Problem with concrete footing

I live in a frost area so all my concrete piers that support my deck must be 3' below grade. That being said I am also using 12" tubes for the footings.

Now for the problem, the last batch of concrete for the last hole didn't go so well, about 3 bags worth of the hole. There was too much water o we bailed some of it out which turned out to be a really bad idea that we realized as we were bailing the water out because that's where all the adhesion material is. Now 3 days later the concrete isn't dry yet and I doubt it will ever be. It's very sandy and brown.

Is there anything I can do? I'm sure the best idea is to put another footing right next to it starting from scratch but that's certianly the worst for me because it's the most work.

MAybe I could dig out the top 12" or so and repour a new bag mixed properly.

Jeff

 

If the concrete is in a 12" tube 3' long, how do you know it is bad and how much is bad?

How old is the concrete? Concrete takes time to cure (it does not "dry out"). The tube is essentially waterproof, so it will appear to be wetter for some time. You may have enough strength to be serviceable.

Concrete is frequently placed under water without any tube or forms.

Your main critria is not strength if you are only building a deck. he concrete only has to transfer the load of a 4x4 down to the soil 3' below ground level.

Give it some time to determine what you have before you you start rebuilding. Capping is a good possibility. You could possibly remove the poor concrete when it has cured enough to tell what is bad.

Dick