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How To Pour Concrete
By Leeanne Utiger
You have some work to be done in the garden, or to the outside of your property, or maybe you have a clothesline to install, or even a driveway to be made.
For all of those things mentioned above, it is very likely that you will need to know how to pour concrete.
Pouring concrete can be a do-it-yourself job, or for the really big 'pouring concrete' jobs, you will ultimately have to get in the professionals to actually pour the concrete for you.
I will go into some detail on how to know how to pour concrete yourself for the little jobs you can undertake. Let us say you are wanting to install a clothesline. You will need to dig a deep enough hole to place the pole of your clothesline into. Naturally this has to be deep enough for the pole not to be knocked over in sudden gust of wind, and also deep enough into the ground, so the lines on the clothesline can in fact be reached when hanging washing onto it. Now that you have your hole deep enough for your clothesline pole, you have to brace it. This can be done with planks of wood. Now that we have this all set up, you can learn how to pour your concrete to in fact keep the clothesline pole in place permanently. For unless concrete is deliberately smashed up, it is in fact a permanent fixture. You should by now have a bag of what is called, concrete mix. You can purchase concrete mix from any good hardware store, or concrete yard. There will be instructions on the packaging of your concrete mix. However most concrete mixes are basically made up the same. Your concrete mix will have to have water mixed to it and combined together. You will learn how to do this as you actually physically do it. I suggest you use a thick piece of short plank to enable you to mix up the concrete mix with the water. You do not want his mixed up so it is lumpy. The concrete needs to be of a smooth consistency, yet not too runny. If the concrete is too runny, it in fact will not harden and set. So if on mixing up your combination of water and concrete mix, it appears to be getting to funny, simply add a little more of the concrete mix until the appropriate consistency is reached. If the concrete is to gluggy, you will have to add a little more water. It is similar to say, mixing up a dough for a good batch of scones.
There are other things you need to know about when you are ready to learn how to pour concrete. I'm not saying they are a necessity, yet can be very helpful and save you some back breaking work. You are probably wondering what on earth I am talking about. I am talking about a concrete mixer. This is a machine powered by electricity. You plug it in, place the concrete mix and the water into it and it turns itself over and over and mixes up what you have placed inside of it. This concrete mixing machine really does save you time and pain on your back.
Once the concrete and the water is mixed to the correct consistency regardless to how you mixed it, you can now get to pouring it where you need it, and in this case, it is around the pole to your clothesline. You will have to pour your concrete evenly and then smooth it out with a concrete spatula. This is a smooth piece of metal with a handle on the top of it, for holding onto. Just simply move this over the concrete you have just poured to make sure it is all nice and smooth and even. Do not under any circumstance remove the wood bracings until after the concrete mix has fully dried. If you remove your bracings the clothesline pole will tip over.
But now if you want to pour concrete for lets say a driveway, you will have to get the professionals in to do this job. They will have to pre mix the concrete at their concrete yard, for the amount that will be needed for something such as a driveway. They will pour the concrete straight from the concrete truck itself, therefore pouring the concrete and creating your driveway for you.
These are just a few ways of knowing how to pour concrete. If you need to know more about pouring concrete, simply pay your concrete yard professionals a visit and they will be more than happy to advise you.
See Also:
For more advice on how to pour concrete, see:
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