Excellent video. One of the best on RUclips I've seen on mixing and understanding concrete. I really don't understand why your videos have so few views. Your content is brilliant and very well presented. Thank you and I hope your channel starts to receive the recognition it deserves!
@@MrandMrsDIYthanks for the lessons I'm about to make 2 building on forest floor...it's mostly level. Is it better to dig out the high spots and repurpose the dirt in the lows...or fill in the lows with something else to bring it level? 1st building is primarily storage for wood and other materials waiting to be repurposed. 2nd building will be much larger and hold heavy woodworking equipment for one person...myself and possibly one other person. I'd love to do infloor heating but that's too costly...how thick should my concrete slabs be please? Not putting in a basement. I need it close to the ground.
@@MrandMrsDIYAlso...I really need a dust collection system...since I have have not found a way to beat gravity...lol...in your opinion should I create channels in the floor so the system doesn't have to work so hard, run it along the walls level with the machines or run it up in the ceiling? I'm concerned about blockages if it's in the ceiling bcuz I'm short...lol. plus I want to find a way to collect and reuse it.
Good video, easy to understand as well. A lot of people making these videos always use trade terms and it doesnt really translate to the layman doing a small diy job. Nice explination of the ballast mix at the begining as well. Quick question though, i have just dug the trenches for my retaining wall (wall is 1m) and i'm using 6 inch thick concrete blocks flat rather than on their sides. Would you put rebar in this at all?
@@MrandMrsDIY Thanks for that, i am going to use the 6 to 1 ratio for it. Will need to order more ballast though but shouldbe fine. Would 1m rebar poles ar an angle or 90 degree be ok or should i use the lattice style if i go with it?
Tip for using the fibres. put them into the bucket you're using for water and stir it with a stick until they're mixed with the water. Saves them from clumping up in the mixer.
what is the correct ratio for internal concrete floor? I'm replacing my concrete floor as it was cracking and damp. The old concrete was laid down directly to soil and no dpm was used. Ex council bungalow from the 60s, obviously building regs non existant back then. Plan is to go 150mm hardcore compacted, 50mm blind sand, 1200g dpm, 100mm insulation, another dpm then 100mm concrete. Any help appreciated.
Yes I've worked on my older houses like that, your doing all the right things with Hardcore, blinding sand, 100mm insulation just make sure its a decent one ands not just white light weight polystyrene, then the concrete pad can be a little weaker than the we we did outside, 6 x Ballast to 1 cement should be fine.
I'm referring the 1:4 ratio to be a stronger mix, this is what we did for the driveway (which is only 100mm thick, with reinforcement added), when I refer to the 1:6, this mix is for foundations which would be laid a hell of a lot thicker at a minimum of 600mm wide, and around 1000mm deep, so when you have a mass dense area of concrete like this, it doesn't necessarily have to be mixed with as much cement to give it it's strength (as the mass area makes up for this) Hope that helps!
If you use fibre reinforcing, does that mean that you don't need rebar for your driveway? I'm planning concreting a track down to my house and would be a lot cheaper without rebar.
The reinforced fibres do add significant strength, depending on the level of traffic and weight vehicles that will be crossing it, you may still need some thin reinforcing bars in it. I would recommend doing some further research into the depths of the concrete you'll need and also the weight of any vehicles that will be on it! Cheers
@MrandMrsDIY A suggestion, if I may, explain that aerosoled dry concrete dust is caustic. It will damage one's, eyes(hence safety goggles) skin,(water proof gloves), lungs 🫁 (a "rated" dustmask).
@@MrandMrsDIY even though I told RUclips not to automatically play videos...I was still typing a comment when it switched videos...comment went either into cyber space or another video...sigh
Hi Craig. Would you add more water than the directions on the concrete bag if you add ballast?. I'm using it for hopefully stopping my neighbours water running into our garden as it's ruing it and they aren't very cooperative so my job this spring is to dig a trench along the fence that separates our garden and the laying concrete and some breeze blocks right along as a dam to stop it. Would you say that'll do the trick? Subbed! Oh and thanks to you our house has wonderful flooring from your tips from a while back. Cheers!
