Today's building materials market is increasingly developing and offers more and more new developments. According to analysts' forecasts, such activity will continue for a long time.

Advantages - simplicity and speed of construction, heat and sound insulation, the ability to make it yourself, low cost due to cheap and accessible components.

Nowadays, cinder block is considered one of the most popular materials among private developers.

This demand is explained quite simply, you just need to familiarize yourself with the advantages:

– from the material you can very simply and quickly build a low-rise building of 2-3 floors, for example, a residential building or a summer house, a garage or a workshop, a utility block, a service station, and so on. For construction, it is not even necessary to resort to the services of professional masons. 1 block can replace 3-4 bricks.

– the walls are heat and sound impermeable.

– building materials can be produced independently.

– the cost is lower than the cost of foam blocks, bricks and other building materials due to accessible and cheap components.

Production

You can make the mold yourself.

Previously, such material could only be produced on special equipment using a steaming chamber. Therefore, it was impossible to obtain it at home. But over time, this issue was resolved. Now you can manufacture using raw materials and a vibrating machine in production. Armed the right technology making cinder blocks, with a flat area and a household network of 220V, you can get an excellent building material.

For production you will need the following components:

• water;
• cement;
• filler;
• plasticizing additive.

Cement consumption varies depending on its brand. Can be used as a filler for adding to a solution different materials: crushed stone, slag, sand, sawdust, shavings and ash, expanded clay, screenings and gypsum, brick scrap, other materials - natural or industrial. The filler for making cinder blocks is selected depending on local conditions, cost and in accordance with the requirements for the material being produced.

Optimal compositions

Proportions.

To make cinder blocks you will need water, cement and filler.

First option:

• 9 parts of slag from metallurgical enterprises (color – gray or dark gray, high cement content, fine sifted fraction);
• 1 part cement;
• Water – 0.5 of the volume of cement.

Second option:

• 4 parts of granulated slag from enterprises (yellow-greenish color);
• 4 parts – fine screening;
• 1 part cement;
• 0.5 of the volume of cement is water.

The solution can be prepared using waste bricks or sand and crushed stone, with expanded clay, ash, sawdust, etc. The plasticizing additive is not a mandatory component of the composition. But by adding it to the solution, the following characteristics can be provided to the material:

• early strength (with limited production space this is quite important);
• improved quality (material abrasion and crack formation are significantly reduced);
• frost resistance improves and;
• productivity increases.

Production technology

You can consider a description of one of the production technologies. The execution steps are:

Production technology: 1. Prepare a solution. 2. Pour the solution into the mold. 3. Dry.

1. Preparation of concrete mixture.
2. Production.
3. Drying of finished blocks and storage.

(proportions):

1. 4 shovels of granulated slag + 4 shovels of fine screenings are poured.
2. Add 1 shovel of cement.
3. All components of the solution are mixed well.
4. UPD is added in dissolved form.
5. Everything is mixed again so that the concrete is properly saturated with the UPD solution.

Production:

1. Concrete is poured into a vibrating machine.
2. The clamp is installed and the vibrator is turned on.
3. The machine rises with vibration, and the finished cinder block remains on the site.

After all work is completed, the finished material is dried and stored.

Solution without UPD additive:

• ready-made blocks dry on site within 24 hours. From time to time they must be slightly moistened, like any cement-containing product;
• after this, the blocks must be carefully turned over onto their side faces to dry the other faces;
• In this position, the cinder blocks must be kept for another day, then they are laid out in a stack to dry.

If a solution with UPD is used, the finished blocks can be removed from the site and stored in a stack within 6-8 hours.

Manufacturing site

You can use the following options:

• a room with a flat concrete floor. Blocks can be produced within all year round. It is advisable to ensure that the room has adequate ventilation and heating when necessary.
• flat open area. It can be asphalt, concrete or earthen.
• open area without preliminary preparation(it should be relatively flat). On such a platform you can lay ready-made cinder blocks on pallets.

As you already know, today this construction material is becoming increasingly popular due to its affordable price, excellent thermal characteristics, excellent sound insulation and sufficient strength for the construction of walls of the most different buildings– from bathhouses and garages to residential buildings.

