How to DRY POUR CONCRETE SIDEWALK

After doing some research and watching some videos on dry pour. It doesn’t appear to be as strong as the old fashion way of doing it. It seems that it doesn’t incorporate all the ingredients of the mix so you get a more solid and structurally sound product.

In March of last year (2023) I wanted to pour a 3' x10' entry pad to my new garage. While searching Youtube for various techniques, the dry pour technique from this channel came up. The process looked simple and effective so I decided to try it. Everything went exactly as Jim and Lydia explained. I am happy to report that a year and two months later, the concrete pad I poured using Jim and Lydia's method still looks as good as the day it first cured. Thank you Jim and Lydia!

Worried about cracks and chips but chose to do a dry pour? Good luck

Man your one lucky dude to have such a good helper and doesn’t even have a smirk on her face while helping.

I grew up on base in the jungles of Panama. Being a bold adventurer I spent a lot of time exploring in the jungles. Once I came upon a couple of 20' diameter waist deep flat bottomed what must have been W.W. I I anti aircraft gun revetments. The walls had the appearance of tightly stacked burlap bags but they were solid concrete. My father didn't believe me when I described them. Now the mystery is solved. This was in the dry pour family of techniques. I had just been keeping it in my unsolved X files. Just when you think you might know too much you find out you don't know something like this. I think I also learned I should have picked a Louisiana girl to marry ! Best wishes and Blessings to both of you, and thanks for the video. Now I'm trying to invent something I need to do a dry pour on for ! Haha

I used to dry pour fence posts for years. Recently I started mixing with water first and the difference in strength is profound. After one day it is hard as a rock. The dry set is basically gravel even after putting water on top.

I recently did this for a small pad for my outdoor grill and smoker.now im ready for a bigger project.i see many guys debunking dry pouring saying its not as strong yada yada but i dont plan on parking a tank or dump truck on it.perfect for my application. Good job guys.my back started hurting watching you guys pick up those pavers lol

PERFECT TIMING! I am about to tackle my first dry pour and it is a sidewalk!!!! Been thinking about it ever since the first dry pour vid you guys put out. Keep your fingers crossed. 68 Year old is about to make a heck of a mess. If it goes good - I'M crediting you guys. If it tanks - I'M blaming you guys :)

This method seems to be a time and money saver for the diy community…would love to see a strength test of a cured 3.5 inch thick section compared to a wet pour concrete similar to other tests I’ve seen on YouTube to see if you’re watering technique improves the strength compared to the the brittle nature of the dry pour concrete in other test videos. If you could do like a 1sqft and 3.5 inches thick test slab of each and let them cure and then cut them in half and do some strength tests that would be a great video to see if your dry pour technique produces stronger strength concrete.

This is exactly what I needed even though at the time I didn’t know I needed it. I have an old flat rock sidewalk out front that just doesn’t mix well at all with my wife’s walker. This will be a perfect fix.

Tried dry pour because of your videos and now, if I'm the one who is doing the job, I will never go back to the old way again. Thanks for adding all the improvements in techniques. And thanks for giving Americans something to agree about. 😊

Your videos taught me how to do this on my own. Poured my first about 5x3 slab today. Followed all of your steps. Thank you! I'm a fan now!

I live in Ohio and I've been dry pouring since 1989. My first dry pour was a sidewalk with flagstone steppingstones in it.

Hey Jim and Lydia, I know y'all are in South Louisiana next to the Texas border and I hope those flood waters effecting Texas aren't effecting y'all. We're praying for the folks in Texas but saying a special prayer that our Cajun Country family is well and safe.

It is good to see that rain did not wash or beat spots into concrete. Looks amazing!

I dump a couple of bags in post holes with the posts. The dry mix wicks enough moisture out of the soil that even in the driest conditions they’ll set in just a few days.

What I love the most about y'alls videos, is how the two of you, work together.. I feel like you two could accomplish anything together.. no matter whatcha do.. truly appreciate all your shares 🙏🏻

years ago I wet poured a pad for my air compressor behind my shop and you can tell I poured it! Last week I used yalls method for my generac pad and it looks professional! only thing I did different is I used a small foam roller, instead of a nap roller. the finish came out slick and as I had to drill into it for the lag bolts I can say its very sound!

thats the way to do it,i have a long driveway in the woods with rock and it gets washed away so instead of mixing concrete in a wheel barrel then taking it and filling in the holes and low spots i waited till it rained a ton and then just dumped a bag of dry concrete in my wheel barrel and went out there with a small bucket to skoop it up and sprinkle it in the holes and 3 bags went a long way.i have 3 more bags and waiting for ti to rain when were not going to be driving for a few days.super easy and you get a lot more holes filled in.

The first starter dry pour project for me was a simple 3-slab pad for the RV. Just enough to keep the the tandem wheels and tongue out of the dirt and keep RV level. Two 5'x2' pads and a 2'x2' pad. I did add some wire mesh since it was going ot be holding over 10k lbs. Followed your plan to a T and had awesome results. I really appreciated the material calculator, which was spot on. Pads came out great and have had the RV roll on/off quite a few times since placed. No issues at all. Cajun Country Living for the win!! BTW, that new sidewalk will hold up just fine for the occasional "Rapid Projectile Bang Noise Making Hootis" storage container delivery.