Great New Product I Discovered Yesterday

[SignManiac]

So yesterday we went out to install a sign set on two 4"X 4" posts. Brought four 60lb back of Sacrete to set them in.
My client and attorney said hey, instead of using concrete, give this new product a try to use on his sign. He and some business partners had just secured the North America rights to sell and distribute a new alternative to concrete developed in Europe.

This stuff is called Quikset. It's a two part mix expanding foam like material that comes in a split bag and weighs 2.5 lbs, which is the equivalent to a 55lb bag of concrete. Needs no water or wheel barrels. The stuff worked amazing. Full set in one hour. I ordered 20 bags which is as much as a full pallet at the box store. About half a ton and the entire box of 20 weights about 30lbs.

Using it I can tell you I wont be humping anymore concrete bags for installs anymore. I think its sold through Amazon but I bought mine direct from their website. quiksetpro
Website does a better job explaining it than I can. But it really is a convenient alternative to concrete. Looking at about a $10.00 price difference cost wise, but for occasional holes that we have to set sign post in, this stuff is perfect.

Thought I'd share this new find in case nobody had heard of it before.

 

[JohnBFryJr]

They use it for power poles here in tx I just never knew what it was called. Thanks

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[Moze]

You can order it through Home Depot or Amazon here in the U.S. under the name Secure Set. There may be others, but that's the one I have and use on occasion.

I've only used it a couple of times. My only real complaint is that no hole is going to be a given, exact size. So even if you get close and add the required amount of foam mix, you may still get over-expansion which can be a bit of a pain to clean up. Minor complaint though. An easy way to alleviate that is to wrap the post in stretch wrap prior to pouring the foam mixture. If it does expand, you can just unwrap the plastic and the post will be clean.

 

[equippaint]

Looks like 2 part urethane foam with a gray dye that they just packaged for easy use. I'm pretty sure this is what people use to level concrete like sidewalks. With no weight to it, Id be a little concerned that a bad storm could carry a sign away.

 

[Jean Shimp]

We tried it a couple of times. Seems like it has a lot of potential. My question is whether the city will approve of it as a substitute for 2000 psi concrete on a larger installation. I believe the psi is 85 on the foam. Some of the monument signs require a lot of concrete in the foundation.

 

[Moze]

As JohnBFryJr said, I've seen mention (I think on their product video) that they use it for telephone poles, so I would think it would technically WORK as a replacement for concrete on some larger jobs but I don't know if there's enough data that would put an inspector or permit department at ease enough to allow its use.

 

[bannertime]

We tried it a couple of times. Seems like it has a lot of potential. My question is whether the city will approve of it as a substitute for 2000 psi concrete on a larger installation. I believe the psi is 85 on the foam. Some of the monument signs require a lot of concrete in the foundation.

Their website had no information on it, but for expanding foam it could be anywhere from 50psi to 750psi. Still no where near fast setting concretes.

 

[equippaint]

I didn't think telephone poles are usually set in concrete? They have little face area to be caught by wind and are set pretty deep.

 

[printhog]

It's used by the feds to seal up abandoned mine shafts in the California mother lode. Even gaping 10 ft wide vertical shafts. Amazing stuff.

It's also useful for architectural sculpting and signs, it's basically the same stuff signfoam is made from. You just need molds and mold release agents to form it.

As for it's ability to substitute on large foundational use, any competent signco will have an engineer involved in that work to determine if it is feasible. Foam relies on the site's soil pressure and the adhesive nature of the foam to the bore hole wall, as it offers no weight to counterbalance.

I wouldn't see it being used in any foundation that relies on weight of the foundation in it's wind loading. Besides, at that level of work concrete is far cheaper.


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[ChaseO]

That is definitely neat stuff, however I still prefer to use Quikrete dry. I can tamp it and continue mounting my signs without waiting for the post to harden. It will harden up on its own from the ground moisture in a couple of days even in the driest time of year.

 

[tbullo]

I recently tried the Sika post mix you can buy at Home Depot for a few smaller signs. Seems to be ok, but we have clay soil around here so it fills fast.I don't think i'd use it on larger signs, but single post and smaller double post seems like a good fit.

 

[Johnny Best]

Going to try some for sure. Hate to have a concrete bag break and get everywhere. They also get heavier the older I get.
Thanks for the tip Signmaniac.
I rebuilt a 13 Boston Whaler years ago and used the two part foam mixture to fix rotted parts in the hull, that stuff would expand at a quick rate.

 

[GAC05]

That looks really useful for small parking lot stuff.
I imagine it would be to light to work well if you wanted to get rid of someone.... I mean something at the bottom of a pond or river.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[The Big Squeegee]

Thanks for the tip! I have a walkway that has sunk. It will probably work well to shoot some under the walkway once i get it lifted up to where it should be.

 

[signmeup]

Sounds awesome... but I have a question. Can I use it up here in Canada? The frost pulls signs out of the ground if we don't use concrete tubes. (the tubes make the concrete smooth so the ground can't grab hold of it and pull the sign up as the ground expands from freezing)

Adrian