Remembering the old way we used to set posts before concrete trucks were common

When I started out in the 90s, we mixed all our concrete for post holes by hand in a wheelbarrow. I can still feel the ache in my arms from a day of setting twenty cedar posts on a farm near Bellingham. We switched to ordering the small load trucks around 2005 because the boss got tired of losing half a day just to mixing. It's faster now, but I do miss the quiet rhythm of that work before the truck shows up. Anyone else make that switch and find they still do a small job by hand sometimes just for the feel of it?

4 comments

4 Comments

emma962mo ago

Ever try a hand mix just for old times' sake?

sarahpark2mo ago

Oh, I hear you. That quiet rhythm was something special. I did exactly what @emma96 mentioned just last fall, mixing a bag for a single gate post. The feel of the shovel in the gravel and the smell of the wet mix took me right back. There's a real satisfaction in it that the truck just can't match.

hannah_wells2mo ago

Sarahpark is clearly chasing that zen concrete high. Can't blame her, the truck mix just feels like cheating. Some jobs still need that personal touch.

erickelly13d ago

Aw jeez, is it really that deep though? I mean sure there's something to mixing by hand but @hannah_wells it's not like the truck is gonna steal your soul. Both ways get the job done and there's plenty of room for both.