The rapid setting cements are CSA (calcium sulfoaluminate) and are chemically different from portland cement, which is made from limestone (Calcium carbonate), which is converted to calcium oxides when clinker is made, and is mainly calcium silicates and calcium aluminates. You can control the set time of the CSA cements with the addition of varying amounts of citric acid, much as in the old days of adding some soda pop (sugar) to portland. In my decorative concretes, I add varying amounts of CSA to the portland from 5% to 30%. This allows me to not only speed the set of the portland mix, but also adds early strength and the CSA, which expands as it sets, compensates for portland's tendency to shrink. Shrinkage cracks are then at an absolute minimum. If it's going to rain, I increase the amount of CSA so the mix sets within an hour. I also work with mixes containing metakoalin and silica fume, both being pozzolans, and utilize their small particle sizes to take advantage of particle packing that creates a very dense, impervious finished product with compressive strengths of 15,000 to 20,000 psi when mixed using fiber additives.

Nice to see Harrison Ford getting back to home projects

Dude is giving me a masters degree while I sit on my couch.

Thanks for showing all the products that you use together. A lot of different mixes out there these days, all with different set times and compositions!

I share this video with as many people i can ... soooo many people want to know these things and you explain it best

Mike you give the best advice. When I buy quickcrete I’ve always added a scoop of cement per bag much easier to finish. Keep up the good work

"Thanks great work. I've been doing masonry for a while, this video is a good foundation of information to start using your hand in masonry." 👍

Being from Nepa myself your videos helped me a ton to fix my stone foundation in my basement.

Just found your channel a couple of months ago and soooo happy I did....you saved our bacon lol...just a DAY before installing some stone ....on a FLAT surface...we learned we picked the wrong product and back to the store it went..lol...We also live in a much colder climate so we went with the 1 portland to 2 sand mixture..It turned out great, probably not as good as if you did it but we're so pleased with the outcome......I hope you have an apprentice and are passing along all your knowledge...it's so important. :) Again thanks!!

This is one of the many vids that you have published that is also worth republishing for your channel. SUPERB info

Nice video Mike , i always wondered what all the different concretes and mortars were for knowing to use which one for what job is very important and you explain it well .

Well I'll have to say as of now I've learned more in two videos from you then most people in the mason world I'll be watching every video of yours thank you very much

these vids are soo educational ... one of my favorite things about your channel is how you revisit the lessons and show it all again and again. thank you Mike! make some more music!

MHTAPDE: Mike's humble teaching and passing down experience. Even though our choice in products is different, I still learned a lot from your videos. Best advice was probably to practice and to research. I like the idea of putting samples in the fridge....

As always, informative and no nonsense. Thanks Mike

I live in NW CT with similar frost heave climate conditions and I think I'll use your formula over others. Thanks for a great series.

Love the videos Mike. I live in NW lower Michigan and quick repairs are necessary at times. I to have been experimenting with quick drying products for about a decade. We parallel on a lot of views good sir. Looking forward to seeing more videos good sir.

Thanks Mike, loved the proverb. I use high early strength Portland all the time. Its not a premix product. Its great for stone work and foundation work because of the fast set time. Anyway, take care and loads of love from Canada.

Thanks, Mike!! Again you simplify.

I love your videos, please keep making them

What a great teacher! 👍🏼👏 Thank you!

Mike your masonry videos are soothing

Mike, you are the best! Hope all is well with you. Always "Wet it First!

Nice rundown on the fast drying cements Mike. To keep with the theme of the video I increased the playback speed to hear fast talking Mike talking about fast drying product. You & the products both finished fast. :) Paul

Thanks for being a good teacher Mike. I’ve actually painted with Cement All before turns old concrete white, learned that trick from you!

You're an amazing teacher.

Shame on me for not subscribing sooner… I did watch quite a few vid’s… boy are you a savior to the average home owner who lives in New England… this was quite helpful in so many ways: first the basic knowledge of cement and concrete and the diff mixes inspires lots of confidence when going out to buy; 2nd your reviews are so down to earth and easy to follow

Thank you Mr Haduck I am learning a lot from your videos. You are more like a mason chef.....

This is very helpful, Mike. Thank you!

