How to mix mortar
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- How to mix mortar using a cement mixer. This shows how to mix good quality mortar for bricklaying, block laying or laying slabs using a 4:1 mix with sand and cement. How to mix sand and cement together to create a good, workable mix from what I have learnt. Mixing mortar, cement mixing, mixing compo - these are all words that people use for mixing - should be done by putting all the materials in the mixer in the correct order and it will turn out a lovely mix.
Hi mate...really confused should you use sharp sand or building sand for mortar bed for slabs
This is where it gets more confusing. Here in West Wales we don’t get much choice of sand so it’s only building sand but how that compares to other places versions of building sand will differ as I know there’s much more choice in other parts of the country. Basically for laying slabs you don’t want a sand that is too fine
Gauge bit confused a bucket is about 4 shovels a 4:1 would be 16 shovel's sand 4 shovels cement
What bit are you confused about?
Brilliant explanation, I'm planning to lay patio on my own, never works with cement mixer and wonder what to do between the batches that I will make? It will probably take me some time to lay slabs and wonder that should I clean mixer every single time between batches? Just don't want to mix get dry in the mixer while I will lay slabs... Could please give me advice how to do it on my own. Thanks
Hi, you should only need to clean the mixer at the end of each working day using stones and water then let it spin for 10 or so minutes - that should clean it out fine.
If you have taken a mix out fully then you could put water in the mixer ready for the next mix and let it spin for a minute this should stop it all getting too dry.
Thank you mate, tried to find an answer all over place, I'm really appreciate it, already subscribed your channel 👌
@@rafa4734 no worries at all, thanks very much for subscribing!
I'm very curious about your "sand"..all aussie speaking people's sand looks pliable..almost like sand and clay mixture..can you give me more information on this good sir?
I can’t give you much more information other than our sand has a small amount of grit in it. Unless I had the two sands together to compare it would be difficult for me to make any comparisons
Very good lad, amazing skill founded by your own experience which its fulfilling.
Thanks 😄
Great video Sam, helped me with laying some blocks, having the right mix makes the job soo much easier. 👍👍
No worries, glad it helped you and thanks for watching!
The more wet the sand the less water u use if you use a whole bucket then your cement is gonna be too wet. Great video btw man
Yea it’s a nightmare in the winter as sometimes you don’t even put water in the mix because of how soaked the sand is
Cheers Sam i learnt a lot from watching your vids
No problem Kevin, glad the videos could help!
Clean mixer you want. Would mix better
Mixer is pretty clean as mixers go, I’ve seen a lot worse 🤣
If you didnt use plastisizer, how much lime would you put in that 4:1 mix? What 3 part ratio would that be?
Hi, I don't have any experience of using lime as a plasticiser sorry. You'd just have to see on the back on the bag of lime to see what ratio would be best. Sorry I can't help!
New subscriber mate 👍 hows work been for you
Thanks! Work has been a pain lately, it’s been so wet so it’s very stop and start, not enough indoor work. Roll on the spring! Any suggestions for new videos?
@@SamDaviesBuilder how about outdoor Bricks BBQ?
@@HistoHaHa thats on my list, I may well do it this summer at home! I appreciate the suggestion
I never thought about putting the febmix in the mixer instead of the water #Noted
It’s surprising how many people don’t. Makes sense to me as you know what’s going in the mix each time. Thanks for watching too 😀
@@SamDaviesBuilder yeah you are totally correct.
If you use 1 bucket of water and then add the feb to the water you get the same quantity every time it’s amazing you should try it
@@dciburnsidesniffsniff6119 but what if the sand is wet? You won’t use a whole bucket of water then and not as much Feb would go in….
@@dciburnsidesniffsniff6119 oh dear. I’m not sure I want to even try and explain the concept, especially if you didn’t grasped it the first time round lol
Another banger buddy! I think this vid convinced me to get a mixer. Sod it! That mix looked beautiful at the end!
What capacity is yours btw?
Thanks! Yea I remember I had some really good sand in my pile when I filmed this. It is the Belle Minimix 150, I usually get 16 medium size shovel fulls in if I am mixing at 4:1 (that might be overloading it a bit if you read the instructions but it hasn't broken yet and its not falling out of the drum while mixing). Sometimes you can find a good second hand one on Facebook but you have to act quick as they get snapped up fast! Let me know what you get if you get one
@@SamDaviesBuilder thanks buddy, I will do! Would you say electric ones are fine for small batches at a time?
@@SamDaviesBuilder never mind I see now the Belle Minimix 150 is an electric one too, is that right?
@@MarcusT86 yes they are. I’m doing a job today where I’ve only mixed a bucketful of compo in the mixer. You just have to make sure you don’t put too much plasticiser in a small mix as it’s very easy to put the same amount in you would for a big mix
@@MarcusT86 yea it’s electric. They do a petrol one too but I just use electric. Much easier to turn off and on when you need to and no carrying petrol in the van
Thanks. This will really help when laying my patio!
I’m 15 and am looking to do this to are patio what is the best way to do this without a mixer. I’ve seen a lot of different ways to do this but a lot of them over time seem to get moss and turn green and loose to a pressure washer. Any tips or suggestions on the best way to do it would help me a lot
Depending on your budget you can buy the resin brush in compounds which may help you if you don’t have a mixer. I have videos on my page of me using the resin to point a patio. If you still want to use sand and cement then you could just mix it by hand in a tub or wheelbarrow but just ensure you mix it well or it will not last in the joints
@@SamDaviesBuilder yes I saw the resin ones but yes they where around 40 pound a tub which Yh it’s a bit expensive but would be easy to do. Do u think it’s a good idea to mix it bye hand or should I really try my best to avoid the option
@@rubendimaggio1666 you could always try a mix by hand and see how it goes. If you’re in the UK you should be able to get the resin for £20-£25 if you shop around
Great video thanks Sam!
