Any construction associated with the pouring of concrete will not cost without such a substance as cement. However, it is actually used everywhere (on finishing, masonry, plastering works, etc.).
High demand led to a great abundance of goods in the market. Now it differs not only in characteristics and manufacturers, but in composition.
But, as you know, not all of them are high-quality and useful to use. Due to incorrectly selected material, the structure may soon begin to collapse.
To avoid this you need to know which cement is better to choose for certain purposes. The marking will help us.
What is cement marking?
Brand on the package is a description of which you can choose the best cement for one or another type of activity. It is determined after laboratory testing. They are not relevant for all varieties of material.
Glazymatic, Slagoportland cement and fast-hardening are experiencing on another technology. For experience, create a sample of sand and, accordingly, substances in the ratio of 3: 1, give it the form of parallelepiped with the sides of 40 × 40 × 160 mm. Then, within 28 days, the copy is compressed with increasing force.
It is marked in accordance with two parameters: the composition and ability to withstand the load. For example, "M" and the figure near it (M200) denotes the severity that it is able to withstand kg / cm2, the letter "D" and the number (D20, D30, D40) means the percentage of additives.
For the foundation, cement is suitable with the class of strength M400 and M500, it is the most durable among the others. M350-500 is considered the most popular. For the final repair phase, it is customary to use M200-M300.
Decoding marking
- SS is not destroyed in an aggressive salt environment. Suitable for hydraulic structures.
- The HPC contains more than 20% of additives (plaster not more than 5%, clinker minerals with 6% magnesium, domain slags). It has good heat-resistant and resistance to sulfate water.
- WRC - preferably used in wet conditions, as it is waterproof. The main advantage of its advantage is fast frost.
- PC is the main binder in construction (Portland cement).
- BC is white (for decoration or restoration).
- B (fast) - used to create reinforced concrete structures.
- Pl - has increased frost resistance and plasticity.
- GF - combined the qualities of WCR and PL.
- H is a clinker prepared on the basis of a threecalcium aluminate content (s) in an amount of no more than 8%.
First you need to decide on the supplier. Recommended how to explore the seller's reviews.
Select a manufacturer's country. The best option will be the domestic company. Its products will be fresher than a foreign merchant, which is very important.
The goods can be purchased by weight and in a packaged form. Of course, it is better to give preference to the second, as you will know what you are offered.
When purchased, scrupulously study the appearance of the product. According to GOST 2226, the paper bag must be three-layer or four-layer, high-quality sewn (glued) with a sealed neck and valve marks. The bottom is the photo of cement (packaging), which corresponds to GOST.
Carefully read all the information present on it, you will help you decide on the choice.
Ask for sellers to see all certificates and passports. Without the presence of these documents, you risk being deceived. For example, some unscrupulous merchants mix the classes, add to the sand mix, and then there are several kilograms at all.
Do not regret money. Of course, everyone wants to save, but in this case this is the most incorrect decision. After all, if you acquire poor-quality material, it can strongly affect the durability of the construction.
The price largely depends on the number of impurities. What they are more - the cheaper and low-quality products. In addition, manufacturers can reduce the cost due to transportation.
Pay attention to the shelf life (60 days) and storage conditions. If the goods ignore, it becomes not suitable for use. Be extremely careful when buying wholesale. Carefully check each package to the parameters you need, mass and date of packaging.
Make sure that the mixture is crumbly and not raw, it is enough to knock on the corners of the bag. Feelings should not resemble a stone kick.
Photo of cement
By purchasing cement in the store, most people have no idea which cement is better to choose. First of all, you should ask yourself a question, what role he will perform - will be laid as a foundation or. The wrong selection of the material may lead to the fact that under the influence of external factors and a large load, a frozen cement solution will begin to collapse and crack.
Varieties of cementIn order to use the cement, the most rationally and economically, it is important to know the specifics of working with a brand name and manufacturer. At the moment, the material producers are a great set, so the usual consumer is not easy to figure it out in its numerous classification.
General concept
Initially, the material is a powder, which includes binding clinker, filler and other additional substances. When combined with water, it becomes a plastic mixture, called cement test.
Initially, the material is a gray powder Wrapped full solidification, you will make sure that the liquid solution is able to turn into a durable stone.
