Anyone know what happens to cement when its a year or two past its 'use by date'? I'm having a workshop/storage clear-out and wanted to check before throwing it all away.
Is it still soft and lump free if so it will be good enough for concrete, used by dates are yet another result of Europe.
It'll lose a lot of its strength. In theory, provided is was kept sealed and in a really dry environment, the loss of strength might not be too much of a problem, but I would hesitate to use it for anything important. If in a dampish cold environment, it can lose most of its strength - any mortar mix will remain crumbly and weak.
Basically, the chemical reaction which makes it 'set' when you add water will be occurring to a small extent all the time, so it really comes down to how 'damp' the atmosphere and for how long.
Thanks Phil, yes its looks fine; been doing some driveway/grid-surround repairs and had a look at it and looks like new. I tried using a small amount of the rapid set stuff (in a sealed plastic tub) and it seemed to set well and is really hard.
If the cement is still powder in form, is hasn't taken on an moisture so is perfectly usable, if it a little lumpy but the lumps break up easily between your finger it's fine, but if it's lumpy and hard it's shot and only good enough for non structural work, like fencing.
Great info, just checked some more and no hard lumps and still 'floating about in the air dusty' (wearing a mask required ), just mixed some to see if it goes flaky. The garage is odd, it's very dry, not sure why.
Top tip I put all unused plaster and cement in plastic tubs such as 10litre paint tubs lasts forever but u still have to work like a ninja before it sets lol I only really use it for cable chases so not looking for perfection
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