Thankyou :)
Sam as DIYer I am going To be laying slabs in my back garden for the first time. One thing I am nervous Getting the fall right. In your video of laying the slabs, you can see clearly there is a fall. I know you used string line to create the fall. What I don’t understand with each slab moving away from the house. Do you place less cement slightly so each slab is slightly lower than the one above? Thanks
@@davidwilson123able you need to make sure you have fall in the stone base below so when you lay the slabs you can keep the mortar bed even. A good website is pavingexpert.com which will explain falls
@@SamDaviesBuilder That's great thanks Sam I will check that out. Thanks for the quick reply!
Hi Sam. I wanted to thank you for the patio pointing video where you used the Pointmaster. Got one delivered yesterday, not opened it yet. Recently I started looking into the resin compounds as our concrete (fake stone) paving stones were in a hell of a state and all needed repointing. Years ago I had tackled a tiny bit of it using a dry mix. I might have misunderstood the terms and mixed up completely dry and proceeded to brush in. Total nightmare. Lots of staining from the cement and lots of faffing to clean up. Also probably too strong a mix at 3:1 but the joints lasted years, and still rock solid. Fast forward years and the whole patio needs re-jointing (pressure washers have a lot to answer for). My woeful previous experience led me to look at the resin mixes. I was kicking myself for not knowing about them before. However I stared to hear very mixed opinions on them. Then I came across a few vids on how to do traditional sand and cement joints properly, including yours. I realised I was just lacking knowledge of how to do it properly and now I know how to go about it I'm happy to give it a go. The slabs are not in great condition as a result of pressure washing over many years, but they are still perfectly functional and will look a million times better with new jointing. I don't have the time or money to redo the patio completely just now so for now I'll repoint. There is a few slabs that slightly rock when stepping on the edges. I was planning to chop out the mortar bed under them, re-lay them and then do the re-pointing. (I've already chopped out all the old mortar with a masonry disk on an angle grinder, cold chisel, bolster and mortar pick). I've heard a rule of thumb is to not make mortar joints stronger then the material they are jointing. Would it be a 4:1 mix for the joints? Different mix for the mortar bed under the slabs? I think I've heard of people using sharp AND soft sand together in a mix. Is that for something specific? Am I just needing regular building sand, aka 'sharp' sand? I still have a bag of cement from my pointing adventure years ago. Checked it the other day (I'd sealed it up pretty good), it looks fine, still a powder. Is that fine to use, or does cement go off even if not exposed to moisture? Thanks sam. Sorry for the long comment and questions but maybe others will find it useful. Best wishes!
Hi Neil, thanks for the comment! Glad you liked the pointing video and I hope you can use the tips to make your pointing go well. I would go for a 4:1 mix for the pointing using building sand and a 5:1 mix for re bedding any slabs. Sounds like you've been working very hard in preparing the slabs ready for pointing!
The big thing with using the point master is to make sure the mix is good, so a good quality feb, good quality building sand, good quality cement and let it mix until its nice and buttery. Also, once you have tooled off the joints then make sure you pick the right time to brush the joints off, don't do it too soon or it'll leave marks.
With regards to old cement, its always best to use fresh as you don't want any lumps going through the point master.
Let me know how it goes!
@@SamDaviesBuilder Thanks for replying Sam. I think I’m all set. The Feb is the plasticiser? I think I bought some ages ago and never got around to using it. Should I maybe buy fresh? You said get a good one. Is there a particular brand or product you’d recommend? I’ll need to buy a small container I think, not 5 ltr. Thanks the warning about the old cement. I may try that for re-bedding the odd loose slab and use fresh for the joints. Just opened the Pointmaster package. Girlfriend highly amused.
@@neil9505 Yea the feb is the plasticiser. 'Feb' the brand is a pretty good one to use - 5 litres will be cheap enough to buy but you could always try the stuff you have first. That old cement will be fine for rebedding the slabs. I always love opening a tool delivery, lets see if you can keep the point master as clean as it is now as you use it :) - they stay pretty good as long as you wash them out well.
@@SamDaviesBuilder Sam. Thanks so much for replying again! My questions sound silly I’m sure but it’s those small details you have to get right eh. I’m sure you must have better things to be doing. Yep. I’ll see how clean I can keep it. Last DIY job I did was using Timberbuild epoxy to replace rotted timber sills and frames. Once that stuff dries on your tools you have to sand it off. 😁 I’ll post a comment after I’ve hopefully done a passable job on the pavers. 👍
@@SamDaviesBuilder Hi Sam. Tried the Pointmaster today. Freshly bought sand and cement. Tried really hard to follow all your advice in the mortar mixing vid and the one on the pointing with the Pointmaster. It seemed quite hard to get the mortar to flow through the nozzle though. Then after about a short time of trying to fill joints it became damn near impossible to force any mortar through the nozzle. I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong. It’s tricky mixing up small quantities by hand but I was very careful to translate your mixing advice down to my bucket mixing. I was particularly careful to add the water really slowly and add the plasticiser to the sand and cement before starting to add the water. I was really impressed with the feel of the mix before loading the Pointmaster. Does the fact that I couldn’t force the mix through give me any clue as to what to change? The mix felt buttery smooth and didn’t seem to have any excess water coming out. With such a tiny batch (1/2 a bucket) I wonder if I put too much plasticiser in? I’m a bit stumped.
I used to mix for an old bricklayer back in the 80s, when I was a teen. He'd have me put a few squirts of Fairy washing-up liquid in the mix.
I’ve seen it done, just got to make sure you don’t put too much in or it ends up like a Mr.Whippy 🤣🤣🤣
Your like Tommy back in the college days 😂
🤣🤣 I hope I haven’t aged like him