I finally quit using expensive ready-mix bags and started blending my own gravel and Portland

After wasting $12 a bag on premix for three straight months, I tried mixing actual 3/4 inch stone with cement at a 5:1 ratio on a small walkway last Tuesday and the concrete came out way denser with zero shrinkage cracks.

3 comments

3 Comments

mia7001mo ago

One job isn't really a fair test though. Gravel quality varies a lot, and if you got a bad batch of 3/4 inch stone next time you might end up with a lumpy mess that doesn't bond right. Also, 5:1 seems a bit lean for something that needs to hold up under foot traffic long term, most pros I've seen won't go under 4:1 for walkways. I'd mix a few more batches with different rock sources and keep a close eye on how it holds up after a freeze before you commit to this as a permanent solution.

matthewdixon1mo ago

Man you're really overthinking this. It's a gravel path not a bridge. People have been chucking stone dust and gravel together for decades without doing freeze-thaw testing on different batches. If it holds up fine for one season chances are it's gonna be alright. The batch quality thing is a real point but most crushed stone from a halfway decent yard is pretty consistent. As for the ratio thing 5:1 vs 4:1 who's actually out there measuring that precise anyway? You dump a bag of cement in feel it out and see if it sticks. Not saying your wrong just feels like we're turning a weekend project into a civil engineering study.

spencer7821mo ago

Take the opposite side here and say 5:1 is fine for a walkway if you pack it down right. Moisture content and compaction matter way more than whether you're one shovel scoop off on a ratio, which is something @mia700 is overlooking with that 4:1 insistence. That first batch might just be luck but calling it lean without seeing how it actually set seems like overkill for a path that gets walked on.