Concrete for abutments?

[Ray Dunakin]

What kind of concrete is best for casting small abutments? I was thinking of just some kind of quick-set, but man, there's so many kinds of concrete at Home Depot, and I really don't know much about them.

[Capt Bob Johnson]

Ray, take a look at the article in GR about gluing them up out of concrete block and brick! Only change I'd make is I'd use exterior construction adhesive instead of gorrilla glue.

Cement block in wall around my rr is glued with const adhesive, filled with dirt and/or pond (so carries a lot of weight), and has shown no signs of distress after 4 years! I'm talking 30 loads (12 wheelers) of fill dirt, 19,000 gallon pond, and 9 more loads of fill on top to make mountains!

[whiterab]

For small castings in concrete I use Quikrete Anchoring Cement. Comes in a yellow bucket at Lowe's or Home Depot. It sets up to the green state in around an hour.

I have one large set made from it using Jig Stones molds. Be sure to seal it well with concrete sealer.

[kstrong]

Anchor cement is good, you can also use vinyl patching concrete. (It's also made by Quickrete, and comes in a similar yellow tub.) The anchor cement has a finer texture, but takes longer to set. The vinyl patching concrete is just slightly coarser, but sets up quicker. Both would work very well for concrete abutments, and both are equally capable of being sculpted/carved into stones or bricks.

Later,

K

[Marty Cozad]

I cast retainer walls with vynal cement. and also use 50/50 motar mix and gravel mix when doing support abutments.

[FJ and G]

Marty,

Thanks for sharing those informative photos; also thanks to comments on materials from others.

[Anonymous]

Marty, your casting for abutments may be just what I need for a long bridge reach on my GRR. Can you tell me what your spacing is; how deep you plant or anchor subsurface and how; and how you "stiffen" the vinyl/concrete, e.g. steel rods, wire, or just gravel?