Storage Life of Portland Cement

[Lydeard]

How long can Portland Cement be stored before it has passed it's 'use by' date. I have a couple of bags which are three or four years old (one opened) and the cement appears to be fine i.e still dry and powdery. Would this still be o.k. to use for bricklaying/rendering etc.

 

[roy c]

For the price of cement I would go out and buy some fresh stuff, why do you want to use stuff that is 4 years old??? You wont be saving much money if your walls fall down and your render comes off in sheets will you?

 

[roughcaster]

Put it on e-bay!!! No,, put it in the skip, as Roy said, for all the cost of a new bag.

Roughcaster.

 

[noseall]

i am surprised it is still powdery.

as a rule of thumb, if any lumps can be easily broken down in your fingers or there are only localised lumps in the bag then it is usually still 'active'.

cement is water activated. once exposed it is usually fooked. there is normally enough water in the atmosphere to kill an opened 4yr old bag.

 

[Lydeard]

O.K. all, thanks for your replies and I take the point. As you say 'for the price of a new bag,