I will be putting some fence posts up over the weekend and I have just noticed the use by date on my cemet was the start of this month. Can I still use it?
Buying new is not a problem but it seems a waste.
Adam
Not much of an answer - but I just used some out-of-date stuff. Mind, the ground the posts went into is halfway to concrete and both holes have concrete on at least one side so I am only really concerned over the stuff holding itself together. Seems to have set OK.
As long as it has been kept dry and doesn't have lots of hard lumps in it, IME, yes.
OTOH, it is cheap and it is a pain digging out for and putting in fence posts, so if you have need for a visit to the builders merchants for other things, I would buy fresh cement.
I also have a path to concrete. Foot traffic only and it will eventually have paving slabs on top. I might buy new cement for the posts and use the old stuff for the path. It has been stored indoors not a shed and seems to be in good condition.
Adam
I know. I have dug the holes already. Have a look at my DIY depth measure.
At that age I suppose he is a metric measure? Do you use his grandad for the imperial measurements? ;-)
Some of it will have set into an inactive power, so just use a bit more than you would have otherwise done. I had a bag of premixed sand and cement in the shed for nearly 10 years and it was still working at the end, but was probably making a rather weak mortar at that point, although the pointing I did with it is still rock solid 10 years later on.
Cement is incredibly hygroscopic - meaning it powerfully absorbs moisture. Even if kept indoors, there is always moisture in the air and cement will absorb it and partially hydrate. If you leave a bag of cement long enough it will almost completely hydrate and you will be left with one large lump - cement bags do not include an effective barrier to moisture.
Cement is not ridiculously expensive, so I would recommend that you replace it with new.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "ARWadworth" saying something like:
It's fine - as long as the bags weren't stored in the damp. Now if it had been a couple of years old I'd have said no - I found that out.
In message , ARWadworth writes
Interesting info. I have just opened a bag and the cement is what I call "fluffy". Usually I see cement stored outside on a building site and covered over with plastic sheets. This stuff has only sat in my lounge for a few months. The packed date is exactly 2 months earlier than the use by date.
Adam
It should be fine, it'll have turned to lumps or one big lump if it isnt. If in doubt, mix a spoonful with 3 of sand and let it set overnight, check its ok.
I'd use the perfect cement for the path and anything doubtful for the posts. Posts dont need any cement at all to stay firmly in place. Paths otoh rely on it.
NT
Plastic bags or paper?
Alas untrue. It can hydrate from the moisture in the air and lose most of its strength while still appearing powdery.
That won't tell you very much.
After such a short time in storage, there will still be enough unhydrated cement to obtain a set. The question is, how much has already hydrated? The answer is, you can have no idea.
I have just spoilt the trolls hide out.
Adam
My local builder merch. says they are fine for 6 months after use by date...as long as it has not hardened into lumps!
Steve
Good decision. ;-)
Ask him to back that up with a warranty.
it wont be quite as good, but it will work. as long as it is still powdery.
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