In article , "jw 111" wrote:
have had some ready mixed cement stored in a shed for about a year or so.

Throw it away. It's no good.

although it's a bit solid, if i scrape at it, it then goes powdery, so i
could mix it up.

You could mix it up, but it won't have any strength when it sets. You see,
cement cures by a chemical reaction with the water that's added to it. In your
bag of old cement, that reaction has already taken place, with humidity in the
air. You can't make concrete with that stuff. It will set, but it will crumble
the first time any stress is applied to it.

could i use this old mix for anything? someone has told me if i do it will
not have much strength? but even so i guess there are little jobs around the
garden that dont require much strength?

Sure - if your soil is too acidic, you can mix some of that cement into the
soil to make it more alkaline.

In the winter, if your walk or driveway is covered with ice, you could spread
some of it around to provide traction, and possibly help melt the ice.

If you have any plants you want to kill, you could dump it on top of them.

is it likely to be of any use please?

Not for making concrete. Just buy some more. It's cheap.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?