Is Mastercrete too posh for below ground blockwork?

[epsilonGreedy]

Put another way, I am about to order 25 bags of cement for the footing blockwork below ground and could save a few ££ buying standard cement.

 

Also while on this subject would 5 tons of sand be enough to get me started? My local building adviser has recommend a particular sand from a local quarry which he described as being at the sharp-end of soft sand.

[PeterW]

Whatever you order you want to get it in plastic bags. Cement is cement tbh

 

5 tonnes is a fair bit - how many blocks are you laying and what mix is specified..?? Admix too..?

[epsilonGreedy]

Mastercrete comes in weather proof plastic bags so maybe this dictates my choice.

 

Bluecircle/Tarmac sell Mastercrete at a fair old premium about 20%, they must stir in some magic.

 

I don't want to order too much sand before my final facing brick mortar colour recipe is finalized. One part lime + 1 part Rugby White cement + 6 parts orange sand is given a half decent colour match to my sample brick panel created by the plot seller.

 

I was working on 100 blocks per 1000lbs of sand plus a margin because many of these blocks will be laid flat.

[Declan52]

Are you going to use white cement in a footing?? 

Bog standard Portland cement as long as it doesn't say Quinn on the bag.

Don't forget you will need a mix or 2 to grout your floor up.

Quarry sand is always better as it's dirty sand. If it comes from a Lough like loads of places here it's too clean and won't hold water and goes to fluff.

[PeterW]

Hanson MultiCem also comes in plastic bags and isn't Mastercrete prices

 

Use this calculator as a rough guide but 12 bags cement to 1 bag sand and 450 blocks isn't far off.

 

So 25 bags would give need 2 tonnes sand and 900 blocks laid there or thereabouts. 

 

[dpmiller]

tubs seem like a load less hassle.  Arrive to start work in the AM, fresh tub waiting.

[PeterW]

I usually go tubs as the waste - and noise and mess - is much less. 

 

From memory its £52 per tub (1/3 cube) delivered

[epsilonGreedy]

8 hours ago, Declan52 said:

Are you going to use white cement in a footing?? 

 

 

No, white cement above dpc for the buff bricks as it is a planning condition. 

 

Quarry price is £19 per ton plus vat but the catch is a flat fee of £54 for delivery on an 11 ton capable wagon. I just want to order enough for the footings and blue engineering bricks below damp. If I only order 3 tons the effective price is nearly £40 per ton, were it not for the mortar colour quandry I would order 10 tons to see me through half the build at an effective price of £25 per ton.

[PeterW]

Factor in losing 15% of the sand to waste as a big unbounded heap ends up everywhere. Does your BM not do it by the bag ..? £5/ton difference is nowt in the big scheme of things and you can keep it covered too 

[epsilonGreedy]

28 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Factor in losing 15% of the sand to waste as a big unbounded heap ends up everywhere. Does your BM not do it by the bag ..? £5/ton difference is nowt in the big scheme of things and you can keep it covered too 

 

 

I want to control the source of the sand though I do see your handling logic for the quantity being considered in the footings. I will enquire tomorrow if they ship their sand via local BMs. The quarry office was helpful when I popped in for a chat and they suggested sourcing my sand from Yorkshire if I want to bump my test mortar sample further along the colour scale from grey to a sandy buff.

 

Once the blockwork has started I will have a load of profile wood boards and pegs to create a bund for the sand pile.

[dpmiller]

17 hours ago, Declan52 said:

Are you going to use white cement in a footing?? 

Bog standard Portland cement as long as it doesn't say Quinn on the bag.

Don't forget you will need a mix or 2 to grout your floor up.

Quarry sand is always better as it's dirty sand. If it comes from a Lough like loads of places here it's too clean and won't hold water and goes to fluff.

Is any of our local sand *not* from Lough Neagh, @Declan52?

[Declan52]

22 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

Is any of our local sand *not* from Lough Neagh, @Declan52?

I got all mine from a quarry outside Cookstown. I could walk to where they take the sand out of the Lough from my house. It's great for football pitches etc just never liked it when building.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Declan52

[Brickie]

I’m going to buck the trend here & say don’t bother with plastic bagged cement. In my experience,you have to cover it anyway as the chances of there not being a pin prick hole in the odd bag is zero,so any decent rainfall & you’ve got wasted (more expensive )bags. Spend a few quid on a couple of tarpaulins & get the bags dropped on pallets to keep them off the ground. Tarps will get used again & again as you go through your build,so a sound investment. 

Also,my experience of Rugby cement (albeit some years ago) was that it was horrible-tacky & very hard to do a clean job with. Might be worth doing a trial run in the footings just with one mix of your proposed superstructure mortar & get feedback from your brickie. 

Edited July 25, 2018 by Brickie