Youn Can Do Small Concrete Jobs

It is not unusual for someone in the concrete block making business to be asked to do various kinds of small concrete jobs for customers. This is actually a very good source of some extra revenue. Ready Mix concrete which is sold in bags is the fast and easy way to do this work. You just have to add water to the dry concrete mix and you will have top quality concrete which can be used to do any job. You can, if you wish, mix the concrete from scratch but it is simply not worthwhile for a small job. The only possible error you can make with the use of dry concrete mixes is to add too much water. If you do this accidentally, which will happen occasionally, just add additional dry mix to correct the problem.

The tools you will require for this work are a pointed trowel, a wooden float and a rectangular finishing trowel. When you are making repairs on concrete there are certain rules which it is necessary to follow. All loose material must first be removed. Cracks in the concrete should be chiselled out so that they are wider at the bottom than at the top. This "keys" in the repair material so that it will not break loose. Before pouring the concrete into a crack, saturate the old work with water. This will prevent the water from being leeched out of the new concrete.

Concrete uses water to initiate a chemical reaction which causes the cement particles to bind onto the sand and gravel in order to form a solid rock like mass.
Lack of sufficient water will make a weak crumbly concrete that will very soon deteriorate and have to be replaced. Too much water is also a bad thing as it floats away the cement particles from the sand and gravel.

Pre-made mortar mixes are the best solution for building a fireplace,barbeque or the foundation for a small building. The correct proportions of sand,cement and lime in these premixed bags gives a consistent color and quality of work.

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Concrete Block Manufacturing

Concrete block manufacturing is a great business to be in. The demand for cinder blocks is always strong since cement blocks are a staple of the building industry.Concrete blocks are used to build everything from huge buildings to small backyard compost bins.The market is huge everywhere and continues to grow.

As a concrete block manufacturer you are making concrete products which are always in demand. You are not making here today gone tomorrow widgets which become a craze for a short time then die out. Cinder blocks will always be in demand as long as building is going on.

A small concrete block manufacturing business has many advantages over a large company. Overhead costs can be kept very low for one man working from home. This results in very competitive pricing for your concrete products.A distant manufacturer will have high transportation costs in delivering to your area. Cement blocks are heavy and bulky making them costly to transport.As a local masnufacturer you have no such costs. The concrete building block has long deen a commodity of the building trades and will continue to be in heavy and increasing demand.Check out my website for lots more info on making concrete blocks and other concrete products:
Make concrete blocks

Concrete Block Products

When you start out as a concrete block manufacturer you will concentrate on making standard concrete blocks as used for building block walls or a block concrete foundation for a building. As you get further into the concrete products business you will expand into making a number of different types of concrete block products.

Concrete bricks of standard brick size are quite widely used and can be easily made. Decorative concrete blocks of various styles are in strong demand for building block concrete walls and dividers. Concrete patio slabs are always a strong seller.You can wholesale concrete blocks to building supply stores or retail them directly to the consumer.Either way you will do very well with your low overhead costs.

Homes with block concrete foundations are very common and this is a great market for your concrete precast blocks.A block machine is your best asset for volume production which keeps labor costs down and enables you to quote the best concrete block prices. See our website for lots more free info on concrete block making :Concrete blocks

Make concrete And Concrete Blocks

The recipe for making concrete is very simple. The ingredients are Portland cement,sand,gravel and water. Sand and gravel are referred to as aggregates. Sometimes other aggregates such as crushed stone or cinders are used.

When Portland cement is mixed with water a chemical reaction takes place which makes the cement harden. In doing so it binds together the sand and gravel mixed with it to become one solid rocklike mass.

Many varieties of cement are made of which five are commonly used and available at most suppliers.

STANDARD CEMENT. This is ordinary grey cement. Used for all general construction. If you don't specify otherwise this is what you will get when you buy cement.

WHITE CEMENT. Similar in all properties to standard cement except that it is white in color. Used to mix light colored concrete and mortar and for making colored cement.

HIGH EARLY STRENGTH CEMENT. Hardens and develops strength much faster than standard cement. Allows quick use of driveways and walks.

AIR ENTRAINED CEMENT. This is not as strong as standard cement but has high resistance to frost and salt. Useful where salt is applied for ice and snow removal.

MASONRY CEMENT. A special mixture for use with sand to make mortar. Has more plasticity,water retention and ease of handling.

The type of concrete mix is expressed by three numbers such as 1:2:4 which means 1 part cement, 2 parts sand and 4 parts gravel or stone. To make good concrete you must measure ingredients accurately.

If you don't want to mix your own you can buy,at somewhat higher cost,prepackaged mixes. These contain the right proportion of ingredients to which you only need to add water.