Varieties of cement
The builders have a wide demand for the builders today. Another type of cement mass is Slagoportoncent (SPC) - it is characterized by such properties:
- withstands contact with river and sulfate water, which is a soil;
- poorly preserved at minus temperatures;
- characteristics of the required strength are manifested only after 4 weeks;
- perfectly withstands maximum temperatures, up to 600-800 degrees Celsius.
The SPC is not suitable for creating concrete, which is regularly influenced by low temperatures. However, this type of building material is ideal for laying indoors where heating has been conducted.
No special conditions for storage are needed, the material is stored longer than Portland cement. The full-fledged hardening occurs after 6 hours, taking into account the air temperature + 18 ... + 22 degrees, while portland cement is enough 2-3 hours. All work with the SPEC should be completed during the first 3 hours, after which it loses elasticity and may begin to crack in further processing.
Popular manufacturers of CIS countries
Not bad characteristics shows the cement produced in the CIS countries.
Consumers leaving feedback on the relevant forums, regularly mention in the positive context of Ambrosievsky cement, the obvious advantages of which are the rapid pouring of the solution and the convenient packaging of packages by 25 kg to the bag, which greatly facilitates the work process.
Regarding the Balaclayeuchea plant, you should pay attention to a variety of brands in the classification of cement mass, which also has also established itself from a good side, which cannot be said about the Kiev manufacturer - a complete inconsistency of the type of products declared on bag labels.
Conclusion
Now you know what you need to pay attention to when buying cement, how to determine the quality of the material and not to get into the bait of the fraudster.
Practice has shown - it is impossible to select one manufacturer or a mixture brand suitable simultaneously for finishing and capital repair and construction work. Reliable helpers with the selection will be the proven construction store and the manufacturer.
Types of material for foundation
Many builders know that only the choice of the proper grade of cement for the foundation guarantees its strength and durability. After all, cement is a mixture of mineral and organic substances, which, while compliance with water proportions, provide excellent binding properties. And if it is also added to the mixture to the mixture, then the composition will also acquire antibacterial and antifungal properties. But the cement for the foundation is needed special. After all, this is a key binder for the team design, it is from it a monolithic basis. The concrete mix is \u200b\u200bmade from cement, sand, rubble, lime and water in various proportions. Only if you comply with building standards, then there will be excellent durable monolith. But what cement is better for the foundation of the house? What products will be optimal to obtain a high-quality concrete mix?
Cement Brand Choice for Home
Solution for foundation
Now in the building materials market, you can buy cement of various brands, where the number corresponds to the dispersion of the material. Also, some plants produce the so-called dust cement, which is characterized by high knitting characteristics, is used in the construction of drilling rigs, but is produced in limited quantities and is very expensive. The most popular among builders remains portland cement, which is made with special additives.
It is additives that provide the necessary binding characteristics, perform different functions. Starting from providing frost resistance to a solution, protect the concrete from aggressive media, and also improve the speed of solidification.
When buying cement, you need to decide on the product brand. If buying cement with a higher brand, then a robust design is obtained, and it indicates the speed of solidification of the solution. Also on the package there are special indices that indicate a number of other cement characteristics:
- D0 is a clean product without additives;
- D20 - there are 20% mineral supplements in the composition;
- N - normalized. The composition has a normalized clinker filler.
- B - fast-hardening. This is a composition that is quickly able to harden.
- PC is Portland cement.
- BC is a white cement. In most cases, such a product is used in finishing work, facade and aesthetic works.
- Pl - plasticized, it is distinguished by high frost resistance.
- GF - hydrophobic. This specific type of material is distinguished by high levels of frost resistance, but it is not immediately absorbed by water.
- CC - sulfate-resistant. An excellent solution in the construction of foundations and finishing work under conditions with the emergence of aggressive environments.
- WRC - waterproof. This is a special type of product, which, when hardening, expands and practically does not let water.
What brand of cement is better to use when building a foundation?
Select brand cement It is worth remembering about the properties and characteristics of a particular soil. For dry soil, it is better to buy an ordinary portland cement with a M500 D0 brand. Then it turns out a solution with the M350 brand. The proportions depend on the type of foundation, the most popular (for the construction of monolithic foundations) - this one part of the product takes two parts of the sand and four parts of the rubble and then water is added with uniform stirring to obtain the necessary consistency of the solution.
