On Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:20:08 -0500, dpb wrote:

wrote:
:...
: OK, thanks. I'll go buy another bag. Even so, I figure I'll have to add
: rock, I probably have a couple of tons in the yard! I have to break up
: some, though. Did some already.l
:
:Get two, once you're started you won't have time for a trip.
:
:...
:
: I have a wheelbarrow I can use. I saw a crew do some concrete work in my
: yard around a year ago and have an idea how to go about it. ...
:
:You have a trowel and edging tool to use to put a finish on it?

Well, don't have an edging tool and thought of making or buying one but
the concrete edging I'm duplicating here doesn't really have an edge.
The edge is basically sharp, or almost, so I'm not concerned about it. I
do have a trowel.

I bought only one extra bag, but it proved more than enough. I wound up
using a little over 1 1/2 bags. I mixed one, used it and then mixed the
other.

What I decided was that I'd dug down too far and I filled in a lot of
the trough with dirt. I think it was really too deep and a waste of
concrete.

I think it probably came out pretty OK, but won't know for sure until
it's cured, I guess. I don't know when to remove the forms. Should I
wait 5 days until the concrete's cured?

I was disappointed in the Quikcrete. It seemed to me that there was too
large a proportion of rocks, not enough cement. It was a LOT of work
getting a smooth surface. Maybe I didn't put in enough water, but
instructions I read suggested that too much water is apt to produce
crumbly concrete, whereas too little will produce concrete that's hard
to work. Rather than risk the former, I went with being maybe bit
conservative in the amount of water.

To cure, I think I'm supposed to keep it damp. How important is that?
It's supposed to rain here starting in a couple of days for maybe 1/2 a
day.

Dan