Concrete can be mixed by hand on a plywood sheet at least 4 by 6 feet. It can also be mixed on a
concrete sidewalk or driveway. Mix the cement and sand till completely blended then add the gravel and mix till coated with cement. Make a crater in the middle of the pile and pour in about half the measured amount of water. Rake the sides of the pile up and into the water. When all the water is absorbed make a new crater and add the rest of the water.

Mixing large amounts of concrete by hand is hard work. It is better to buy or rent a concrete mixer if you need a lot of concrete. These instructions for how to make concrete are very simple and will provide you with good concrete.

You can also make your own concrete blocks using hand made molds. This is a great home business opportunity. Concrete blocks are always in strong demand everywhere and you can have a home part time business supplying them to building supply stores or directly to consumers.

Working from your garage your costs are very low and you can turn out a quality product at a very competitive price. When you reach the stage of needing increased production you can build a concrete block making machine from auto parts and sheet metal

This home built concrete block machine can turn out 800 or more blocks per day and is every bit as good as a commercial model which costs thousands of dollars. Plans and instructions for making the machine and the hand molds are readily available.

Would you like to know how to make molds and a concrete block making machine? Would you like to have your own business manufacturing concrete blocks? See our website for lots of information and available plans: Concrete blocks

A Concrete Block Business--How To Get Started

The simplest way to get started in the concrete block business is to make your blocks with hand molds. You can make these molds very easily and be up and running in no time. You can find out how to do this at our website Concrete blocks

Making concrete blocks by hand using molds is a labor intensive process and one person can make about 100 blocks per day by this method. It remains the best and least expensive way to start your business however.

You will need the capacity to make more blocks soon and the best way to achieve this is with a concrete block making machine. These are great machines which can do everything from start to finish in making blocks and will turn out perfectly made cement blocks at a rate of 100 per hour or more.

Concrete block making machines are quite expensive to buy. However you can build a machine using just some auto parts and a few odds and ends. This concrete block machine works really well and is capable of making up to 800 cement blocks in a normal 8 hour workday. Plans and instructions for building this good machine can be obtained at our website make concrete blocks.
The concrete block manufacturing business is a great business to be in. Your start up costs are very low and demand for concrete products is always good. Concrete blocks

Making Concrete Blocks As A Business

Making concrete blocks is an excellent business which can be started at very low cost. You can start with hand molds which are easy to make and can turn out 100 or more blocks per day this way.
When you require to make more blocks as your business grows you can acquire or build a concrete block making machine. Purchasing one of these machines is quite costly but you can build an equally good machine yourself.
With this machine you can turn out 800 blocks per day. You will require a helper to remove the blocks and stack them for drying and curing.
You can also make many other concrete products such as patio blocks,garden furniture,bird baths and fountains,garden ornaments and more. Plans for making these items are available from our website.
To check it all out and get the full story about this concrete opportunity just take a look at: Concrete blocks

Mix Good Concrete Properly

When you are mixing concrete you need to make the right mixture for the job of making concrete blocks. You want to make really good concrete which will form a solid, cohesive concrete block which will not crumble. To accomplish this you need to use the correct mixture of Portland cement,sand,gravel and water.

An excellent method for doing this is to make a wooden box 27 by 24 inches and 10 inches in depth. Then to get the right mixture use one bag of Portland cement and mix with it one boxful of sand and two boxes of gravel.

You can use a cement mixer or mix this batch by hand. To do it manually spread a tarp or a plastic sheet on the floor or do it on a sheet of plywood. Pour all the dry ingredients into a heap and then with a shovel keep turning them over till they are well mixed. Be sure that they are mixed well or you will not make a good homogenous concrete mix.

Make a hole in the centre of the heap and shovel the mix up round the hole. Then take precisely 14 gallons of clean water and pour a little at a time into the center hole and scrape the surrounding mix into it gradually. Gradually pour water into the hole till the whole batch is well mixed. Your concrete will now be ready for use.

Using a cement mixer of course makes the job considerably easier. You can put the same amounts of dry ingredients into the cement mixer the and turn it on till the ingredients are completely mixed. Then gradually add the water to the mix and run the machine till you have a smooth mixture.

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Your Concrete Products Business

When you make concrete blocks as a business you are producing a basic commodity. they are something that is always in demand and will be as long as building goes on.This is the basic product of your business and the one which will make the most money for you since the demand is huge and always growing.

There are however many other concrete products which you can add to your manufacturing line and they can be very profitable. Such things as concrete bird baths and fountains are extremely popular in todays gardens. You can buy commercial molds to make bird baths and fountains or you can make your own molds. Some can in fact be made without using any mold.