You can always seek help for help from professional builders who themselves will tell what product and what brand is better and what proportions will be optimal for the solution, as well as which sandy mixture is better to choose the dispersion and origin of the sand.
- Mark M400 and PC400 (D20) is used in a small construction of single-storey houses, utility buildings or in the construction of private infrastructure facilities. For such foundations, durability and maximum load per unit area of \u200b\u200bthe base plays a non-core role, so such a brand is ideal when comparing price-quality.
- M400 brand and PC400 (D0) according to properties is almost identical to the D20, but there are no impurities in it. Therefore, it is used in the construction of the grounds to which the requirements for high moisture resistance and frost resistance are put forward.
- M500 and PC500 (D20) is optimal in the construction of large industrial and administrative buildings, as well as high-rise residential buildings.
- PC500 (D0) is also used in the erection of large industrial facilities in conditions of protection against frost and moisture.
During the construction of grounds, fillers are also used. For example, a sandy mixture. First of all, the sand should be clean, without large fractions, sifted, because impurities can worsen the quality of concrete. To check the sand for purity, you can simply pour it with water and leave to stand for a day. If water is lubble, then such sand for the construction of the foundation is not suitable, it contains water-soluble mineral and organic impurities and salts.
When buying gravel, you need to remember, for what purposes it is purchased. If it is necessary to build a foundation for a small one-storey building, then it is advisable to buy gravel with a fraction of 0.8 cm. If the foundation is monolithic with reinforcement, then the fraction must be an order of magnitude less, 0.3 is allowed.
Checking cement for quality and compliance with construction standards
How to choose cement Some manufacturers are fumbled focusing the date of production of their product, but there are situations where the folk craftsmen buy cement with a mound and tritely facing their containers. In such cases, you must first check it on hardness, and it must be remembered that in the corners of the cement bag is hardly faster than in the center.
The contents of the bag should be gray with a characteristic cutting odor. Fresh cement is soft to the touch, it flows and seeps between the fingers. Moreover, if it is squeezed in a fist, it turns out a lump, which quickly crumbles and does not fit.
But even if you open the bag and detect small lumps there, then this is not fatal. You need to check how they scatter. If from the slightest contact, then the cement is simply not quite fresh. But you can use it. But if the lumps are already durable, they formed a stone, they are hard to rub it, then it is impossible to buy cement - it is no longer suitable for construction.
Assessment of the composition of cement
To check the composition of the cement and its practical quality, you can use mineral water with hydrocarbonate composition, but non-carbonated. With such water and cement, a tough solution is mixed with thin edges and a thickened center. If the cement is made with high-quality materials and does not contain additives, then such a tortilla will freeze in 10-15 minutes, and it is hard to destroy, especially the center. During the frozen, the pellet is noticeably heated and changes its color to blue-green. But not every cement will give such an effect, much depends on the manufacturer. If the pellet even froze in half an hour, remains soft to the touch, then the cement does not differ in good knitting properties and contains foreign impurities that are not specified on the package. It is not worth using it for filling the base, it gives cracks after hardening and does not heat up.
On the test sample can be placed in the package and leave for a day in a warm place. If during this period, the pellet lost its original form, cracks appeared, then use such cement in construction is strictly prohibited.
It is also worth remembering that cement is considered key building material in the construction of foundations. Even the sandy mixture plays a smaller role in the composition of the solution. Therefore, it is not necessary to save on this product and immediately buy high-quality cement, and proven and popular among builders manufacturers.
"Cement Cement - Returns." This obvious statement has gained a negative color after the recent raid of the Independent Commission from the Society of Consumer Society of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region on the construction hypermarkets of St. Petersburg. As a result of the audit, it turned out that no more than 10 percent of the tarred cement corresponds to the standards of the GOST of Russia. It is logical that in the midst of the season, construction hypermarkets offer a fairly large selection of cement. An ordinary consumer often arises the question of which cement to choose.
It is not necessary to find high-quality cement and simply, because of 20 types of cement, which managed to check for quality, the overwhelming majority is packed in the same type of gray bags, without any "identification signs". There were no reliable information necessary for the consumer. In this article, we will try to determine how high-quality cement should be, and we will give advice that will help distinguish high-quality cement from the fake.
