What does "Pound Rating" mean with concrete?

Question

Trying to order some concrete color brick red and adding up how much I will need from this website http://directcolors.com/ConcreteStain/IntColorCalc3.htm

what does pound rating mean? I will have 3 yards of concrete 4 inch thick

Answer 1

Not an expert, but I believe it's the pounds per square inch rating. Generally the higher the psi rating the stronger the concrete. 5000psi concrete is considered very strong and would be suitable for driving on.

For a walkway it is probably overkill. Generally, the higher the psi rating the more you pay for the concrete.

Answer 2

The pound rating in this case refers to the number of pounds of colorant needed for each 94 pound bag of portland cement to achieve a particular shade.  

If you were mixing your own concrete from scratch, you would buy 94 pound bags of portland cement, sand, and aggregate and mix with water in proper proportions to make enough concrete for the project.  This is different from ready mix concrete (Sakrete or Quikrete) -- it has aggregate already mixed in with the cement, so there is much less cement per bag.

You don't need to be concerned with the number of bags required for your project unless you will be buying portland and mixing your own.  Simply calculate the number of cubic yards of concrete, find the pound rating for the desired shade and enter them in the calculator provided.  The pound rating for each shade is listed on the color chart beside the color number.