A bag of ready mix is a blend of sand, aggregate (rock) and Portland cement combined together to make concrete. Ingredients are cheap with the exception of the portland cement. It makes sense that a profit driven company would skimp on that one ingredient since it costs the most. I always add some of my own to ensure that there is enough. I store my bag of Portland inside of a heavy duty garbage bag. I squish the air out and twist the top with a length of copper wire I had kicking around. The bag did not harden at all in the worst of the summer humidity. If you don’t take care you will end up with a semi hard and fully useless bag of Portland.

These recipes are meant to give you an idea of working concrete mix proportions. They should encourage you to write down the measured amounts that you use so you can better lock in the results you need.


Two bags of concrete mix (Sakrete)
4 10-12 oz cups of scooped Portland cement
a small handful of fiber about the size of a deck of cards
8 quarts of water added slowly


Two Bags of Sand Mix (diy concrete mix without aggregate)
4 10-12 oz cups of scooped Portland cement
a small handful of fiber about the size of a deck of cards
12 quarts water

White Sand Mix (Add aggregate as needed)
50# bag white sand
20-21# white portland
very small handful of fiber
6 1/2 Q water



A reminder that you should put on your dust mask before you start to agitate the dry mix. The airborne particles are not good for you at all. Put on your mask.



The wetter the concrete mix the weaker the end product will be. It is a common beginners mistake is to add too much water. You should be shooting for a dry mix the consistency of oatmeal. The mixture pictured below will trowel to a smooth wet look. This is a good way to get a feel for the mix. Ready to fill the form!