When this building material first appeared, blast furnace slag was used as a filler for its production, which gave the name to this type of wall stones.

But over time, other materials appeared, from which cinder blocks are also made today - Sand and gravel, perlite, expanded clay, ash, broken bricks, as well as locally produced waste suitable for physical characteristics.

Cinder blocks are produced in varying degrees of hollowness - from solid stones to blocks with 40% hollowness.

The dimensions and weight of cinder blocks are presented in the table below:

Block dimensions, mm	Composition of cinder block filler	Emptiness, %	Weight, kg	Note
	Sand-cement			Open bottom
	Sand-cement			With closed bottom
	Expanded clay concrete			With closed bottom
	Sand-cement			With closed bottom
	Sand-cement			With closed bottom
	Sand-cement			Double-hollow
	Expanded clay concrete			Double-hollow
	Sand-cement			Full-bodied
	Expanded clay concrete			Full-bodied

As can be seen from the table, cinder blocks are available with an open and closed bottom. Blocks for partitions are half as wide.

Disadvantages of cinder blocks

Despite the many advantages of this material, it also has its disadvantages. These include:

• increased moisture absorption;
• low frost resistance;
• increased requirements for exterior finishing;
• higher fragility than brick.

But these disadvantages are easily outweighed by the more numerous advantages, as well as by the fact that the production of cinder blocks can be established directly at the construction site. At the same time, even a person without experience can cope with their production.

Let's look at the process of producing cinder blocks on our own in more detail.

Mixture proportions for cinder blocks

Slag is used to make blocks different sizes and includes several different factions. This allows you to give the blocks higher strength and improve thermal characteristics.

Screened slag the right size Before you start preparing the mixture, it is moistened with water to improve its adhesion to cement.

Proportions for making cinder blocks:

• 1.5-2 parts water;
• 3 parts of cement M400;
• 2 parts sand;
• 7 parts slag.

In addition to slag, brick waste, crushed stone, ash, gravel, and gypsum can be added to the mixture.

To save cement, you can replace a quarter of the binder with lime. This will not degrade the quality of the finished blocks.

Mold for making cinder blocks

The most in a simple way block production involves pouring the mixture into a special mold made of boards, into which wooden cylinders or rectangles are inserted to form voids in blocks of the required size.

You can see what the production of blocks using such a simple form looks like in the video below (click on the triangle to play):

With this method, hardening occurs at ambient temperature without the use of additional heating. This process is quite lengthy and requires about a month to completely harden.

Cinder block machine

Much better quality blocks are obtained by using a special brick press with a mold for pouring slag concrete mixture. Due to vibration, the mixture is well compacted and becomes more homogeneous.

You can purchase such a machine or make it yourself.
Below you can watch a video of using a factory-made cinder block machine:

And here homemade machine for the production of blocks at home:

Image of a machine with a vibration mold for one block (vibration is created by a motor from a tabletop emery with an eccentric mounted on the shaft):

As you can see, making cinder blocks with your own hands is quite accessible process for everyone who decided to save on buying ready-made wall stones and make them themselves. You can also put the production of blocks on stream and open your own business selling this popular building material.

Cinder block is a modern analogue of many natural building materials. IN Lately is very popular among summer residents and owners country houses, as it has a lot of advantages, including low price and light weight, especially since you can build any type of building from a cinder block alone - starting from small barn, ending with a bath or residential building. Of course, this material also has disadvantages, but they can be quickly eliminated with additional facing works.

The peculiarity of this building material is that, if necessary, it can be made independently at home. For example, when you have a limited budget or just need blocks non-standard sizes. In this article we will talk about the technology for producing cinder blocks with our own hands, about the basic requirements, rules and nuances of production, and also give a couple of tips and recommendations.

General information

Cinder block is a material made by vibration pressing. concrete mortar, It has rectangular shape with technological voids inside (up to three) various shapes, standardized size 18.8x19x39 cm.

There are blocks without voids - they are called solid. They are much less common, since hollow cinder blocks are cheaper and have better thermal and sound insulation characteristics. The volume of voids does not exceed 30% of the total volume of each unit.