What information should the buyer have to choose a good cement? The briefing provided by the Company of Consumers of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region will help to answer this question.
Which cement to choose: step by step instructions
2. You need to decide between the manufacturers.
The choice in favor of domestic manufacturers can be the only true, as they are on one territory with you, which makes it possible to prevent possible claims directly.
On the contrary, it is impossible to prevent complaints to the foreign manufacturer. Meanwhile, reasons for lawsuits are abuse. Imported products entering the Russian market sometimes, so to speak, not always fresh. The reason is that the design of documents and the delivery of the goods itself need a lot of time, and for cement this fact may become disastrous. The captured cement quickly loses its properties, thereby its consumption increases several times.
3. Now carefully study the packaging. At the cement, which is packaged by the manufacturer in bags, its weight is indicated. Standard factory packaging is designed for 25 and 50 kg. High-quality cement will be packed in four-layer (or three-layer) paper bags according to GOST 2226, glued (or stitched) with valve brands NM, BM, BMP with a closed neck - this is a mandatory requirement for any factory packaging.
4. We read and evaluate information on the package. It should contain all the characteristics of cement and information about its manufacturer.
Ask certificates and quality passports. They should be in the presence of the seller. Otherwise, you can become a victim of fraudsters who go to all sorts of tricks. In particular, many of them mix different cement stamps. But these are still Polbie - together with the cement in the bag, it is possible to detect substances of incomprehensible origin, or not to be selected by several kilograms of the total weight of cement. Remember! On the package must be labeled, and the contact details of the manufacturer or organization are prescribed, which this cement packaging.
5. Let us evaluate the cement brand. The cement brand is one of its main characteristics, is used to designate strength. The higher the cement brand, the stronger the concrete structures obtained on its basis. This is an axiom.
Buying cement, you need to pay attention not only to the label itself, but also that it is affixed according to GOST. So, if the cement is certified according to the current GOST 31108-2003, marking for high-quality cement, in this case, will be CEM I 42.5. For additional cement - CEM II / A-W 32.5. According to the State Standard 10178-85, such cement comes with Marking PC500 D0 and PC400 D20. For cement with a rapid-hardening species, the letter "B", and the letter "H" - for normal-hardening.
6. We are aspage. Of course, a desire immediately arises - choose a cheaper product. However, low cost is usually synonymous with poor quality. This fact is especially important if you buy cement specifically for high-strength and durable structures.
Due to what is the low price? First, the price of cement can be reduced by adding different impurities. It is ash, granite dust and other materials, externally resembling cement, but only externally. In fact, it is nothing more than ordinary diluents. The use of such cement can lead to serious defects, which over time will be shown in one or another construction. Secondly, some suppliers reduce prices by saving transport and storage. As a result, such savings inevitably leads to a decrease in the quality of cement. Consider what the price of cement is formed:
a) brand cement. What she is higher, the more expensive it is.
b) scope. Always a special cement is more expensive than general.
c) sale form. Bulk cement is cheaper than in bags.
7. We draw attention to the date of packaging. It should be remembered that the longer the cement bag is in stock or in the store, the worse the quality of the goods.
60 days - the shelf life of cement established by GOST. It should be noted here that the requirements itself, on the mandatory directions of the date on the container, are not in Guest. Naturally, no one does not specify the date. The accompanying documents indicate the batch number of the goods and its characteristics.
Also, you need to be extremely careful when buying a product wholesale. You must necessarily check the shelf life of each package. It is important to find out from the seller all the conditions for storing the goods. It is even better - to check these conditions, personally making sure that the cement was stored under normal conditions. To do this, it is enough just to try the bag from different sides. If it is soft, without suspiciously discovering solid lumps, the goods can be accommodated.
What is characteristic, poor-quality cement is most often for sale in the height of the construction season, and not only in large construction stores and hypermarkets. Those who want to make money on our trust turns out to be a lot. Therefore, our advice to you: take the cement only in proven places. A guarantee that you have purchased a quality product can only be obtained if:
a) Cement is sold in corporate packaging.
b) The goods were packaged at the cement factory.
And the last to make sure the product is 100 percent, take a "sample" one bag to further eliminate the possible financial losses.