Hi, can anyone help me with a concrete/cement question? I need to redo all the joins between the slabs in the back garden - hosing them down every day they have eventually broken away. The last time I done it my Dad mixed up the concrete for me but he passed away a few years ago. Is cement the stuff that comes in the really heavy wee bags that you mix with sand to make concrete or is it the other way around? Assuming that I've got the names right what percentage of sand to cement? Also I seem to remember my Dad squirting some washing up liquid into the mix - does it matter how much I put in??? Thanks folks :D

Would this help? :)

you can buy it ready mixed now,
in smaller bags just brush into the joins,
it's called slab fix. you can get it from,
DIY stores or i think builders merchants.

hope it helps :-)

Donna

Just asked OH for you Chaumsong,
He's a surveyor and works on site with 'chippies,brickies,leckies' (!!!???) lol.
If you get stuck PM me and I'll hand him over to you!
(so to speak!!...well you can have him if you want...he's a bit worn round the edges! :P )
:D

My OH is a builder so i have just asked him. :D He says...
If you want a dry mix then get concrete sand and a bag of cement (those heavy wee bags) and mix 5 part sand 1 part cement. Just brush into the joints of your slabs and it will go hard. If you want wet mix then get building sand and a bag of cement and mix 5 parts sand 1 part cement and a good squirt of fairy liquid, add water until you have the required consistency. :-)
Hope that helps, if you have any other questions feel free to ask and i will pick his brain again. ;-) We have the dry mix in our slabs and it is the easiest by far. :-)

Errrmm, soz I gotta ask...WHY the Fairy Liquid???? LOL HG, ur OH aint a scouser is he??? (Lecky??) :D :D :D

>>Errrmm, soz I gotta ask...WHY the Fairy Liquid????>>

It put air (bubbles) into it and makes the mix stick together which makes it more workable....apparently. ;-)

Thanks verrrrry much everybody. Isn't champdogs great - the answers to all your questions and so quickly :)  I didn't know you could just brush the dry stuff in - that sounds so much easier.

p.s. HuskyGal can I borrow your other half...just till all the odd jobs are done :D ????

Hiya,
Right i am going to disagree with the builder!!!! :( (Sorry)
To grout the slabs you need to rake out all the old grouting.
If you use a wet mix with building sand and fairy liquid(This is what you use to build walls with) It gets very messy :( Unless you are well practiced at it :( If you get wet cement on the slabs it is sooooo hard to get off :( :(
The best way to do it is.......
6 parts Sharp Sand
1 Part Cement (Ordinary Portland Cement is what is available around here)
Enough water to 'bind' without going wet wet.
You then carefully put it in the joints and push it down, finish it off by running a bit of hose pipe (We use proper grouting tool but hose pipe works just as well) over the top of it to make a smooth finish.
And hey presto, a finished grouting. :) :) :)
DONT do it if frost is forcast other wise the frost will get to it and it breaks up again.
DONT wash it until you are certain it is set.
You can do the same by not adding any water to the mix, but you HAVE to make sure the slabs are dry and you push it in and finish it off wth a hose pipe the same as the wet mix.
HTH
Lea :D

The second way is the way my hubby does it.  I was looking forward to telling him he was wrong :( ;)

as we all know.....go with the womans way of doing it!!!!!!!!!! :D
(bound to make more sense and be more practical) ;)

oops! (sorry Isabel's Husband!)

:D

Oooooooooooppppppppsssssss
Have i just sent al these households into world war 3
Lea :D

yep!!
OH is now telling me I didnt ask the right question!!!!
what??????
men!...

Men, they dont know the difference between pointing and grouting, I mean it is so easy to understand :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Te he he he he he he he he he he he he
Lea :D :D :D :D :D

>>Right i am going to disagree with the builder!!!!  (Sorry)>>

Dont worry, i disagree with him ALL the time. ;-)

It all sounds much and such the same to me im afraid. Maybe it depends on what kind of slabs you have and how big a gap there is inbetween them. I just choose them, point to where i want them and leave the rest up to him. Easy. :D

It all sounds much and such the same to me im afraid.  Maybe it depends on what kind of slabs you have and how big a gap there is inbetween them. I just choose them, point to where i want them and leave the rest up to him. Easy. 
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha LOL
It would have to me 15 years ago before i went to college and started work doing the job LOL
(BTW the gap between them doesnt matter ;))
Lea :D

LOL :D My OH does try and explain it all to me but my brain just seems to switch off. :D I think i am better off leaving it up to the experts. ;-) Well.....I'm not the one that has to build the houses, i just live in them. :D lol
(Still dont understand the gap thingy....what about getting the hosepipe inbetween?! :rolleyes: )

ooo i never would of thought about fairy liquid wow you learn somthing new every day

When completing my pond project (which involved a cement mixer) I was advised to buy sachets of plasticiser that was added to the mix.  These cost about 60p per sachet which did a whole load of cement.  Hope this explains:

Plasticisers reduce the amount of water required to mix a mortar and improve its workability, rendering it 'stickier', more pliable. Proprietary plasticisers are usually some form of soluble resin salt, often dark brown in colour and readily available at builders' merchants in liquid or powder form. You should follow manufacturers' instructions regarding dosage - adding 'extra-to-be-sure' does not have any added benefit and may weaken the mortar, but, generally speaking, the liquid forms are added at the rate of 250-300 ml per 50kg of cement, and the powdered forms at 20-30g per 50Kg cement. Liquid plasticising agents are usually stirred into the gauging water before being added to the mix, whereas powder forms are normally mixed in with the dry ingredients before the gauging water is added.
A trade tip often employed when a proprietary plasticiser is not available for whatever reason is to use a very small squirt of a detergent, such as wash-up liquid, but no more than 2ml per litre of clean water.