Almost any construction, whether it is the construction of buildings, structures, fences or roads, involves the use of concrete or cement mortars. Along with a huge number of new-fangled mixtures and materials, they still remain the most popular. The secret of their relevance is simple: the material is affordable, easy to use, durable and economical.
Plasticizers in construction
To improve the
quality of concrete solutions, plasticizers are added to them - mixtures of chemicals. Their task is to lower the water content and stabilize the solution, thereby improving its properties. Builders add a plasticizer for concrete with their own hands during the preparation of the mortar. Manufacturers of such compounds can be both our plants and foreign ones, because their cost may vary, but they are all available for sale.
In large-scale construction, as a rule, ready-made solutions are purchased. They do not require additional plasticizers; formulations are added during the manufacturing process. Often these are expensive and high-quality plasticizers for concrete, their price, of course, will affect the total cost, but such material will be guaranteed to be good. The desire of manufacturers to provide construction companies with a quality solution is justified, the competition today is very high.
In private construction, when concrete costs are low, buying a ready-made mortar is a costly and not always reasonable business. In such cases, either purchased formulations are used, or a homemade plasticizer for concrete is added. Do it yourself is quite simple, and even this will significantly save on the purchase of materials.
Plasticizer Tasks
The main goal is to stabilize by reducing water consumption and improve the plasticity of the solution. The composition of the plasticizer includes elements that interact with other substances and form an elastic mobile mixture. This helps the mortar to better adhere to the base and other components, thereby increasing the strength and density of concrete.
The solution is not stratified into its constituent parts and water. The terms of its use are increased due to the fact that the mass seizes more slowly. It becomes possible to correct the deficiencies when pouring or finishing structures.
The layer dries evenly, and therefore the appearance of cracks is minimized. Increases resistance to temperature extremes.
Plasticizers in production
In addition to use for masonry or pouring, cement mortars are also involved in the production of building materials. These are various reinforced concrete products, foam blocks, aerated concrete and others. In their production, the use of plasticizers is also indispensable. Production technology requires you to adhere to certain quality standards to obtain the most effective and safe material. So, all used plasticizers, additives in concrete and other components must comply with the standards:
- be chemically resistant;
- do not contain toxic elements;
- do not include volatile compounds;
- decompose at a higher temperature than the processing temperature.
How to make a plasticizer yourself
Inquisitive and resourceful construction masters have long found an option on how to make a plasticizer for concrete with your own hands, without resorting to buying specialized mixtures. This option is economical and completely safe environmentally. Its secret is simple: in the process of preparing the solution, lime or detergent compositions are added to it. It can be anything:
washing powders, liquid soap, shampoos or dishwashing detergent. Such plasticizers for concrete, the price of which is cheap, can achieve excellent results, not inferior to their specialized twin cities. The solution will fit easily and will provide a uniform and even surface. The quality will noticeably improve, and the density and strength of the structure will increase. The addition of such simple components will avoid a lot of trouble with concrete solutions.
Technique for enriching solutions with detergents
If you want to make a plasticizer for concrete with your own hands, it will be useful to heed the advice of experienced construction masters.
Here are the key recommendations:
- Dry detergents (washing powder) should be added to the solution, previously dissolved in water.
- Add the tool at the very beginning of the process. This will allow him to better envelop additional additives in concrete (expanded clay and others), and due to this, the components will better communicate with each other.
- The proportions are strictly individual for each type of concrete. But, as a rule, add liquid detergent at the rate of 1 glass per bag of cement.
- The pour time of such a solution will increase to three hours.
- Try to use products that do not give copious foam. Otherwise, you will need to wait until the foam settles, and only then do the work.
Add lime
Solutions containing lime are often used in places with a humid environment. They play the role of waterproofing, they are applied to the lower or outer parts of the building, which are most often exposed to moisture. This is mainly the foundation and basement of the house.
Lime serves as a kind of plasticizer, improving the quality, wear resistance and resistance to temperature changes from heat to cold. The solution becomes plastic, easily lays on vertical surfaces, after drying, a network of cracks does not form on it. Lime - a natural and non-toxic material, will serve as an obstacle to the development of fungus and other troubles on the walls. The cost of lime is minimal, but the result will delight you.
How to add lime to the solution
The amount of lime is made individually for each of the solutions, depending on its purpose. The ratio can vary from 1 to 1 (for indoor) to 1 to 6 (for facades).
Before adding to the solution of lime, it must be dissolved in water. While the lime is infused, a dry mixture of sand and cement is prepared, and only after that a lime solution should be introduced into it. You need to work with such material with gloves, otherwise you can damage the skin of the hands.
Other additives
Along with plasticizers, there are other additives to concrete. They allow you to set the properties necessary for solutions in various situations, optimizing and facilitating the work with them.
- Reducing solidification time (accelerators). They are indispensable when working in the winter season or in areas with a cold climate. It happens that at the time of construction of complex structures it takes time to dry out individual elements, and this greatly slows down the work. At such moments, accelerators are simply irreplaceable.
- Increasing solidification time (retarders). Plasticizers do not always cope with the tasks, in such cases, heavier artillery - water droplets - are used. They are used in cases where it is necessary to transport ready-made solutions over long distances.
- Air entraining compounds. Saturate solutions with air bubbles. They are needed to increase frost resistance and water resistance. Used in solutions with a low cement content.
- Antifreeze. Simply needed when working in areas with low temperatures up to -15 degrees. The solution not only does not freeze and allows performing the front of work, but also hardens well and has excellent strength. Such compositions allow the construction to be carried out year-round, without interruptions for the winter seasons.
Such additives are purchased from manufacturers and have a significant positive impact on the quality and work with materials. It is almost impossible to play them yourself.
Draw conclusions
We examined several options for the enrichment of mortars in order to improve their properties. In the case when the construction is small, it is quite possible to use these little tricks for your own purposes. The costs will be practically zero, and the result will certainly please.
If you are distrustful of such advice, you can always buy a ready-made plasticizer for concrete. The instructions for each of them will provide clear recommendations on how to correctly add the composition to the solution and get the proper result.