Cement Question for FlapJack!

[GN YAKN]

Denny, (Billy or anyone else with knowledge of the finer art of mixing mud)

What was the recipe for mortar we used for the Lee Creek steps?

Seems like it was 3:1 ratio of cement and sand with a dash of Portland.

I know Portland is cement but it seems like we used two kinds of cement....

Anyone remember what the formula was. It seems to have worked pretty good since the steps are still holding up pretty well!

Dave

[A Savage spanke]

I know that this doesn't at all answer your question for the lee creek steps, but this might help anyway. On the lower mulberry there is a stair case that was put in, and all the people did was lay out 80 lb bags of quickcrete where they wanted the steps, and now they are cement. They still look like bags of quickcrete, but they are solid. Seems like an easy solution that has so far held up, but I'm not a cement pro, and I don't know what your application is. But I hope that might have helped some, if nothing else at least I bumped you up to the top?

[Jim Krueger]

Dave,

Type I Portland cement mixed at the 1:3 ratio with sand as you mentioned ought to be fine, you could 'richen' the mix a tad if you like. Unless your friend was maybe adding a little specialty grout of some sort as well, I wouldn't know of anything else.
One thing that has come into greater use some years ago is fiber re-enforcement. For the concrete flatwork, drain basins, steps, etc. I used to construct for the universities, I would order my concrete from the plant with the fibers mixed in, or when making smaller batches on site, would just buy the fibers in a package from the concrete plant and mix in myself. The fiber re-enforcement costs about $5 for a package that will do about a cubic yard of concrete. It adds strength to any mix by helping to control cracking.

Best Regards
Jim

[LOREN]

Spanke, seriously? That comment makes me sad for my children knowing that one day you are going to be an engineer.

[GN YAKN]

Talked with Jungle Boater yesterday and got the skinny on the Turner Bend recipe.

Sand:Mortar:Portland 6:1:1

Since moving to an acreage in the woods we've had a couple of parties with live music. I've made some comments about wanting to build a stage.

So, my neighbor, who has attended these shindigs, takes the initiative to bring me a 10 x 20 section of flooring that he salvaged when he did a demo job on an old church in Mulberry.

I've got to get some peers built and set this piece of sanctified flooring up on them and then put a roof over the project.

We're going for the Early Ozark-American look and hope to have it ready for a River Valley campout this fall!

[Michele Jackson]

Sound very cool Dave!

Is the River Valley campout scheduled yet?

[GN YAKN]

Not sure we've set a date. But, I need a deadline to motivate me to get ready!!!

We need to set a date when there will be water in the Mulberry!!! Can you arrange for that? We paddled the lower Mulberry yesterday and it was really nice at a phat 1.7 on the gauge!

Dave