How much sand + cement?

Alarmist

Hi,
I am buliding a small wall in back garden using 9" blocks (18 in all, two rows), then facing it with rough stone. So far I have laid down a loose gravel foundation Could anyone tell me how much sand and cement I should order for the job.

Martron

you need to give more details. how long is the wall?

are you going to mortar between the loose stone facade?

( it will be hard to measure the amount for an irregular wall made of rough stone.)

Alarmist

Hi Martron,
Thanks for your interest. As you may have gussed I'm an amature at this! The wall will be about 12Ft long , two blocks high.
Yes, will use mortar mix for stone work.

Martron

it will be very hard to estimate really becasue of the irregular shape of the stone you will use to clad the wall.

typical mix is 3 parts sand and 1 part cement.

in this case you would be better of underestimating as it will be easier to get more materials rather than trying to find a hole to put the left over stuff.

you can get ton bag of sand and 14 bags of cement.

problem is that if you do not use the cement most suppliers will not take it back. ( as if not stored properly it will not last long)

See if someone else replies but i think this should be enough to make adecent start.

minark

hi
as a standard rule of thumb one bag of cement will lay 50 four inch solid blocks and approx 20 to 25 nine inch hollows.
each bag of cement contains five shovels of cement and for blocklaying
you mix at a ratio of 4 sand to 1 cement .hence mix one bag to 20 shovels sand .dont forget to add about 250 ml plasticiser

to mix concrete mix at six to 1
hope this helps

PirateShampoo

You should be ok with 2 bags of sand and half a bag of cement with a drop of mortazier.

Should be more than enough to cover ur small job.

Martron

feck i misread the original post. When i saw the small quantity on the page i re-read it. i read 18m long not 18 blocks long !!!!:eek::eek::eek:

soldsold

minark wrote: »

hi
each bag of cement contains five shovels of cement and for blocklaying

Quick question: is this a heaped shovel or a medium loaded shovel? I often wondered how many shovels were in a bag of cement...

Alarmist

Many thanks to all for your advise.
A start has been made!!

tinofapples

in this case you would be better of underestimating as it will be easier to get more materials rather than trying to find a hole to put the left over stuff.

As I was once told " Better to be looking at it, than looking for it";)

Martron

tinofapples wrote: »

As I was once told " Better to be looking at it, than looking for it";)

ah that is very true . but getting rid of sand and cement is a pain in the ass too.

(i would live by that phrase at work when i am not paying for the supplies
)

Alarmist

Hi ,
I have just completed the block wall, now I want to face it with rough stone.

Should I coat the wall with mortar and impress the stone into it or apply the mortar to each stone as I go on?

PirateShampoo

Alarmist wrote: »

Hi ,
I have just completed the block wall, now I want to face it with rough stone.

Should I coat the wall with mortar and impress the stone into it or apply the mortar to each stone as I go on?

Coat the wall with mortar and throw handfuls of stones at it.