This was extremely helpful. I've been watching some videos before I patch and resurface my garage floor and this was the first one I came across that described the differences in the types of concrete out there.

Love the fast drying concrete... buy it by the pallets. Just did a small walk in 30degress set up nice in 1 hour.

Just the video I needed. Thanks Mike.

I like the Rapidset Mortar mix. After watching some of your videos last year, I did a foundation crack repair, an exterior crack that was leaking through to the inside of the house. Some handyman had done a crack repair in the same spot about 15 years before and they packed it with a chunk of 2x4 and thin diameter steel lathing for filler. The cement was crumbling, steel was already rusting and I suspect you never want to use wood as packing filler for masonry work. Rapidset mortar mix was great to work with and I used pre-mixed Quikrete parging cement for over top and then exterior acrylic latex cement paint. It's been a year and a number of hard rainstorms and no leaking from back splash/ground splash. Rapidset Cementall was another story. I went with that for some crack repair (up to 1/2" wide cracks) on a cement driveway pad because it was supposed to be finer than the Rapidset mortar mix. I am in the prairies in Western Canada and we get -30C all the way up to +15C with Chinooks in the same week in the middle of winter, we can get 3 feet of snow in a dump, hard rainstorms and hail storms in spring (but low humidity) and +30C in summer. Every crack I filled with Rapidset cementall crumbled and failed, I was shoveling it out with the snow, so it didn't even last until spring and I am going to have to clean it all out and redo it with another mix. I have to mention I did try an experiment with Quikrete Polyurethane Self-Levelling Sealant that you put on with a caulk-gun on another exterior cement pad with smaller cracks and inside a garage and it worked very well over the same period. Keep up the good work on your KZfaq channel, Mike!

thank you for sharing your experience sir!

Really informative and useful,thanks !

Love the info! Thanks again!

Hmmm! Well this answers questions I've had about cements. I think you explain it well.

I use the cement. All for a accelerator mix it with regular bag mix or a overlay mix works pretty well especially when it's cold out definitely helps.. good video Mike

I don't watch all the time, but I love your videos. You're the "Blair Glenn" of concrete work. You old guys *rock!* See what I did there?

Thank you for posting this helpful video.

Hello, Mike. This is the definitive cement video on which product to use and where. Extremely informative and educational...as usual. I hope your girlfriend doesn’t use that dish when she bakes you holiday cookies. Wishing you and yours and very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2021. Be well, Mike.....Phil from Staten Island.

Thank you Mike 🌺🌺

Rapid Set Cement all and concrete mix are great products! be careful they really do have a short working time. strong mixes. i have used the cement all as a stucco repair.

Thanks Mike!

very good video on fast drying cement

Thank You for sharing your knowledge

I like fast settling concrete mix too!

As a woman with no experience or knowledge, I think I can patch a small section of concrete myself! Its not smooth on top. Done with a QuikRete concrete mix & to me its too bumpy rough w/ stones. Thank you for your valuable knowledge & time taken to do these videos. From SoCal Desert.

Great video with lots of useful information.

Thank you Mike awesome explain video,

Really informative video!

This is really helpful. I remember doing a project with a friend and we used rapidset without knowing just how rapid set rapidset is. Panic set in and we started hauling! Funny thing was the stuff we slapped down fast and striked off quick didn’t have any tiny surface cracks.

Excellent. Very helpful. Thanks. God bless.

Excellent video thanks

Sir you da man! You helped me allot!

Thanks for information

Very informative Mike...... Funnily enough my name is Mike and so is my father's haha, and both builders. But will be using your method of painting cement on my driveway, I'm from UK the cement is from lafarge who I think owns portland cement, will add some sbr to the paint and see how it goes..... My father disagrees with the method but is set in his ways, I'm open to using it, if it turns out good, I'll paint the rest of my path ways. Keep up good work 👌

Recipe man with a plan.👍💪

Great work and lots of good information. I am in Oklahoma. Not sure what mix I need. Getting ready to build a brick mailbox.

I learned a lot watching your videos, much better than anything I've seen and your great personality adds to the lessons. "No school like old school" .Thanks.Ralph Figlow jr.