Cheers 👍 Tried reasoning with them to no avail and they are renting from a housing association. We own our house so after 4 years of trying to be nice and sending Letterston both parties I'm just gonna block it and tell them if your garden turns into an outside pool from your water use then you'll need to sort a drain out yourselves via the housing association. They have outside dogs abd a small pool which all thst waste just floods into mine and gas all but ruined my Indian sandstone but I'm hoping to salvage it and get my garden back so we can get on the bbq finally this summer.
I thought the weight of glass fiber reinforcing fibers needed, was about 5% of the total mix. It appears that you added maybe .05%, or one hundredth of the necessary amount.
sorry to confirm, a 'stronger' concrete for foundations etc would use more ballast or more cement in it? he said more ballast, i.e 5 or 6 to one cement..
Hi! This is due to large parts of aggregate being able to interlock within the mixture, providing strength based on its and the cement internal properties. Cheers!
Is the 4:1 ballast to cement suitable for garden shed base slab. Also how much would ballast and concrete would i need for 1m^3. Im such a beginner lol
@@MrandMrsDIYlooks slightly more workable than it could be, concrete needs to be the strongest it can be for a thin slab. What you've done is fine, but an extra 500psi could make the difference between crack and no crack, also longevity
What do you mean lean concrete? Terrific video! Hand mixed is a lost art around here. Also I like the buckets! I used to just count shovels full. I guage the water by watching how much the mixer pulls the batch up the inside of the mixer. I looked u up by searching for fiber reinforced concrete. Im getting ready to make a retaining wall of 6"x 6' posts. Fibers will make better posts.
Hi! So lean concrete is is mainly to provide a foundation for the foundation concrete, so when you're putting your good stuff in it won't touch the soil because the lean concrete is there Nice work with the mixing! Yes shovel fulls can be a good way to do it, we just prefer to do it by bucket fulls just to guage the ratios better, but to each his own!
Thanks so much Craig your great at explaining this stuff. 1. How long does it need to be mixed for? 2. Is this 4 to 1 ratio good for laying my garden concrete on clay soil? Ready for maybe decking later?
hi im having trouble in knowing how much a charles bentley 45l cement mixer can take for doing a drive in 5ft by 5ft by 2inches, think volume is 50 volume but am i able to use 1 bag of ballust, half bag cement and water in this size machine or can i put in more? if drive way is longer how do i know what the highest amount of concrete is in ghis type of mixer? Any advice please? thanks
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Excellent video. One of the best on RUclips I've seen on mixing and understanding concrete. I really don't understand why your videos have so few views. Your content is brilliant and very well presented. Thank you and I hope your channel starts to receive the recognition it deserves!
Thank you very much, we're pleased you like our videos and thank you for the kind words!
@@MrandMrsDIYthanks for the lessons I'm about to make 2 building on forest floor...it's mostly level. Is it better to dig out the high spots and repurpose the dirt in the lows...or fill in the lows with something else to bring it level?
1st building is primarily storage for wood and other materials waiting to be repurposed. 2nd building will be much larger and hold heavy woodworking equipment for one person...myself and possibly one other person. I'd love to do infloor heating but that's too costly...how thick should my concrete slabs be please? Not putting in a basement. I need it close to the ground.
@@MrandMrsDIYAlso...I really need a dust collection system...since I have have not found a way to beat gravity...lol...in your opinion should I create channels in the floor so the system doesn't have to work so hard, run it along the walls level with the machines or run it up in the ceiling? I'm concerned about blockages if it's in the ceiling bcuz I'm short...lol. plus I want to find a way to collect and reuse it.
Many thanks for your comments Simon
This was fantastic. +1 on best concrete vid I've found. THANKS!
Thanks great to hear, many thanks, we hope it helped you
Cheers
Gotta love Craig. What a lovely guy!❤
Thank you very much!
Good video, easy to understand as well. A lot of people making these videos always use trade terms and it doesnt really translate to the layman doing a small diy job. Nice explination of the ballast mix at the begining as well. Quick question though, i have just dug the trenches for my retaining wall (wall is 1m) and i'm using 6 inch thick concrete blocks flat rather than on their sides. Would you put rebar in this at all?
Thanks mate! I think it should be fine without it, providing the concrete cures properly, you could put it in for peace of mind though
@@MrandMrsDIY Thanks for that, i am going to use the 6 to 1 ratio for it. Will need to order more ballast though but shouldbe fine. Would 1m rebar poles ar an angle or 90 degree be ok or should i use the lattice style if i go with it?
