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Storing bags of concrete

John F Dean

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Has anyone figured out how to store bags of concrete for a year or more without it becoming hard?

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R Scott

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Sealed clamp top 55 gallon drum with dessicant packs.

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Kenneth Elwell

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Something deliberate/extreme as R Scott suggests, or 5 gallon pails with good lids? Maybe in a contractor bag taped completely shut? or at the very least, in a dry, heated room.

Never had much luck in a garage, beyond keeping the rain off the sacks for a week or two.

And here's the wise-ass answer: Store it at the store. (buy what you need, return the excess)

Nails are sold by the pound, that makes sense.

John C Daley

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Cement or concrete, they are vastly different?

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John F Dean

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Hi John,

Yes concrete. But as long as we are discussing this, I would like to hear about cement as well.

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John C Daley

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They have the same problem, being hydroscopic.
They will always sniff in moisture and harden.
In my experience its best to buy these products as you need them. when ever I have bought 2 more and left them for some time, bang they have hardened.
Any bulk deals are not worth it.

We have them packed in 'recyclable plastic now, I left 2 on the ground next to a job I am doing.
We have had 2 inches of rain and the bags leaked a little. I could still use the great proportion of the bags, but I was surprised.
The old paper with a plastic liner would have been fully useless!

Carl Nystrom

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I have had good luck storing portland cement in a steel drum with the lid on. The bags have a plastic lining, which pre-mix does not. I have found an unlimited source of sand on my property, so buying in the cement and some course aggregate ends up being a better deal anyway. I am not sure if I have had a sack sit in there for a full year, but 6 months is no problem at all. Since the sacks are so heavy, I open them up and scoop them out when I need some, and the bottom of the drum is now covered in loose cement - perhaps that helps keep the humidity down in there?

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