Contrary to popular belief, it is easy to prepare concrete. The most important thing is to know the dosage and follow the manufacturing process step by step. Here's how to make concrete.
An essential element for all masonry work, concrete is a binder made up of water, cement, sand and gravel. To build your terrace, the slab of a house or even a swimming pool, you will need to make concrete.
Be careful, do not confuse concrete and mortar. They are composed of the same ingredients except that the mortar does not use the gravels.
For modest jobs, you can do your own concrete. All you need is a concrete mixer, a shovel, a mason's bucket and a wheelbarrow. Always wear gloves to protect your hands.
The basic components for making concrete that you will need are:water, bag of cement, sand and gravel.
The strength of a concrete depends on its good composition. Here are two different dosages, depending on the use.
To build foundations, for 1 volume of cement, you need 2.5 volumes of sand, 3.5 volumes of gravel and 0.5 volumes of water (i.e. 1 – 2.5 – 3.5 – 0.5).
For other uses, the dosage is slightly different and easy to remember. It is the rule of 1 – 2 – 3. That is to say for 1 volume of cement, it is 2 volumes of sand and 3 volumes of gravel and 0.5 volume of water.
In order to avoid being out of concrete during your work, calculate before your purchases of materials the volume of concrete you will need. For a slab, a garage or a terrace, count a thickness of 15 cm.
To have the necessary volume, start by calculating the cubage of the space that must receive the concrete. To do this, multiply the length by the width and the height, i.e. 15cm for example for the slab. Once you have the cubic meter, count 350kg of cement for 1m 3 . Attention, each concrete differs according to its usefulness, for a reinforced structure, it is 400 kg of cement. For clean concrete, it's 250 kg of cement.
Now that you have the necessary quantity of concrete for your work, proceed to the manufacturing stage. Turn on the cement mixer, start by pouring in the gravel, half the sand provided, half the water and let these first ingredients mix well. Then add the cement, the rest of the sand and finally gradually pour in the rest of the water. Within seconds, your concrete is formed. Pour it into a wheelbarrow or bucket and use it right away.
What you need to know is that concrete must be used immediately and the concrete mixer after use must also be cleaned immediately. A large jet of water with a garden hose will do.
The concrete should be neither too liquid nor too creamy. The cost of an electric concrete mixer is from 300€ and if it is manual from 150€. As for the rental, count between 30 and 50€ per day for a mini electric concrete mixer.