You can find out how to make your own molds from our website Concrete blocks. The commercial molds are good but they are quite expensive. Making your own molds or making the items without a mold saves a lot of money For some more interesting information see our Squidoo lens at makeconcreteblocks

Sizes And Shapes Of Concrete Blocks

Concrete blocks are made in sizes which are always in fractional form.The reason is that the standard mortar joint is 3/8 inch in size and when added to the block dimensions this will come out an even number. For instance a standard stretcher block is 15 5/ 8 inches long. with a 3/8 inch mortar joint this gives an even 16 inches.This makes it easier to calculate the quantity of blocks needed for a job and makes walls an even number in height and length.

Concrete blocks are made in both heavy and lightweight types and in full length and half length sizes.The half lengths are necessary so that the joints in a wall can be offset by a half block length to ensure stronger construction.

The most commonly used block is the stretcher block which is nominally 8 inches by 8 inches by 16 inches in size. It has three hollow cores to make it lighter and to save on materials. The heavyweight block weighs 43 to 50 lbs as a rule. The lightweight block which is used only for non load bearing construction is about 10 lbs lighter.
Check out my website for a lot more free info and resources on the concrete manufacturing business: Concrete blocks

Materials For Making Concrete Blocks

Concrete blocks are made from a mixture of Portland cement,gravel,sand and water.The product is a light grey colored block with a finely textured surface and high compressive strength. Weight of the block depends on its size of course but the commonest variety weighs in at around 38 to 43 lbs.

The concrete mix used to make concrete blocks has less water and sand than concrete used for general construction purposes. This makes for a dry quite stiff mixture which retains its shape when emptied from the mold.

Cinder blocks are made by using coal cinders or volcanic cinders instead of gravel and sand in the concrete mix. The product is a dark grey colored block with a coarse to medium surface texture. compressive strength is less than that of standard blocks. Insulation qualities of the block are higher and sound deadening properties are improved with this type of block. A common cinder block weighs aboput 26 to 33 lbs.

Lightweight concrete blocks are maded by using expanded clay,slate or shale instead of sand and gravel. Expanded clay,shale and slate are made by crushing the raw material to small size then heating to 2000 degrees Fahreheit(1093 degrees centigrade).The heat causes organic material in the basic materials to vaporise and puff up the clay. a lightweight block of this type is used only in non load bearing walls and partitions and commonly weighs 22 to 28 lbs.

The concrete mix may also have chemicals added to hasten drying time,improve compressive strength or workability of the materials. colored pigments are sometimes added to produce colored blocks.The surface of the block is sometimes glazed for decoration or to prevent chemical dissolution.

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Concrete Blocks

The primary use of concrete blocks is for constructing walls. These may be foundation walls for a home,sides of a barbeque, in the backyard, or complete walls for a building.

A variety of precast concrete products are used by the building trades with blocks being just one of them. Concrete blocks generally have hollow cavities on the inside to lessen weight and quantity of material used. There may be one or more such hollow cavities depending on the type of block.

The sides of the blocks may be smooth or they may have a cast design included. When in use, for building, the blocks are stacked on one another taking care to keep the rows absolutely straight and level. The joints are offset by half a block in the rows to increase strength of the wall. They are held together with concrete mortar which dries to form a hard bond.

You might think that concrete mortar is a relatively modern development but this is not the case. In ancient Roman times as early as 200 BC concrete mortar was used with shaped stones in building. In the era of 37-41 AD small precast concrete blocks were used in the Naples area of Italy for construction.

Unfortunately during the fall of the Roman empire in the 5th Century A.D.most of the concrete technology which had been developed ny the Romans became lost. Concrete technology was not seen again till the year 1824 when an English stone mason named Joseph Aspdin invented Portland cement.Thus began the modern age of concrete technology as we know it..

Make 100 Concrete Blocks Per Hour

The easy way to get started in the concrete block business is to make a number of hand molds and cast your blocks by hand. This is actually very easy to do. There are full instructions and plans available at our website.

However making concrete blocks with molds is a labor intensive process and one person can make about 100 blocks per day working alone.

The need for increased production becomes obvious at some point and the only way to achieve this is to use a concrete block making machine.These are ingenious machines which do everything from start to finish and turn out perfectly made cement blocks at a rate of 100 per hour or even more.

These machines are quite expensive to buy but you can build a machine yourself using auto parts and a few odds and ends.This machine will work very well and can turn out 800 blocks in an 8 hour workday. Plans and instructions for building it are obtainable at our website.

This is a great business to be in. Start up costs are low and demand for concrete products is always strong. Check it out at
Make Concrete Blocks.