How to determine the proportion of mortar for the foundation when building a house with your own hands?

In order to obtain a solid foundation for a suburban or urban structure, it is necessary to make a foundation correctly. The strength of concrete only then will be sufficient, when all the proportions of mortar for the foundation will be calculated correctly.

The proportions of the components, depending on the operating conditions and materials

Depending on what cement for the preparation of the mortar will be used, the ratio of aggregates - sand, gravel or gravel varies. The number of components is different and depending on the quality of the soil itself - it is dry or wet.

When manually kneading the weight of the components are often measured with buckets. A standard 10 liter bucket holds about 15 kg of sand, 14 kg of cement and about 16 kg of rubble. The total amount of the initial volume of the dry mix decreases after mixing by almost a third, this needs to be taken into account.

Do not change the ratio of components in the cement slurry for each new batch. It is enough to make a solution for the foundation (the proportions remain the same!) As well as the previous time. Usually, the recommended standard values are used. 1: 4: 6,5 are considered standard for cement M500, where 1 - part of cement, 4 - sand, 6.5 - crushed stone. The ratio of sand and rubble when using cement M400 is 1: 3.5: 6.

In dry ground, to reduce the cost of work, it is possible to use secondary crushed stone as free-flowing aggregate - the so-called broken pieces of brick and old concrete. The substandard remaining in the manufacture of concrete, or fragments of bricks are brought to the desired size with a stone crusher or a conventional sledgehammer.

The proportions of the solution for the foundation, installed in soils of high humidity, are different. For cement M500 - 1: 3,4: 5,8, for M400 - 1: 3: 5,5 respectively.

Before mixing concrete, loose materials should be specially prepared: select large pieces of rubble from rubble, dust, rinse out of the hose, if there are a lot of clay impurities. Sand sift to prevent foreign matter from entering. You can use a liquid soap or shampoo as a plasticizer, which increases the plasticity of the solution, or you can buy a special additive.

The proportions of the solution for the foundation do not always correspond to the standard values. As far as mixing, sometimes it may be necessary to introduce an additional component. Orientation is necessary for the consistency of the solution. It should be poured out of the tank like a thick sour cream.

They are engaged in a cement mix after the works on the installation of the formwork and the reinforcement are finished, otherwise it will have time to thicken. Also it is worthwhile counting separately how much solution to knead at a time. Unused solution is suitable only as a secondary crushed stone.

With the increase in the cement brand from which the cement mortar is made, the proportions for the foundation of the remaining components are reduced. It is believed that the cement brand below M400 for work on the foundation is useless to apply.

The proportions of the mortar for the foundation do not change with the time of the year. But if work with the solution is carried out at negative temperatures, antifreeze additives are added to the cement mixture . When calculating how many additives should be added to the cement slurry, the amount of cement and the temperature conditions during which concrete works are carried out are taken into account.