cement

Hi guys, I have just installed brick slips in my home and I am looking for the right mortar mix/ratio between sand, lime, cement/ White cement and water (or pigment colour) to achieve the desired colour below please, in addition to achieving strongly bonded mortar. Below is the colour, its a...

Hi I have removed my shed and looking to put up a jungle gym kids climbing frame. Should I leave the slabs or remove? Looking at the guide neither fixings will work with the slabs. Has anyone fitted securely onto slabs before? The area will be covered with playbark also...

Hi folks - seeking some advice. Project is to spruce up the doorstep of a victorian terrace house (ignoring the tiles, for now). Appears to my (untrained) eye to be layers of mortar and paint over cement, with the obligatory rusted-to-hell coal hole cover. As per the photos (see attached!)...

I’m trying to make diy weight plates(all gym equipment has sold out here) by setting cement in a saucepan like so: https://imgur.com/x8RCTLg I left it set for over 12 hours just to be safe even though the bag says it sets in 2 hours. Still, the result is less than satisfactory...

Hi, I have one of those old sectional compton/lidget garages and I've noticed rain water is seeping through inside. I can't see any leaks on the roof but from outside I think the rain water is seeping through under the concrete panels and between the joints (see attached pics) where the mortar...

Hi, I have moved into a victorian house which had a dripping stopclock in the cellar, which has been fixed up and has now started to dry out. Now looking at the plaster in the room above it. I have taken a picture of one of the (Edit: internal brick) walls, that was under the woodchip...

Hiya, I would like to lay an Indian Sandstone patio on my garden. I seen some patios that were lay without mortar/cement. What is better? With or without? And what the advantages and disadvantages? Really appreciate some advise from those who experience. Thanks,

Hi folks I have a fairly old but good condition driveway made of granite slabs, but unfortunately a lot of weeds come up between many of the slabs. In places the gaps are maybe 1cm wide or more. I am planning to clear out these gaps and fill them with a 50-50 mixture of sand and cement - however...

Oh not another patio thread... sorry :( I have an area of around 50 sq metres at the bottom of the garden which we want to lay a patio onto. It's the last part of the garden to work on. The ground in that area of the garden is thick with clay. I have had a 1950s roller sit on it for a month...

Hi all Looking to remove the ugly cement pointing that will damage the stonework of an 1860s Terrace house. Pointing has been thickly applied over a traditional lime pointing. This will cause the stones to spall and damp issues within the property. Much of the pointing is already loose so is...

Hi, We recently had a wall removed between kitchen and lounge. The space left behind (previously occupied by the wall) was filled with a cement mixture to level it with the laminate in the kitchen (don't ask!). There is a 'step up' to the carpet (see photo). We're now struggling for ideas how...

We are currently doing a theming project. Its a commercial application not domestic and we have had to build up rooms that are meant to look like an old prison. The walls are made from cls studwork and fireproof plasterboard. We need to do a cement render over to make the entire room(s) look...

I have around 140 grey paving bricks and about 30 usable post-war (1940s) Imperial house bricks. I don't want to give them away -- there must be something to be done with them in the garden. Any ideas on what to do with them other than lay a small path?

Hi, We have a very solid but rather ugly patio - several different materials have been used ( paving slabs, concrete, various repairs ) so the colours are very uneven. I'm guessing this is a silly idea because I haven't read about it anywhere, but could I just mix up a cement and SBR slurry and...

Hi, I'm a novice building a small natural stone (Cotswold) wall with recessed seating – c. 4m long wall, double skin. I have about 200 stones, various shapes, sizes. My plan is to do footing, then get cracking. My questions are: 1.Which mortar do I use? I want it to be light coloured to...

Hi, Architect has specified that full fill cavity walls should be built with 1:1:6 cement mortar; just wanted to confirm what that means? is that 1 Lime : 1 Cement : 6 Sand? I will be planning on using BlueCircle Mastercrete Cement - do I still need to get the lime added? Is there any...

Hi everyone, I am having a bit of a nightmare removing all dust from my concrete floor surface because the floor is bumpy I can't hoover. Below is pictures, I need to patch up the holes first before applying the self levelling compound. Please could anyone help me regarding the following...

Hi Guys, looking to tile my new kitchen floor, however, have come across a hickup, There is a very large hole in the concrete floor from wall to wall which has collapsed slightly. I don't know why this has happened though my suspicion is that the builder who did my extension years ago knew...

Hi, Just moved into my new house and I have some work I need to do a lot of repointing on my garden stone and brick wall. I'm a bit confused as most web sites suggest to use hydraulic lime and big DIY stores tell me it doesn't matter, cement will do the job. As cement is much cheaper I'm...

Hi everyone, I would really appreciate some help in trying to figure out what type of render is currently on my house. . It's white and bumpy but very smooth. I'm struggling to work out if its a cement based or lime based render (with aggregate causing the bumps)? I have one patch of damp...