Many thanks
Nice video Craig how thick would concrete need to be before you consider using rebar to give additional support ?
If you was expecting HGV's I'd say certainly fit Rebar's
I'd say over 75mm deep
Tip for using the fibres. put them into the bucket you're using for water and stir it with a stick until they're mixed with the water. Saves them from clumping up in the mixer.
That's a great idea!
what is the correct ratio for internal concrete floor? I'm replacing my concrete floor as it was cracking and damp. The old concrete was laid down directly to soil and no dpm was used. Ex council bungalow from the 60s, obviously building regs non existant back then. Plan is to go 150mm hardcore compacted, 50mm blind sand, 1200g dpm, 100mm insulation, another dpm then 100mm concrete. Any help appreciated.
Yes I've worked on my older houses like that, your doing all the right things with Hardcore, blinding sand, 100mm insulation just make sure its a decent one ands not just white light weight polystyrene, then the concrete pad can be a little weaker than the we we did outside, 6 x Ballast to 1 cement should be fine.
Im confused… you say 1 to 4 ratio is weaker than a 1 to 6 ratio . How is this possible ?
I'm referring the 1:4 ratio to be a stronger mix, this is what we did for the driveway (which is only 100mm thick, with reinforcement added), when I refer to the 1:6, this mix is for foundations which would be laid a hell of a lot thicker at a minimum of 600mm wide, and around 1000mm deep, so when you have a mass dense area of concrete like this, it doesn't necessarily have to be mixed with as much cement to give it it's strength (as the mass area makes up for this)
Hope that helps!
@@MrandMrsDIY
Excellent explanation!
Thanks Mike @@mikemontagne2703
Let me talk to people as if they're idiots.
Where's the MDF. 😂😂😂
Did I, when
Hi.. Could you let us know what the bag of white fiber was and where would I find that? Thank you!!
They are polypropylene fibres and you can buy them from travis perkins or wickes
@@hardworker8030 Thank you. That sounds like something we would like to try.
Hi, yes they are Polypropylene fibres! they reinforce the concrete and give it that extra strength
Thanks mate!
If you use fibre reinforcing, does that mean that you don't need rebar for your driveway?
I'm planning concreting a track down to my house and would be a lot cheaper without rebar.
The reinforced fibres do add significant strength, depending on the level of traffic and weight vehicles that will be crossing it, you may still need some thin reinforcing bars in it. I would recommend doing some further research into the depths of the concrete you'll need and also the weight of any vehicles that will be on it! Cheers
@@MrandMrsDIY Thank you.
What fiber to you recommend?
Just a simple reinforced concrete fibre, its cheap enough to purchase from all good builders merchants
Nice to see the FFP3 mask being used ;) lol
Cheers
@MrandMrsDIY
A suggestion, if I may, explain that aerosoled dry concrete dust is caustic.
It will damage one's, eyes(hence safety goggles) skin,(water proof gloves), lungs
🫁 (a "rated" dustmask).
Thanks for the advise, I agree @@mikemontagne2703
What is the mix ratio and hight of concrete for me to pack a big van on?
Same as this! I drive my big van on it all the time and when we have guests I park it on top, cheers
Sigh...my comment must have posted in your other videos...I turned auto play off and it still does it.
Not sure what you mean
@@MrandMrsDIY even though I told RUclips not to automatically play videos...I was still typing a comment when it switched videos...comment went either into cyber space or another video...sigh
R right ok. @@fdort3971
@@MrandMrsDIY when I make cement forms...and I want to reuse them...what is the best way to cover them? Concrete heats up while curing correct?
Hi Craig. Would you add more water than the directions on the concrete bag if you add ballast?.
I'm using it for hopefully stopping my neighbours water running into our garden as it's ruing it and they aren't very cooperative so my job this spring is to dig a trench along the fence that separates our garden and the laying concrete and some breeze blocks right along as a dam to stop it. Would you say that'll do the trick? Subbed! Oh and thanks to you our house has wonderful flooring from your tips from a while back. Cheers!
I'd stick with the direction first to see who it mixers up then add more oil needed, you can always add more but you can't take it away.
