On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:51:37 -0500, wrote:

:On Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:23:38 -0700, Dan Musicant )
:wrote:
:
: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.
:
:I have always felt that Quickcrete (all brands), never contain enough
:raw cement. It's weak. I either mix my own using sand, stone, and
ortland cement, or if the job is real small I use Quickcrete, but I
:add a little more portland cement. (I bought a bag of portland some
:years ago, and keep it in a well sealed plastic pail).

THAT idea I like! Portland cement to supplement the Quikcrete. It was
murder getting that stuff smooth. I was just lucky I didn't have a lot
to do. Less than 2 square feet to smooth. It was tricky, though. There
was a tight corner where I couldn't use my trowel and I used a small
wood & compressed board one I made many years ago. Lucky I had that.

:
:As far as keeping it moist, for a small job like yours, wet rags over
:the pour work well. Saves soaking it several times a day. In hot
:weather, a tarp or plastic trash bags over the rags help too.
:
ont wait 5 days to remove forms. They will be hard to remove.
:Remove within 24 hours. In hot weather that can mean an hour after
:the pouring, but I prefer to wait several hours to avoid sag. You can
:usually tell when it's set.

I'll remove the forms today for sure. Thanks.

Dan