Great job

Cement All is a grout and has a very fine sand. It is a multipurpose ASTM 1107 non shrink grout. It has a super plasticizer already built in to the product.

Great video! Thx man.

Great presentation ! ''''' 👍 '''''

Thank you.

Hey Mike, thanks you for the very informative video as always. Quick question, what are your thoughts on using cement all as an overlay. I know they make specific resurfacing cement for that, but I’ve also seen a few videos with cement all (blue bag) being used for that application.

Thank you!

Good job 👏 👍 👌 🙌 😄 😀

Which cement should I use these are some of your best videos Mike only thing when I start watching your videos I can't stop they're so full of information I can use living in a 100 year old house in Western Pennsylvania thanks

Mike, Another good video and proverb! If you haven't already, can you walk us through using self-leveling concrete? I've got a wonky basement floor area that needs to be flat and durable enough for some exercise equipment. Thanks, Dave.

Man...I’m learning a lot...I’m really glad you say “Ain’t no big deal” through your projects because it makes me confident to start my 1890 fieldstone basement wall refinish. I would love to send you a pic of the basement wall and get your advice...is that possible? I’d really appreciate it!

i am planning on making some concrete planters for my backyard, i live in canada where it gets really cold, what concrete mix should i use? thanks.

I’m a concrete polisher we mix cement all to a water Consistency like super over watered and dump it in little cracks and holes and grind it smooth…basically like a grout

Hi thank you for all your excellent videos & taking your time to make us the videos. i have a question please. So I have made a lean to shed using thin mdf board panel as my walls. What I did was I use the nailer gun and stapled the board onto the 2x4s all around. It’s been over 2 years now and it’s starting to come off like the stamped nails are coming off the 2x4 and there are gaps between the vertical boards that are attached side by side. My problem is that I can’t get myself to the back of the boards to staple or mail it onto the 2x4s. So I will have to go inside the shed and try to somehow pull the boards inward and use long nails to attach from the inside instead. Now my question is…if I was to use cement all fast setting and put at between the gaps between the two attached boards, will it bond and hold up? I was thinking about the fabric concrete and staple ins it onto the boards and 2x4s hoping it will bond. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

hey Mike what product would you recommend for where the asphalt driveway meets the concrete garage threshold? I'm thinking of using aquaphalt 6.0 from home depot ...what would you suggest? As the driveway has sunk a couple of inches.

Thank you for your videos-very informative. I would appreciate your expert opinion: I am considering re-surfacing a Corian vanity top with a Rapid Set Cement All overlay (1/8"-1/4"-thick max.). (I would include Set Control and Flow Control to increase the fluidity and working time of the cement mix.) I would first sand the Corian surface and score it with a knife but I could also drill holes to allow cement penetration to increase bonding. Or perhaps apply some fiber tape that is normally used on cement boards. Maybe I could use Rapid Set Mortar on the vertical surfaces of the vanity (such as the front edge) due to its better clinging properties. Would this make any sense to you? Thank you.

It's a bit perplexing with all these alternatives, but at the same time very useful to (have to) realise that it is complex and needs some research before embarking on any project.

Mike I need to fix my foundation around the house (slab) with about 8 inches exposed before the house on top, its crumbling and especially at the corners, the house had no gutters till I moved in and I think that was the problem for it falling apart, so to fix the corners of the slab and smooth out the rest, should I use the rapid set mortar mix? I live in the Deep South so freezing is never an issue, thanks for the info

*Ain't No Big Deal!*

Awesome video as usual. Mike can you make a video like this with admixes? Specifically with bagged portland concrete and air, fiber, retarder, densifier and plasticizers? Not the fast set with concrete pharmacy. I got a pallet and a sampler pack from fritz and want to try it. but I need best practices and experimenting with it, that would help before I try to use it on a real job. Just a thought.

Hello, great knowledge. I just put a new layer of cement on my front porch sides. I used the fastset repair mortar, about half a bag and i also put 4 scoops of portland and mixed it up and applied it. Will that be ok? Im in nj. 2 hours south of scranton pa.