You can often hear that if you use cement in the manufacture of cinder blocks highest quality, then from homemade blocks you can build a reliable foundation for a bathhouse or house. But this is not true, because the foundation blocks must withstand heavy loads. Therefore, we recommend that for the construction of a bathhouse or residential building, you still purchase raw materials from a specialized construction market or replace them with foam blocks.

When making cinder blocks at home, you will need a special mold, ideally made of metal, in order to use it several cycles in a row, and a special vibrating machine. It is also best if you have a drawing of the blocks themselves, because without it you may end up with something completely different from what you originally wanted.

If you wish, you can change the parameters of the standard drawing, depending on the type of building and the goal you want to achieve.

To produce at home you will need:

• Coarse sand;
• Blast furnace slag or fine screening of crushed stone, crushed expanded clay;
• Cement grade not lower than M400;
• Vibrating table and vibrating machine;
• Mold for cinder block.

On average, one bag of cement is enough to produce 36 standard size cinder blocks.

Most main characteristic The quality of a material is its geometry. They must have perfectly smooth edges, otherwise, if there are defects, irregularities, etc., it will be impossible to lay them. To achieve ideal geometry, it is necessary to pour the solution into the mold not just to the brim, but with a small “hill”, since the solution will shrink a little when vibrating.

Mixing the solution

First, you need to understand that there is no ideal recipe for mixing the solution. Every master has the power to change the ratio of the ingredients included in the composition, but if this is your first time creating cinder blocks with your own hands, then you should stick to the standard composition:

• 7 parts slag;
• 2 parts of sand or gravel fraction 0.5-1.5 cm;
• 1.5 parts of cement grade M400 or better M500;
• 2-3 parts water;

As the main filler, instead of blast furnace slag, you can use expanded clay, clay, gypsum, gravel, perlite and many other analogues. But there is one thing important rule– if slag is chosen as the main filler, then adding other additives is strictly not recommended.

Special attention given to the amount of water in the mixture. The solution should not turn out too liquid or vice versa.

You can also add 5 grams of plasticizer per block to the mixture, which will help increase thermal performance and protect the material from moisture and low temperatures.

If you would like to get colored cinder blocks, then you can add a little chalk or crushed brick to the solution.

To make sure the quality, you can do a simple test: take a little solution in your hand, crumple it into a ball and throw it on flat surface. If it crumbled due to a collision, but when compressed again it regained the shape of a circle, such a mixture can be safely used in construction.

Manufacturing technology

In case you are not planning large-scale construction works, construction of a multi-story building and so on, blocks can be created without vibrocompression.

Assembling the form

Assembling the form is quite difficult difficult process. The form is made of wood or metal, its dimensions must correspond to the dimensions of the future cinder blocks, on average it is 40x20x20 or 39x18.8x19 cm.

The structure consists of a bottom and side walls. The edges of the mold are made from sheets of metal 5-6 mm thick. The walls are welded together or notches are made in the transverse and longitudinal walls with a grinder, with the help of which they are attached.

If desired, and also to speed up the process, you can assemble a form with several cells 2,3,4 and even 6 or 8. To do this, it is enough to increase the length and width of all edges and install additional partitions between the cells.

To create hollow blocks, cylinders made of wood or metal, usually 2-3 pieces, are attached to the bottom using ordinary hardware (screws or nails). To save money and make your work even easier, you can use regular cylinders instead empty bottles.

If you use wood as the walls of the mold, then they must be painted. oil paint so that the solution does not stick to the wood.

Production using a mold

Ideally, for the cinder block production process, find a secluded room with a good ventilation system, a flat floor and dry air.

Step-by-step instruction for the production of blocks using the form:

1. To begin with, all prepared components must be placed in a concrete mixer, adhering to the proportions indicated above.
2. When the solution is ready, fill the form with it. In order to create voids in the thickness of the blocks, bottles are placed inside the mold with the neck up, usually two or three, pre-filled with water.
3. The mixture is carefully compacted so that it fills all the voids and removes air bubbles, because the more air the block contains, the less quality and reliable it is.

