Mixing sand-cement

[dabomb3k]

I know it's a 5-1 ratio 5 parts sand 1 part cement (kinda seeking confirmation here while I'm posting just in case and this is for the initial coat) and I'm going to mix in a waterproofer.. How much do you guys think I should put in with it?? (Mixing in a 42 litre tub)

My main question is, I have a 1500w paddle mixer, do you think this will be okay and powerful enough without breaking for mixing the render? Or should
I just bite the bullet and rent a cement mixer for a day??

I'm rendering an internal brick wall just to add. Thanks for the replies in advance

 

[cotswoldbuilders]

You need a cement mixer.

 

[noseall]

Hire a mixer.

It's more about how the mixer beats up the muck and the consistency and workability you get from the gear.

You may want to add waterproofer in the scratch coat only but deffo add some hydrated lime to the render.

 

[Skimmers]

use a paddle mixer all the time if your knocking up loads of s/c then hire a mixer....
we use a paddle mixer for s/c and mono render use a plasterers bath or half a big water butt but add the water first

 

[noseall]

Whilst i agree a paddle mixer can mix the gear, just as a shovel and a bloke can, the thing about a mixer is it does it whilst you are wetting the walls, or fixing beads or drinking tea or picking your nose and does it very thoroughly.

 

[NickB_99]

....

(Mixing in a 42 litre tub)

My main question is, I have a 1500w paddle mixer, do you think this will be okay and powerful enough without breaking for mixing the render? Or should
I just bite the bullet and rent a cement mixer for a day??

I'm rendering an internal brick wall just to add. Thanks for the replies in advance

I use a paddle mixer for plaster and had a go at using it for render in a tub similar to you describe, when I had my first go at internal rendering. With a reasonable amount of render in there, it wasn't working well. I was concerned the load would be too great on my mixer and burn it out, so I stopped, poured it out and mixed by hand.

I was only doing a small patch of wall (2m length of std 2.4m high wall), so just did it by hand.
For hand mixing, one tip picked up on here for one possibility was to use a large sheet of tough polythene, mix all ingredients (inc water) on there by picking up the edges etc, walking round the side rolling the mix into the middle. Finished mix with a spade. A bit of a faff to stop the stuff running off initially, but did ok for small quantities.
I've also used a plastic mixing tray with a spade. That seems to work ok too keeping it in one place and reducing spill/staining on patio etc, as it has a lip around the edge also.

A cement mixer to hire is no doubt the easiest option.
In making a decision, I would say don't underestimate how much render you will need to cover even just a wall (is it a big wall). At approx half inch thick across the full area is quite a bit of volume to mix.
Then it's up to you - cost vs hassle.

 

[dann09]

Whats the rough area of the wall, is it a typical kitchen wall?
Is any damp present - your mix will depend on this.

We often knock-up a mix of S&C etc. on the floor of a kitchen, say, for a DPC repair, but anything larger, always a mixer - located near the entrance.