Great video Mike. I have an old patio that is a mixture of concrete and bricks and is still quite solid even though the surface is uneven. I would like to give it a smooth cover with some type of cement or concrete product that would probably be one-half to one inch deep and wonder which product you would suggest. Thanks in advance for your advice and keep up the great videos. Tom

Thanks for your video, I usually use mortar mix and concrete mix from rapid set, my question is if I can mix it with a little white cement to give it a whiter tone? you can mix rapid set with white portland?

It’s been interesting watching you discussing which product to use for what job. With your experience do you have a suggestion for bonding 3/4” crushed rock used as a parking spot for a large rv. How would you mix it ant what consistency? If you have a suggestion it would be greatly appreciated. I’m in the Central Valley of California (80 miles south of Sacramento)

Great info Mike. I am having patio repair work done. I need to know which cement and how long it needs to cure.

If you had to pick a concrete mix to make a statue in a mold, not a big one, say 5 to 12 inches, which would you think would be better? I live in MA so cold weather can be an issue. Your videos have been helpful just learning about the different uses and how/why to use each mix. Thanks

Thanks Mike you really helped me understand the blue label cement all. I am wondering about the “High performance cement” with the red and black label, who manufactures that. I’ll have to look around here in Ky to find it. Thanks.

Mike another great video. Just wondering if you have ever used the Rapidset Waterproofing Mortar. It looks like a good product?

another good video, have you ever mixed thinset into your mixes for patch/parging/pointing?

Hi Mike. Which product would you use to patch 1/8 cracks and patch on drive way and patios?

Thank you so much for all your information Mike. How can I learn more about these? All my respect to you on your knowledge on these subjects. How can I ask you questions with a quick response? Once again, Thank you!!!

What would you recommend to fix a corner that the dumpster company knocked off a top block on a wall? The pieces still there just don't know whether to use a mortar or some type of epoxy

Hi Mike, love your videos. I’m an boiler installer in Cleveland. From time to time we need to pour a pad or put solid block down for a boiler foundation, that can hold anywhere from 400 to 1500 pounds. We also need it to be level. Would any of these fast setting products work for this application? We would like to be able to move the boiler on it right away, instead of waiting a day or two pouring a traditional concrete pad. Your thoughts? Thanks in advance, Steve Pajek

Thanks Mike! What do you recommend for a resurface product, that is not insanely priced? I recently used Top'nBond to resurface a 3.000 sq ft Driveway. It took me months to do by hand, using a 1/4" Dowel Straight edge to ensure height. Using a hand trowel, was the safest bet, after trying other things. I had problems color inconsistencies, where one area would look a nice medium gray, while others very white. Using a hand trowel did result in some lumpy areas , or a generally "not very flat" Appearance. But using a squeegee, or a Notched Trowel, proved to be harder to do consistently. The Top'n Bond did a pretty decent job, but its $16.00 a 40 lb bag. Now i am waiting to see if it lasts without cracking. Obviously - I am not pro... lol. IN SHORT - What techniques, or products would you use for a Resurface?

mike, one question whats the best for cracks in driveway? thanks for your time. i tell many about your channel. im still catching up to watch your videos! love your channel!!!!

Mike, when you over in the UK, did you find an equivalent for Portand over here?

Great video, I plan on using the Rapid Set mortar mix more on future jobs, as far as a 'retarder' to slow the cure I have a question, does the Rapid Set mortar marry well with Ty S if you've tried that in any proportion?

You should make a video talking about the 60 pound and 80 pound high strength Sacrete pre mixed concrete and give your thoughts on it because that's what I use and that's what a lot of people use and buy from Home Depot, Ace Hardware etc. And actually the local Ace Hardware only sells the 60 pound high strength Sacrete and it doesn't sell any other concrete but in the next bigger town over I buy the 80 pound Sacrete high strength bags from Home Depot just because they're bigger and I think you get a little bit more for your money compared to the 60 pound bags but those are the ones that I use and I see a lot of other people buying and using them as well.

How's it going Mike, I added some rapid set cement all to a type s mortar mix instead of using regular Portland cement in the hopes it would cure faster. . . Now that I look back I should have just stuck with the Portland Cement, how do you think the cement all and mortar mix will hold up?

Question..I want to make a counter top with Portland cement type 1 white..1 1/2 tick. Do I have to add sand and pea gravel to??? Please answer 🙏🙏🙏