrete. The cost of color…
Josh Bush
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How can I fill a void in a concrete seawall?

My concrete seawall (on a freshwater lake) has a void in a bottom corner. It seems to have been created with the void -- it's not a result of trapped water freezing and pushing out a chunk. I'd like to fill the void to avoid future possible…
Liudvikas Bukys
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How can I make these concrete columns?

I want to make a narrow concrete, decorative column like the ones found in this garden.. What is used as a mold for these types of columns? What gives the concrete those subtle color changes (the red and/or blue hues)?
NeedHelpWithColumn
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Will a 4" non-reinforced concrete slab support my swimming pool?

I am purchasing a 7' x 10' portable above-ground exercise pool which holds 2200 gallons of water. I plan to set it on my concrete patio which is quite wide and is 4" thick, with no rebar in it. Will the 4" concrete slab support 2200 gallons of…
Cheryl Curran
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Can I use the crushed remains of an old concrete slab as a base for a new slab?

I have recently broke up my old concrete shed base which was 100mm thick, I also have quite a lot of gravel. The broke up shed base is quite large chunks of concrete so could I use that a long with the gravel as a sub base for the new concrete base…
Graham T
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Is it possible to patch concrete stairs?

At my church, there is an old set of stairs made of concrete. They've begun to crumble on the top to the point where the treads are no longer flat and smooth. I've not seen any material that has fallen off of the stairs so I can't tell you if it's…
Richard
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Is it common for vertical joints to not be filled?

We live in a high-rise apartment, and the shower room cinder-block wall is covered by sheet rock. The wall separates our apartment from our neighbors' apartment. Anyway, I noticed that the blocks above the drop-ceiling seemed to have no vertical…
Frank Montane
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How hard is stamping concrete?

I want to put a 2' border around my driveway of colored and stamped concrete. I have gotten bids that almost $3,000. I have called the concrete company and asked how much 5 yards of colored concrete would be and it is $650. I really can't see…
Tatton Chantry
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