Concrete mix

Heavy concrete finds application in the installation of walls and ceilings of both residential premises and industrial structures. Lightweight concrete is more often used for insulation (thermal insulation materials).

The quality of concrete depends on the composition of the concrete mixture.
The components of concrete - water, filler, astringentsubstance (the usual name is cement), additives. The interaction of the binding agent and water causes a chemical reaction, forming another, a new compound, looking like a sticky dough. Builders call it a cement or cement milk test. It fill the filler. Cement dough a thin layer envelops the filler particles and binds them (a kind of skeleton that prevents deformation and shrinkage in the future). After full hardening, the concrete mix becomes a solid monolithic stone.

On the aggregate (gravel, gravel, sand (or theirmixture) accounts for about 80% of the volume, however, the figure can vary. From the composition of the concrete mix, it will depend on which concrete will result as a result (heavy, heat-resisting, lightweight, reinforced concrete, etc.). However, it is not always possible to withstand the exact proportions, especially if the builder is a home-grown lover.

The dry concrete mix, already ready, will,perhaps, the best solution. This is a semi-finished product with dosed portions of cement and aggregate, diluted with water and stirred immediately on site. Dry concrete mix can be stored for a long time and consumed only as needed, without changing the properties, like a ready mix.

Widely used and construction of dry mixes. These are auxiliary materials, with specialized properties, used primarily for finishing (paint powder, textured coatings, "liquid wallpaper", etc.). Various mixtures (for masonry solutions, ceramic granite and tiles, putty, leveling compounds, sanitation compounds) combine astringent base. These are ready-made compositions that are sufficiently diluted with water, with a very convenient "specialization" of properties, with modified additives (plasticizing, stabilizing, changing the speed of hardening and setting, antifreeze, sealing, hydrophobizing, bactericidal, air-entraining, etc.).

And if more recently for decoration worksA concrete mix was used (more precisely, a sand-cement mortar), but now they are stopping more and more on dry mixtures, which allow to apply layers in a centimeter or more. Cement - a mineral astringent, ideally goes to compression, and properly selected sand to him "helps." But such a solution does not always withstand bending and tensile loads (especially if applied in a thin layer). The water holding capacity is rather low: the water is absorbed into the base quickly and comparatively rapidly evaporates, which prevents the final hydration of the cement, and as a result reduces the strength. In building dry mixtures, these drawbacks do not exist.

These mixtures are divided into gypsum, calcareous,gypsum-lime, cement and cement-lime. The filler can be ground limestone, fibers (mineral, organic), marble chips, construction sand, metal fibers. Types for the purpose: for screeds and self-leveling floors, tile, masonry, plastering. Special mixtures are used in:

- strengthening of the bases;
- sealing joints;
- work with wet and salty walls;
- waterproofing;
- facade works (decorative);
- repair work (mixes putty).

Depending on the type of work, the appropriate material is selected. Of all the mixtures involved in the construction, the concrete mixture occupies about 30-40%, and the remaining 60-70% fall on the dry mixes.