Mixing Up the Wrong Cement

Bob and Julie were over at the house last night, helping us in the basement. While Bob was working on patching a wall with mortar and bricks, Liz and I decided we’d mix up some more cement to apply to the walls.

Guess we grabbed the wrong bag and dumped it into the mixer?

In my defense, we have three different bags floating around the basement: regular cement, mortar, and the cement for the walls.

I had accidentally mixed up regular cement… and this set off a scramble for us to prep a metal pipe we’re intending to use as a support column. The goal was to pack it with cement, and Bob helped quickly set things up so that we could tackle this task instead.

Liz, packing down some of the cement using an improvised broom handle with a ball of paper towels at the end, wrapped in duct tape.

Side view. Notice there’s also a funnel set up on the end (also kept in place with duct tape) that Bob quickly fashed out of sheet metal, using his snips.

Ultimately, it ended up best with three of us working together. I’d position a bucket full of cement near the opening, Liz would scoop a set amoutn in, and Bob would help guide the cement down.

Luckily, things turned out well despite my goof.

Related:
Pouring Concrete for the Furnace Platform
Pouring Cement in the Back Basement