The solution is left for 5-6 hours, after which the bottles are removed, and the blocks themselves are left in the mold for another day. Afterwards, the blocks are taken out and stored in stacks in a dry place inaccessible to sunlight. They are dried for 28 days so that the solution completely hardens and gains its ultimate strength.

In order to prevent cracking and other deformations, the blocks should be sprayed with a small amount of water for the first few days, after which they should be wrapped in a layer polyethylene film.

Production using a vibrating machine

A vibrating machine makes it possible to speed up and facilitate the process of producing cinder blocks significantly, but the price for such a unit is quite high. Therefore for one time use better machine do not buy or assemble it yourself, although in this case you will need certain knowledge in electrical and engineering.

The price of a machine depends on three main factors: manufacturer, power and productivity.

Here are 3 simple steps producing blocks at home using a vibrating machine:

1. The mixture is mixed in the required proportions in a concrete mixer.
2. The solution is filled into a mold with a small slide. After that, the vibrator is turned on for 5-10 seconds, the solution settles. The procedure is repeated until the clamp settles on the limiter.
3. Then the machine is turned on again for 10-15 seconds, and the mold is removed without turning off the unit.

Within a week (5-7 days), the blocks are dried, and their complete hardening occurs no earlier than after a month.

Cinder blocks are stored in pyramidal stacks of up to one hundred units in each stack.

1. Blocks made with the addition of cement are stronger and more durable. Lime blocks cope with loads a little worse.
2. During drying, the blocks should not be placed close to each other. This can only be done after completely dry solution.
3. If you replace small granules with sand, the technical characteristics of such a material will only increase.
4. If you want to save money, you can combine cement and lime in a ratio of 3 to 1. This will not affect the quality in any way.
5. Remember, the thicker the solution, the faster the block will dry.
6. Immediately before pouring the mold, it must be cleaned and wiped. To do this, use diesel fuel, waste machine oil and so on. This manipulation will prevent the solution from sticking to the matrix.

Despite the fact that wood and brick are leaders in the construction markets, many craftsmen have learned to save money by making inexpensive, but quality material– cinder block. Owners summer cottages attracts simple technology production. A machine for making cinder blocks at home can be bought at any construction market. By adhering to the recipe, you can easily produce blocks of fairly decent quality in a short time.

Sawdust concrete is a material widely used in monolithic construction before the advent of foam concrete. Today sawdust concrete is most often used to produce wall blocks, which are suitable for the construction of buildings up to 3 floors high.

This article provides instructions following which you can make sawdust concrete with your own hands. We will also consider the purpose of the material, its technical characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

1.2 Testing sawdust concrete blocks (video)

2 Sawdust concrete production technology

The raw material composition of sawdust concrete consists of 4 components - Portland cement, sawdust, sand and water. Lime can also be added as an additional binder, however real need in its use there is no. Cement mortar is alkaline environment, when ingested, sawdust releases sugary substances that negatively affect the final strength of the material.

To eliminate negative processes, sawdust must be pre-treated. The easiest way to do this is by keeping the sawdust in the open sun for 2-3 months, however, due to the duration of this method, its use is irrational. The most efficient method is to soak sawdust in a lime solution (concentration 1.5%) for 3-4 days with regular stirring. For a cubic meter of material, it is necessary to use 200 liters of water in which 2.5 kg of lime is diluted. This treatment also protects the blocks from rotting in high humidity conditions.

The proportions of the mixed components depend on the required density of the material being produced (the data in the table is based on the calculation of the preparation of a cubic meter of sawdust concrete):

The amount of water varies between 250-350 l/m 3 of the mixture. Specific choice is done based on the initial moisture content of the sawdust. If the moisture content of the material is 35-50%, then you need to add maximum amount water (350 l), ranges from 50 to 100% - the minimum amount.

There are two sequences for mixing the solution:

1. Initially, cement and sand are mixed, after which sawdust is added and water is poured.
2. The sawdust is filled with water and cement is added, the mixture is stirred until smooth and sand is added.

Lime is always poured into last resort. If the production of sawdust concrete is carried out without special equipment, then it is preferable to use mixing order No. 2 due to its lower labor intensity. Note that preparing such a solution using a gravity-type concrete mixer is quite difficult, since the water will flow down the container, and the sawdust will remain on top. Ideally, you need to use a forced concrete mixer, the cost of which starts from 50 thousand.

