Home generalMineral concrete information - everything about prices and processing

Mineral concrete information - everything about prices and processing

  • Properties of mineral concrete
  • Process mineral concrete
    • Step 1 - Select appropriate grain size
    • Step 2 - Apply building material
    • Step 3 - Compact mineral concrete
  • Differences to the concrete
  • Composition of mineral concrete
    • Siebliniendiagramm
    • What is the ideal line "> The prices

    Mineral concrete is a popular building material, but requires professional processing. For a professional approach, you must first select the right grain size and perform a price comparison. Subsequently, the processing takes place. Read what points you need to be aware of in all three steps.

    As a rule, the building material is delivered. You can choose from many different vendors when you buy so you can make a targeted price comparison. The costs vary sometimes strong, but must be considered but also the delivery costs. But first of all you have to choose the right products. In our guidebook, we explain how to read the wire-line diagrams and what meaning the minimum size and maximum size of the grains have. The processing is done with a vibrating plate whose operation should only be done with safety clothing.

    Properties of mineral concrete

    Mineral concrete is a mixture of gravel, water and grit / crushed gravel. As a binder, no cement is used, which distinguishes this building material. Mineral concrete is a high-density mix that has a large fraction of broken grain. At the same time, the building material has a high strength. It is mainly used in the production of road surfaces. For landscaping and gardening, mineral concrete is often used for paving beds and patio beds. Processing generally involves cavity compaction. The tools used are vibrators. The compaction takes place up to the desired carrying capacity. The exact properties of the building materials are unfortunately very different. There are no uniform and binding standards. In general, however, the following statements about the properties can be made:

    • Mineral concrete has a high frost resistance.
    • It is a very good Schottertragschichtmaterial.
    • The building material is permeable to water. This property is achieved by the addition of greywacke and gravel.
    • Correct processing produces a flat surface and high stability.
    • Immediately after completion, the surface can be loaded.
    • Damage to the material can be easily repaired.
    • If the surface dries out, the mineral concrete starts to dust.

    Process mineral concrete

    Often the building material is mixed in a concrete plant. It is then delivered ready and can therefore be processed immediately. If you mix the mineral concrete yourself, then note the exact mixing ratio and ensure a good mixing. The building material should be processed quickly after completion. In all cases it is important to pay attention to sufficient drying.

    Step 1 - Select appropriate grain size

    When selecting, you must take into account the grain sizes of the building material. On the signs you will usually find an indication in the form of "Kleinstkorn / Größtkorn". The background is that the mixture consists of grains of different sizes. This determines the properties, such as the water permeability. For example, the variant "2/45" is possible . The numbers mean that the smallest grain size present in the material is 2 millimeters. At a maximum, the grains reach a size of 45 millimeters. The grain mix determines the properties of the mineral concrete. A special feature here are the versions with zero proportions. For example, 0/45 is completely impermeable to water after compaction.

    Mineral concrete - grain sizes

    Tip: You may only use water-impermeable base courses in combination with water-impermeable cover layers. If the cover layer is permeable to water, then a grain size which is permeable to water is also necessary for the base layer. Thus, the grain 2/45 produces a layer that leaves small gaps after compaction. Through this, the water can now seep.

    Not only the smallest size is decisive for the behavior. The larger the largest grain, the more complex is the compaction. If particularly large particle sizes are used, then extremely powerful vibratory plates are necessary.

    Step 2 - Apply building material

    When applied, the thickness of the resulting layer is crucial. Note, however, that the height changes again by the subsequent compression. The thickness of the mineral concrete layer depends on the planned load on the surface. A high load also requires a high support layer. You can roughly follow the guidelines below:

    • The area will not be used:
      • In this case, the thickness should be between 20 and 30 centimeters.
    • The area is navigated:
      • The thickness should be at least 40 centimeters.

    Tip: For high strengths (over 40 centimeters) you should first apply 20 centimeters and compact them. Afterwards you bring up further material and process it. This procedure optimizes the stability of the base course.

    Step 3 - Compact mineral concrete

    For compacting, a vibrating machine is an advantage. Before starting work, you must spread the mineral concrete as evenly as possible with a spade. The heavier the vibrating plate, the higher the performance and the easier the work goes. Compacting is an important step, as it ensures the load capacity of the material.

    Tip: Since this is a powerful and work equipment, you must be careful enough. In any case, you should wear safety gloves and shoes as well as ear protection.

    Compact mineral concrete with vibrating plate

    Differences to the concrete

    Mineral concrete is a special form of classic concrete. It resembles this in the operational areas, differs however by the missing cement in the composition. In principle, the building material is a mixture of different sized rock grains. These are mixed with water and compacted to completion. This results in base courses that are used for roads and paths.

    Tip: In general, mineral concrete in the private sector is primarily used for large areas. For example, you can use the building material to create the base course for the foundation from the garden shed. An alternative would be to use a layer of ballast after concreting the foundation. Due to the greater effort, the mineral concrete is therefore used less often in small areas.

    Composition of mineral concrete

    Siebliniendiagramm

    Even if you can already see the smallest and the largest grain size at first glance, the exact composition is also crucial. Between the two given values, many different sizes occur in the grains. In addition, the proportions of the different grains differ. For this reason, there are the wireframe charts . This section shows the shares. It is a percentage indication by which all grains are represented. You can thereby recognize the structure of the mixture.

    Tip: The entry in the Siebliniendiagramm is logarithmic. As a result, the distances between the individual values ​​are not linear. They must therefore read each value exactly and can not make a linear estimate from the plotted curves.

    Siebliniendiagramm

    What is the ideal line "> The prices

    The prices for the building material also depend on the grain size. Below are some examples of the costs. There are sometimes big differences between the individual offers, so that a comparison of different offers is worthwhile.

    regional retailers and well-known providers:

    • Grain size 0/16: 25, - Euro per ton
    • Grain size 0/32: 24, - Euro per ton

    Price comparison on the Internet to find the cheapest offer:

    • Grit 0/16: 11, 50 Euro per ton
    • Grit 0/32: 11, 50 Euro per ton
    • Mineral concrete 0/22: 21.72 euros per ton
    • Mineral concrete 0/45: 20.77 euros per ton
    • Grit 0/56: 11.50 Euro per ton

    The prices already include VAT.

    Tip: When ordering, however, also possible delivery costs. If these are converted to low delivery quantities, then you can raise the price per ton again significantly.

    The relationship between density, weight and volume - important for the assessment of prices.

    Prices may be based on weight or volume. The relationship between the two quantities is determined by the density. The following relationship applies:

    Density = weight / volume

    If one converts this formula after the two remaining sizes, then the following relationships result:

    Volume = weight / density
    Weight = density x volume

    example

    The weight of a 0/32 mixture is 1 ton. The volume is given as 0.61 m³. Then results for the density:

    Density = 1 ton / 0.61 m³ = 1.000 kg / 0.61 m³ = 1639 kg / m³

    Depending on the work specification, you must know the volume or weight of the planned construction.

    Tips for quick readers:

    • the grit determines the properties
    • Building material can be permeable to water or impermeable to water
    • Zero concrete is impermeable to water
    • Prices per volume or per weight
    • Density = weight per volume
    • Apply building material to the surface
      • distribute as evenly as possible
      • work with vibrating plate
      • Compact building material
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