Monday 25th February 2019

Homevalue’s DIY Guide: How To Mix Cement & Other Key Facts

We often get this questions from people doing DIY home renovations.So we thought we would put some of the key points into one of our blogs. 

Step 1 - Should I Mix Cement By Hand or Invest In A Cement Mixer?

Deciding whether you want to use a cement mixer or you want to be brave and do it by hand is an easy choice. We would recommend using a mixer, either electrical or petrol powered will work fine. If you are just doing this for a once off projects, there are lots of places in Ireland where you can rent a good quality mixer. For those that want to purchase one, head on down to your local Homevalue Hardware.

Step 2 - Stay Safe

Max sure to get yourself a pair of goggles and a repertory mask. There will be dust and wet cement flying everywhere and you do not want these materials anywhere near your lungs or eyes. We would also highly recommend a good pair of builder’s gloves to ensure you do not get stuck to your cement mixer!

Homevalue DIY Tip – Use Protective Wear When Mixing Cement, Builder Gloves Can Ensure You Don’t End Up Stuck To Your Mixer

Step 3 – Get Your Concrete Mix Ration, Just Right  

The ideal concrete mix ratio is one part cement to three parts sand and three parts gravel/aggregate. This will produce a concrete mix of approximately 3000psi. So for example if you use a 25kg bag of cement you will need 75kg of sand, 75kg of gravel/aggregate and a heavy duty builder’s wheelbarrow! For the most part, where people go wrong is when it comes to adding water. A general rule of thumb is the amount of water you use should weigh the same as the amount of cement you would use. So in the above scenario to get the correct ration, you would need to use 25kg of water.  The less water you use the harder your concrete is.

The perfect concrete mix ration is almost an art form, most experienced builders know when the consistency is right. We would recommend if you are a DIY enthusiast trying it out for the first time to do some research first.

Homevalue DIY Tip - The Ideal Concrete Mix Ratio Is 1 part cement to 3 parts sand and 3 parts gravel/aggregate

Step 4 – Keep Your Tools Safe

Mixing cement can be a messy business. Make sure to scrub your tools and wheelbarrow straight away with a heavy duty brush with stiff-bristles.

Some Key Points To Keep in Mind

Cement and Concrete – What’s The Difference

When a builder rocks into one of our stores asking for cement we normally just give him a bag of 25kg bag of Irish Cement. If, on the other hand he asks for some concrete, we normally have a few follow-up questions. For someone who is new to using cement however, the difference between, cement, concrete and gravel can be a touch confusing. 

The prime difference between concrete and cement is that cement, simply put, is just a part of concrete. Oher parts are water, sand, oxygen or anything else that was lying around that was accidentally shovelled into the concrete mixer. Essentially concrete is the stone-like structure that is left after cement and other materials have been mixed together.

Homevalue DIY Tip - Concrete is the stone-like structure that is left after cement and other materials have been mixed together.

What Is Portland Cement?

We are often asked, what Portland cement is and how it is different to normal cement. Normally our response is “Portland cement is normal cement”. We say this because Portland cement is the most common cement in the world and this is particularly true in Ireland. The reason that Portland cement is so common in Ireland is that the key ingredient is limestone and as we all know Ireland is practically made out of limestone.

Ireland’s major manufacturers of cement are Irish Cement located in County Louth and Quinn Cement located in Enniskillen and here at Homevalue we sell both by the truck load on a daily basis. Both of these producers, almost exclusively, produce Portland cement.

You will also find that most white cement is Portland cement. White cement is predominantly used for decorative purposes, we sell quote a bit of it to landscapers. The most commonly sold white cement in our stores is Adana White Cement which is also a Portland cement.

Homevalue DIY Tip - Portland cement is the most common cement in the world and this is particularly true in Ireland.