color of cement

goofy gorilla · 12 Sep 2007

hi guys.....just laid some slabs in the garden, some small areas need filling with cement....i had some building sand which i mixed with cement ,3 to1 ratio...now its dry its gone like a light brown in color....i dont want that, i want the cement to be grey in color.....will i get this if i mix slabbing sand with cement ?.......i remember some bloke doing my front garden years ago.....they used slabbing sand and cement and it dried grey in colour..will adding more cement make it grey when dried ?..cheers

JohnD · 12 Sep 2007

brown/yellow suggests too much sand, but 3:1 is quite strong

Was it disturbed before it had fully hardened?

You need to keep it damp for the cement to cure, a week is not too long, but must not put a hose on it or let it get rained on or brushed for at least a day or the cement may be worn away from the sand particles.

You can keep it damp by putting polythene over it and/or using a watering can.

If it dries out too fast it will always be weak and crumbly. Once it has got dry it won't help to wet it again, the cement curing process ends when it gets dry.

goofy gorilla · 12 Sep 2007

JohnD said:
brown/yellow suggests too much sand, but 3:1 is quite strong

Was it disturbed before it had fully hardened?

You need to keep it damp for the cement to cure, a week is not too long, but must not put a hose on it or let it get rained on or brushed for at least a day or the cement may be worn away from the sand particles.

You can keep it damp by putting polythene over it and/or using a watering can.

If it dries out too fast it will always be weak and crumbly. Once it has got dry it won't help to wet it again, the cement curing process ends when it gets dry.

ni it wasnt disturbed...i used 3 spades building sand, 1 spade cement...ill try using less sand....or possibily get some slabbing sand...i think its called screed...cheers

material.buyer · 12 Sep 2007

Use a 5:1 or 6:1 ratio, that should be fine I think.

Incidentally, you can get cement colourants from builders merchants, if you want a different colour.

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color of cement

goofy gorilla

JohnD

goofy gorilla

material.buyer

DIYnot Local

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