how much does concrete weigh?

nap

I know there are a lot of variables but I am only looking for some approximations for a general mix concrete.

What I need to do is figure out how much cured concrete I have to put in my PU truck for winter weight. Normally I toss in about 15 feet of ~10" I-beam but that is causing damage to the bed. I can pour a block of concrete with re-bar in it that fits the floor shape well with a loop included so I can remove it with a tractor or winch when I want. That way the block would not move much plus with tie downs, I could secure it as well if needed. That just wasn't practical to do with the I-beams.

47_47

Why don't you use concrete block? Easier to move and store. A 10"x 8"x 16" weighs about 60 lbs.

__________________
What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it.

Willie T

It's about 4,045 pounds per cubic yard.... then add all the rebar you will need.

__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Willie T

bob22

An 80-lb bag of dry concrete will weigh about 80-lbs mixed. Divide the amount of weight you need by 80lbs and you've the number of bags needed to mix.

hoang

concrete weighs anywhere from 135lbs to 150lbs per cubic foot.

concretemasonry

If you need a single number, use 145 pcf cured. that will put you withinh 5 pcf, no matter where you are.

I don't imagine you want to pay the extra to get lightweight concrete that is 105 to 125 pcf.

Dick

gregzoll

The OP does not even need to mix. Just place outside in wet weather, and he will have a 80# rock.

nap

I need to pour because I want this to be one solid piece I can put in and out with a chain fall or a tractor with a bucket.


actually, storing is no problem. I have several acres to consider when storing it. As to easier? No way!! 1000 lbs of block (using your numbers because I don't really know) 17 blocks I would have to load or unload and have them sliding around in the bed. Plus they would take a lot more room than solid concrete. I would like to maintain room to still carry stuff in the bed as well.

a poured to fit around the wheel wells weight would be stable in the bed and as I said before, lifting it is no problem.


So, it sounds like about 7 cf is around 1000 pounds. That is amazing that that little amount of concrete would weigh 1000 pounds. I never would have guessed.


thanks a lot guys. Now, all I have to do is find time to do it between that, fixing electric at dads house, fixing gutters and roof at mine, wifes car, kids car...all before snow.

nap

Uh, no. I think the lightweight would be kind of counter productive for the purpose. Thanks for the idea though.

Scuba_Dave

Just for traction in the snow?
What kind of truck ?
I have a Ford F150 4wd
I dunno how our winters are compared to yours
But I haven't had any problem yet & we had a lot of snow last year

concretemasonry

SW Michigan can really get dumped on with a lot of miserable, heavy, wet snow and can be very difficult to get around in especially when you can get 12-20" overnight from a lake-effect storm off Lake Michigan. In some areas, they get real heavy wet, slippery snow that does not disappear quickly because of the cold from the NW that follows it and freezes everything for a day or so.

I lived in NE Michigan (not the Upper Peninsula) and we only got about 100" inches a year with a record of 180", but it was the "pretty fluff" and they never plowed for 4" in town since most would be blown away or transpirated by noon. along Lake Huron, it was not unusual to leave in the morning with a cloudless sky and have fluff falling for an hour or two. - Not real snow.

Every place has different types of snow and inches do not measure the traction requirements.

Dick

nap

dick pretty much hit it. We tend to get heavy wet snow that is slippery. The truck is only a 2 wheel drive and the light rear end is horrible for traction.

a couple years ago I put in 6 1/2 feet of I beam. Did ok so last year I figured why not put another 6 1/2 feet in. Did a lot better so rather that stuffing the I beam in the bed, I figured a purpose made weight would be easier to handle and wouldn't take up so much room. I only have a 6' bed so I had to angle the steel across the bed. Didn't leave much room for anything else.

Bob Mariani

Strap six bags of concrete gravel mix on a pallet. Let it get wet and set up and your done. Now you can remove it with the tracker and do not have to pour anything. (next spring return the cement to Lowes)

pls8xx

I’m going to think long and hard before I ride around all winter with a 1000 lb weight in the back of my truck. Accidents do happen. I think I can survive a 40 mph front crash. The momentum is absorbed as the front crumples, the air bags deploy, and the seat belts cushion my body deceleration. Now all I have to worry about is that 1000 lb weight coming at me at 30-40 mph with nothing between me and it but some sheet metal. A solid concentrated item in the back of a truck does not act like unconsolidated material in an accident.

nap

hey, I've been riding around for several years with a 500+ lb I beam pointed right at my back up until now. I think the concrete would be less of a pointedly direct hazard to me than the steel

the larger area of the concrete chunk as well as my intention to build it around the wheel wells, I think it will not only stay in place better but due to the width of the thing, it would have to crush the entire cab rather that shish-ka-bobbing me in the back like the steel would.

the problem is; the truck is literally nearly undriveable without weight in the bed. Heck, it's a little 4.2 V6 and on wet pavement, I can spin the tires through 3rd gear until I hit 4th if I want to. (5 speed manual)

It's a lot of fun when I want it to be but when I need the traction and don't have it, it gets scary loose in the rear end.