Before building a design of any complexity, the foundation is mandatory to set. Its task is to withstand the weight of the construction, guarantee its stability, a long period of operation, counteract the shift or high humidity. All of these advantages are achieved with complete success, if you use high -quality concrete.
How the concrete brand is defined: some tips
The brand of concrete ordered and brought for construction should be indicated in the documentation. But if negligence or the developer doubts the quality of the product, knowing how the concrete brand is determined, he will be able to do the analysis independently. The procedure contains several stages:
Build a small box (10 by10 by 10cm)
Be sure to moisturize with water
pour concrete, taking it from a tray
Stir well before removing all voids
seal, hitting the walls
Store 28 days at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius
attribute to the laboratory for analysis, where the qualities of samples for compression will be determined
Preliminary opinion about the quality of the goods may form even at the stage of hardening the mixture. For 6 days in warm weather and 12 with increased air humidity, the mass in the box freezes by 70%.
Important!
The brand can be checked on the finished structure using several methods that are carried out by special devices:
elastic rebound
ultrasound
Taping and slipping
How classification of concrete is carried out by brands
The concrete brand acts as the main indicator of its strength after completely solidified. In the documentation attached to it, it is indicated by the letter «m». The full range of brands ranges from M50 to M100, but the most popular is from M100 to M500. The choice predetermines the load requirements that the design will wear, compression strength.
Classification of concrete by brands is necessary to determine what kind of use to build structures. Use the mixture with the highest compression strength for the courtyard construction, as this is unjustified in financial terms.
In addition, it is more difficult to work with such a material, since it sets very quickly: any road traffic jam, simple in construction can lead to its premature hardening. M200-350 is most often used to fill the foundation of private houses, since it fully meets all the necessary requirements.
Advice!
In no case should you dilute the hardened mixture with water. This will not give a positive result. And even if it turns out to stir it, concrete will lose its qualities, leading to additional financial costs for reconstruction.
The composition of concrete for filling the foundation is not difficult:
cement
gravel or crushed stone
sand
water
Important!
If the creation creates on its own, make sure that gravel or crushed stone contains the particle different in its size. This will improve the filling of voids, therefore, the astringent properties of cement. And one more thing: sand, and gravel should not contain clay, which will worsen the general condition of the finished foundation.
As a rule, to create 1m3 concrete, it is used:
300 kg of cement (6 bags)
180kg of water
1300 kg of gravel or gravel
650 kg of sand
Which concrete brand is stronger for construction work?
It is difficult enough to unequivocally answer the question: “Which brand of concrete is stronger?». It all depends on what needs it will be used. M500 — 1000 is used for the construction of hydraulic facilities, structures of increased complexity, with high requirements. To carry out preparatory work, the filling of the floors is quite enough M100-150. M200-350 is ideal for filling any type of foundation.
Advice!
With independent preparation of the mixture, the brand of cement should be 2 times superior to the brand of concrete, which should be ultimately. For example: for M200, we buy cement M400.