Production of cinder block by own hands

Slagblock is one of the most popular building materials. It is made by the method of vibration pressing from a concrete solution. From the cinder blocks are built a variety of buildings - from sheds and garages to baths and houses.

Do you plan to build anything from cinder blocks? Make them yourself! There is nothing complicated in the technology of production of these concrete blocks. It is necessary to thoroughly understand the order of work, to learn the basic requirements and to maintain the formula.

General recommendations and requirements

Dimensions cinder block standardized- 188 x 190 x 390 mm. Each block has holes. Usually there are 3. To make building elements, a mixture of cement of grade not less than M400, blast-furnace slag and coarse-grained sand is used. Often, additional fillers and plasticizers are added.

It is possible to manufacture blocks both manually with the help of molds and with the help of equipment with the vibration-pressing function.

On average, one bag of cement is enough to make 36 blocks. The economy is obvious.

The slag unit must have the correct geometry. Even small irregularities will lead to a deterioration in the quality of the masonry. In order to receive even blocks, shapes need to be filled not just to the edges, but with a small slide, becauseDuring the vibration, the concrete will slightly settle down and settle.

How to prepare a solution?

There is no universal solution for the production of slag blocks - each master has his own unique recipe. In general, it is necessary to focus on the features of the slag composition.

Components	Volume, l, per block	Strength of the dried block for compression, kg / cm2	Frost resistance of the finished block, cycles	Coefficient of thermal conductivity of the finished slag block
Slag up to 8 mm	10	30-40	30	0.35-0.4
Sand up to 3mm	1,8
Cement	2,75
Water	1,5

There is a standard "factory" recipe, you can focus on it. The proportions are as follows:

• slag - 7 parts;
• sand - 2 parts;
• cement - 1.5 parts;
• water - 1,5-3 parts. More details about determining the required amount of water will be discussed further.

Helpful hint! The standard dimensions of the cinder blocks were given earlier. However, for private buildings it is more convenient to use products with dimensions of 400x200x200 mm.

In addition to slag, such blocks can include ashes, sawdust, gypsum, brick bricks, coal combustion products, gravel and other similar materials.

In addition to the solution, it is recommended to add a plasticizer for concrete. Enough 5 grams per block. Thanks to the plasticizer, the water resistance, strength and frost resistance of the products will be increased.

Pay special attention to determining the required volume of water. It should be added so that the products do not spread after formation.

You can do a simple test. Throw a handful of mortar on the ground or other surface. If it disintegrated, but when back compressing hands again joined in a single mass - the consistency is optimal.

Do slagblocks manually

If you do not plan too large-scale construction, the blocks can be made without vibration press.

We make the mold

We collect the shape with dimensions of 40x20x20 cm. If you want, you can adjust the dimensions at your discretion. For the production of molds we use metal sheets or wooden boards.

The design is extremely simple: the bottom and side walls. Walls are fixed taking into account the chosen width and length of the block. The height of the faces of the mold should also correspond to the planned height of the building elements.

Helpful hint! You can make forms with cells for simultaneous production of 4-6 blocks - very convenient. It is only necessary to increase the length and width of the external faces and install partitions between them.

Prepare empty glass bottles. You will use them to create voids in blocks.

slag block Fill blocks

Evenly fill the mortar in the mold to the brim.

mold. Place the bottle in the filled bottle with the neck up. We level the surface of the fill, removing excess solution.

We wait about 5 hours and get the bottles. We leave the slag blocks in molds for a day, after which we carefully remove them and lay them on the horizontal surface with stacks.

Leave the blocks to dry for a month. Only after the specified time the material can be used for construction.

Useful advice! At the time of drying, cover the blocks with a plastic wrap. It will protect the products from cracking during heat and will not let them get wet in the event of rain.

We make slagblocks on the

The machine allows to significantly increase the productivity of the work. The equipment has a fairly simple design.

We assemble the machine

The main element of the self-made vibrocompressing machine is the mold( matrix) for the slag-concrete solution. By its design, this form is a metal box with internal elements in the form of voids. Restrictions for creating voids can also be removable.

The tool kit includes the following materials and tools:

• welding machine;
• standard set of metalwork tools;
• bulgarian;
• vise;
• sheet steel thickness of 3mm. It will take about 1 m2;
• pipe with a diameter of 7.5-9 cm. It needs about 1 m of pipe;
• metal strip with a thickness of 3 mm. It takes about 30 cm of material;
• electric motor with a power of 0.5-0.75 kW;
• nuts;
• bolts.
  

  Slag block machine compact

  

  Side view

  

  Front

  

  Front view

First step. We make the shape according to the sizes of the future blocks. We cut out the side faces of the matrix from the sheet steel. We will make the form immediately for 2 blocks. For this, we cut out the inner central partition of steel and fix it in the box.

The second step. Determine the height of the elements for the design of voids.

Important! In accordance with the technology, the height of the voids should be such that the bottom wall has a thickness of 3 cm.

The third step. Cut 6 pieces of pipe along the length of the restricting cylinders to fill the voids.

Fourth step. We give the pipes a conical shape. To do this, we cut each piece of pipe lengthwise into the middle, compress it with a vice and connect it with a welding machine. Brew each cone from both edges.

The fifth step. We connect the limiters in a row along the long side of the slag block. Add on the edges of the row on the plate 3-centimeter thickness with holes for fastening with eyes.

The sixth step. We make in the middle of each such compartment a cut shape. From the back of the mold we weld the eyelets. They will allow the temporary fastening of the elements to create voids. Very convenient solution - you can remove the cylinders and make monolithic blocks.

Seventh step. On the outside of one of the transverse walls weld 4 bolts for the mounting holes of the vibration motor.

The eighth step. By welding, attach the apron and the blades at the edges from the loading end.

The ninth step. We prepare all elements of the construction for painting - we clean them and carefully polish them.

The tenth step. We make the press. It will look like a plate with holes that repeat the location of the holes in the block.

Important! The diameter of the holes on the plate should exceed the same parameter for the recesses in the block by about 0.5 cm.

The plate is made of this size and fastened so that it can go deep into the box at the point of installation of the stops by 5-7 cm.

Finally,weld the handle to the press, cover the structure with a primer mix and mount the vibration motor.

You can turn an ordinary electric motor into a suitable vibration motor. For this, it is necessary to weld the eccentrics onto the motor shafts. Strongly do not bother - just weld the bolts so that their axes coincide. To adjust the frequency and the strength of the vibration, screw the nut onto the welded bolts.

Make blocks

Recommendations for preparing the solution were given above. You can use the standard recipe or modify it at your discretion. The main thing is to get the optimum viscosity. It can be defined "by eye" - the lump of the mixture must steadily hold the shape.

Before loading the mixture, lubricate the contact metal planes with oil. Thanks to this solution will not stick to the gland.

We put the finished mixture into a matrix and proceed to pressing.

Install the filled molds on the plate and let it rammer the solution for 5-15 seconds. After this time, add another solution to the mold,loaded earlier will inevitably settle.

Repeat the process, only this time do not turn off the vibratory plate until the clamp reaches the limiters. We remove the mold until the machine stops.

We give blocks 1-3 days for primary drying, carefully remove them from the blocks, lay out on a flat horizontal surface and cover with a polyethylene film. Use the material for its intended use no earlier than a month.

Good work!

Video - Production of cinder blocks by own hands