Mortar colour/ dark and light cement

[macadonald]

Hi guys,

On a number of occasions I have seen mortar or sand and cement that varies in colour. Not talking about additives, just a lighter grey vs darker grey. Apart from the obvious sand colour, can the cement product vary between manufacturers. About to build a small brick wall and have both rugby cement from selco and the other mainstream brand from b&q who's name I forget.

Could this affect the mortar colour, or is at rather the ratio. Is cement cement the same where ever you buy it?

 

[tony1851]

Manufacturers can put additives in the cement (such as pulverised fuel ash) which alters the colour of the product - generally shades of grey.
But these are usually only available commercially.

The bags of cement you buy at the DIY/builder's sheds are usually mostly Portland cement, sometimes with additives such as plasticizers. In this case, if you want a coloured product, you need to buy the additives.

Also, aggregate colour, and mix proportions, will affect the finished product if just using ordinary Portland cement. It's a case of trial and error to get the colour you want.