I have a lot of brickwork that needs pointing, mainly inside and outside my farm buildings. I fit this in with various other jobs and try to make a bucket of mortar each day. At this rate a bag of cement lasts me about 5 weeks but after 2 or 3 weeks it starts going lumpy and I end up putting it through a sieve to remove the lumps. It is stored in my slightly damp tool shed. I've noticed the paper sacks have a series of small holes punched in them. I always close the top of the sack and put a brick or something on top to try to keep the cement fresh. I did try storing a couple of unopened bags inside the centrally heated house but it still went lumpy.
I was at my place in UK in March and had to sort out stuff in a storage shed. I found there was half a bag of Mastercrete cement left over from a job I did a couple of years previously. I expected this to have set into a solid lump but no, it appeared to be in perfect condition! The Mastercrete cement came in a plastic sack instead of paper. Are the paper sacks and air holes used to deliberately shorten the shelf life of cement?
I was at my place in UK in March and had to sort out stuff in a storage shed. I found there was half a bag of Mastercrete cement left over from a job I did a couple of years previously. I expected this to have set into a solid lump but no, it appeared to be in perfect condition! The Mastercrete cement came in a plastic sack instead of paper. Are the paper sacks and air holes used to deliberately shorten the shelf life of cement?