A small block dam may work however just be careful were it runs from there as the water may build up even higher and course further problems
It would be best to try and divert it into a drain if possible
Cheers 👍 Tried reasoning with them to no avail and they are renting from a housing association. We own our house so after 4 years of trying to be nice and sending Letterston both parties I'm just gonna block it and tell them if your garden turns into an outside pool from your water use then you'll need to sort a drain out yourselves via the housing association. They have outside dogs abd a small pool which all thst waste just floods into mine and gas all but ruined my Indian sandstone but I'm hoping to salvage it and get my garden back so we can get on the bbq finally this summer.
It sounds like your having nightmare, good luck with it and hope you get it sorted @@PS-en7wn
Craig is the man
Thank you!
I thought the weight of glass fiber reinforcing fibers needed, was about 5% of the total mix. It appears that you added maybe .05%, or one hundredth of the necessary amount.
Depends how strong you need it! Cheers
sorry to confirm, a 'stronger' concrete for foundations etc would use more ballast or more cement in it? he said more ballast, i.e 5 or 6 to one cement..
Yes more ballast to spread over the concrete
Forget using ballast, it's ok for say fence posts, if you want proper good concrete 4 stone 2 sharp sand and 1 cement.
Thats what I was mixing
Wait now. Did you just say that concrete with more aggregate for a given amount of cement would be stronger?
Hi! This is due to large parts of aggregate being able to interlock within the mixture, providing strength based on its and the cement internal properties. Cheers!
Awesome....this mix good enough for patio or driveway.
i always go for 1:1:2 ratio....which stronger.
Yes mate, I've done my driveway with it and had no probs! Yep good tip
@@MrandMrsDIY great..waiting for future videos
@@Hans-k9d Thanks, there coming
Don’t know why but this reminded me of art attack and I love it!
- top video thank you
Haha we get that a lot, glad you enjoyed our video!
The guy from art attack has changed a lot
Hahahaha yes!
Have I missed a trick with that comment 🤔
@@MrLegend139just an observation, he must have got bored of art and preferred construction now
What mix do I need for a 3m x3m x300 mm conservatory base .
Probably about a mix of 4 ballast to 1 cement if it is 300mm. You may need to research this further. Cheers
Is the 4:1 ballast to cement suitable for garden shed base slab. Also how much would ballast and concrete would i need for 1m^3. Im such a beginner lol
yes the 4:1 is fine! 1 full cubic metre would spread across an area of 10 square metres, giving you a depth of 100mm! Cheers!
@@MrandMrsDIY thanks for the reply guess it's best to wait for a drier season before attempting?
Too much water
What makes you think that ?
@@MrandMrsDIYlooks slightly more workable than it could be, concrete needs to be the strongest it can be for a thin slab. What you've done is fine, but an extra 500psi could make the difference between crack and no crack, also longevity
That’s not too much! Looks good 👍
Okay I take it back
@@George.Coleman Thanks for watching!
Great video, informative and to the point. Thanks.
Thanks mate, happy concreting!
What do you mean lean concrete?
Terrific video! Hand mixed is a lost art around here. Also I like the buckets! I used to just count shovels full.
I guage the water by watching how much the mixer pulls the batch up the inside of the mixer. I looked u up by searching for fiber reinforced concrete.
Im getting ready to make a retaining wall of 6"x 6' posts. Fibers will make better posts.
Hi!
So lean concrete is is mainly to provide a foundation for the foundation concrete, so when you're putting your good stuff in it won't touch the soil because the lean concrete is there
Nice work with the mixing! Yes shovel fulls can be a good way to do it, we just prefer to do it by bucket fulls just to guage the ratios better, but to each his own!
Lean concrete is a good thick compacted mix thats strong and not to wet to use.
Thanks so much Craig your great at explaining this stuff.
1. How long does it need to be mixed for?
2. Is this 4 to 1 ratio good for laying my garden concrete on clay soil? Ready for maybe decking later?
hi im having trouble in knowing how much a charles bentley 45l cement mixer can take for doing a drive in 5ft by 5ft by 2inches, think volume is 50 volume but am i able to use 1 bag of ballust, half bag cement and water in this size machine or can i put in more? if drive way is longer how do i know what the highest amount of concrete is in ghis type of mixer? Any advice please? thanks
No not sure what your question is
@@MrandMrsDIY sorry does this make sense? I want to know how much sand, cement and water can be put into a max 45l cement mixer?
@@dntylr7482 R right, I cant help you with that one, have you tried Googling it
it's ok will test it over time. Thanks for getting back to me though. have a good day
@@dntylr7482 Cheers
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Wix?