Should I rent a concrete mixer or order ready-mix for a small job in NB?

For jobs under half a cubic yard (roughly 50 square feet of 4-inch slab), bagged concrete mixed by hand or with a rented mixer is practical. For anything larger, ordering ready-mix from an NB plant is faster, stronger, and often more cost-effective than you might expect.

Here is the math that surprises most NB homeowners: one cubic yard of concrete is 27 cubic feet. A 30 kg bag of Quikrete makes about 0.5 cubic feet. That means one cubic yard requires 54 bags, at $6-$8 each -- $324-$432 in bags alone, plus hours of mixing labour, plus the rental cost of a small mixer ($60-$90/day). Compare that to ready-mix delivered to your site: one cubic yard runs roughly $220-$280 including delivery in most NB cities, though a short-load surcharge of $75-$150 applies to orders under 3-4 cubic yards, bringing your total to $295-$430. The gap between bagged and ready-mix narrows significantly once you factor in your time and labour.

The key advantage of ready-mix for exterior NB concrete is the mix specification. When you call a Moncton, Fredericton, or Saint John ready-mix plant, you can specify air-entrained 25 MPa or 32 MPa concrete -- the correct specification for all exterior flatwork in New Brunswick. Bagged concrete mixes from hardware stores vary in quality, and most consumer-grade bags are not formulated to NB's freeze-thaw specifications the way a properly specified plant-mixed air-entrained concrete is.

Where a rented mixer makes sense: fence posts, sonotubes (1-2 bags each), patching, and repair work where you need to work at your own pace and don't need a large volume. A borrowed or rented mixer lets you mix one batch at a time, useful when you are working alone or filling individual form components over a couple of hours.

Where ready-mix is the better choice: any slab -- shed pad, patio section, garage apron, steps -- where you need consistent quality across the entire pour. Ready-mix is mixed to tight specifications at the plant, arrives at the correct slump, and ensures a uniform product throughout. Trying to achieve a consistent, well-finished slab by mixing 30-40 bags in sequence leads to colour variation and uneven hydration.

If you are ordering ready-mix in NB, book early during the May-September peak season. Plants in Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John can be scheduled out days in advance on busy summer weekends. Have your site completely prepared -- forms built, gravel base compacted, reinforcement in place, tools ready -- before the truck arrives, because the driver will not wait long and returning unused concrete costs you money.

For very small pours like a single step repair or a 6-foot sonotube, just buy bagged mix -- the convenience justifies the cost at that scale.