Handicraft production can be carried out without any special equipment, preparing the solution in a trough. In this case, you need to mix sand and cement with a shovel, then add and mix sawdust and add water. The solution must have such moisture content that when squeezed in a fist it does not crack, but also does not drain with water.

With the use of such a solution, a sawdust concrete screed can be poured or monolithic construction. If the ultimate goal is to make blocks, then you will need to make molds from sheet metal or plywood.

It makes sense to make the form under standard size wall blocks 390*190*188 mm, but its height should be 5 cm higher, which is necessary for compacting the mixture. Also, the mold should not have a bottom and there should be side handles. For tamping, a separate metal plate is made corresponding to the dimensions of the cross-section of the mold.

The block production technology is quite simple. Initially, you need to prepare a site on which the blocks will be kept until completely hardened; all work is carried out on its territory. The mold is filled with sawdust concrete, and the lid, used as a press, presses the mixture, which leads to compaction of the block. Then the form is lifted by the handles and the block remains lying on the floor. The product will gain working strength after 2 weeks.

Among the many building materials there are the so-called “old-timers,” which include cinder block. It is the progenitor of all modern building blocks, which have recently gained unprecedented popularity. According to production technology, this material is obtained through the process of vibrocompression of a solution in a special form.

In this article you can find

It contains slag, waste from coal combustion, ash, crushed stone screenings, sand, gravel, sawdust and many other things that are found in the region of your residence. It is noteworthy that you can produce cinder blocks yourself; if you have the desire and a small amount to purchase equipment and components for the solution.

Cinder block composition and proportions

As already mentioned, its raw materials can be a variety of materials, so there are several batch recipes. But the main component of cinder block is cement. A filler and a plasticizing additive are added to it and all this is diluted with water to the required consistency. If you change the components, you get lightweight arbolite concrete. Includes: wood, cement and a number of chemical additives.

Usually, for such a solution, Portland cement M 400 is used. If there is another one, then it can also be used, but it will be necessary to maintain other proportions to prepare the composition. If you choose cement of a lower grade, its percentage should be increased by 15%, and when using concrete best quality you can add less of it.

You can find out what vibration-pressed wall blocks look like from this

Available materials are used as fillers: ash, sawdust, scrap bricks, crushed stone, gravel, sand and others. construction waste and not only. Their choice depends on the required production cost and the quality of the future cinder block.

Video shows cinder block production technology:

The plasticizing additive is not a mandatory component, but its presence in the solution is desirable.

The video shows the cinder block production technology, proportions:

The cinder block production process is not complicated, but it is labor-intensive and requires a lot of physical effort. Especially at first, until production is streamlined.

In the video - making cinder blocks with your own hands:

Necessary equipment for production

Not everyone can make a machine on their own, so there are a variety of models on sale with different characteristics.

The most popular is the MARS unit.. It combines best option value for money. Its mobility and productivity are appreciated by many builders. The unit has small dimensions and several variations. There are models with many functions or only one. After it, cinder blocks with round and square voids, thin-walled and other versions can be obtained.

Vibrating machine 1 ICS is suitable for home use. This is a miniature version of industrial units for the production of cinder blocks. It has three configurations: universal, standard and special (designed for the production of three types of blocks). Its weight is only 45 kg, so many people purchase the device because of its portability. But, despite its small dimensions, this crumb can produce up to 70 blocks per hour.

An interesting representative of vibropress machines. It can produce four blocks in one cycle. This unit is characterized by high performance and reliability. When using it there are no problems, additional investments and frequent repairs he doesn't demand it.

Comanche-34 pays for itself within a few days. Its purchase is especially beneficial for those who produce cinder blocks for sale. It is capable of producing from 30 to 120 blocks per hour. Its weight is 160 kg. It provides for changing the size of blocks by readjusting equipment.

And the features of their use are indicated in the article.

Cinder block is a reliable building material that has long been widely used due to its low cost and good, even in comparison with modern materials, technical characteristics. The manufacturing technology is clear and simple and can be used to produce these blocks at home.