How to make concrete at home: the main components of

It is simply impossible to overestimate the importance of concrete in modern construction. The use of this building material is justified at various stages of the construction of buildings, both in the arrangement of the foundation and in the finishing decorative works.

Concrete can also be used in the design of the landscape, and in the arrangement of the green zone. It is for this reason that the owners of suburban areas often worry about how to make foam concrete, aerated concrete or ordinary concrete at home.

What is concrete?

According to its own physical characteristics and other parameters, concrete of any kind is an artificial stone, which is made from a different set of components. Such production is associated not only with the components for mixing the solution, but also with technical equipment.

So, for example, to create gas blocks, you need specialized equipment for the production of aerated concrete at home.

Concrete mortar

All components of the concrete mix can be safely divided into four groups depending on the principle of action:

1. Basiswhich is an astringent;
2. Liquid, allowing to mix structure;
3. Aggregateproviding volume;
4. Additional substances, giving the solution the necessary parameters.

Note! The materials of the last, fourth group are usually used if the solution is laid in difficult conditions or at the request of the developer.

Main components бетонных растворов

Preparation of concrete at home is conducted from components such as:

• Water;
• Cement flour;
• Sand;
• Additional component.

If we are talking about ordinary concrete, then as an additional component is crushed stone of various size fractions.

The production of foam concrete at home involves the participation of substances such as blowing agents, and the production of aerated concrete at home involves the addition of lime and aluminum powder to the mixture as additional components.

Совет. На сегодняшнем рынке строительных материалов найдется немало сухих бетонных смесей, представляющих собой полный набор компонентов, за исключением воды, которой и надо будет разбавить смесь для ее изготовления. Water должна быть добавлена в том количестве, которое указывает инструкция к смеси. Но приготовление бетонной массы своими руками при использовании качественных компонентов в правильных пропорциях тоже не составит особого труда.

When purchasing ready-mix, special attention should be paid to the presence of additional components in the product. Some of the additives will be able to influence parameters such as the frost resistance of the composition, its hardening rate or strength.

Component Selection Criteria

Each component of the solution must be of high quality and possess the necessary characteristics in order for the resulting solution to have the necessary parameters.

Water

Making concrete blocks at home is a procedure associated with the use of water, which must have the parameters stated in the regulatory documentation.

Note! If you are going to use simple drinking water, then make sure that it does not contain alkali, acid, and other impurities.

Cement

Concrete, aerated concrete and foam concrete in the home are building materials, which are simply impossible without the use of a component such as cement, also referred to as a binder in the composition. Portland cement, which contains a large amount of calcium silicates, is increasingly used in construction.

Modern cements are divided into two groups:

1. Cements without additives, or formulations that contain no more than 5% of additional components;
2. Cements with additives, the percentage of which does not exceed 35%.

Choosing this component, you should pay close attention to the following nuances:

• Shelf life of the selected mixture;
• Conditions in which storage should take place;
• Ensure that the cement is not damp during transportation and storage;
• Make sure that the flowability of the material, that the product is not stale or not pressed;
• Make sure that the packaging is labeled;
• The grade of cement to be chosen must be 2-3 times higher than the required grade of concrete.

Council You should not purchase this component too in advance, because with improper storage and non-compliance with the terms it can lose its qualities, which will affect the strength of the final concrete product.

Sand

Making concrete at home involves the acquisition and use of such a necessary component for the solution, like sand. Choosing it requires a competent approach from the developer.

Pay attention to the following points:

1. Fraction size. There are several sizes from 1.2 mm to 3.5 mm sand granules. Professionals advise to give preference to large-scale products;

Council It should be borne in mind that the smaller the size of the sand granules, the greater will be the expense for the production of concrete and the smaller will be the strength factors of the finished concrete monolith.

1. Sand purity. Make sure that you get the most clean sand without impurities of dirt, particles of plants, clay, granite, glass, earth and dust. You can check the availability of such additives by sieving;
2. Flowability. The sand should not be wet or wet because the proportions of making concrete at home indicate the amount of dry sand, and with wet it will be quite difficult to create a solution with the necessary parameters.

The proportions of materials for mixing solutions

In order to obtain a concrete solution of a certain brand and level of strength, the proportions of concrete at home should be observed.

In order to determine them, you should choose the most convenient principle of counting the number of a component:

• Liters;
• Kilograms;
• The number of parts of the total;
• Percentage ratio.

To determine the proportions carefully review the tables.

Note! When mixing the solution, it should be taken into account that in each case deviations from the indicated proportions are allowed, which are controlled by the quality of the components of the solution.

How to make concrete

The answer to the question of how to make concrete at home can be two main methods of mixing the mortar:

• Manual;
• Mechanical, using concrete mixers.

The manual method will certainly be more laborious, but at the same time its price will be minimal. Therefore, it is advisable to use the mechanical method only if it is necessary to mix large volumes of the solution.

Preparatory activities

The type of preparatory work will in no way depend on the chosen method of mixing the solution.

These activities are concluded primarily in the preparation of the components of the composition:

• Sifting sand;
• Washing rubble;
• Drying of rubble and sand.

Cooking conditions

When preparing a solution at home, it is imperative to observe not only the requirements for the components of the solution, but also the conditions in which it should be mixed:

• Temperature range within 15-20 degrees;
• Humidity level is about 90%.

Council If the fresh solution is poured under conditions of excessive desiccation of air or at low temperatures, then additives capable of regulating the hardening process, as well as thermal insulation materials and additional moistening, should be used.

How to prepare a quality solution?

If you prefer the mechanical method of solution preparation, then the sequence of components loaded into the concrete mixer tank is very important. The quality of the mixture, and accordingly the quality of the concrete monolith, directly depends on which sequence is chosen.

At the expense of this sequence there is a huge number of opinions, and you are free to choose more convenient for you.

Finally

We should not forget that the ready-mixed concrete has a rather limited useful life, so you need to carefully think over and count your actions and time to prevent long-term storage of the concrete mix, and also to prevent premature drying of the solution.

Failure to comply with the temporary regime will lead to a decrease in the quality of the final product, and consequently to a decrease in strength and performance. You can learn more useful information about the preparation of concrete solution from the video in this article.