Pouring Concrete at Home – the Secret to Perfect Concrete

The way to achieve perfect frost-resistant and solid concrete.

Countless articles have been written on the topic of DIY concrete pouring, but rarely do they discuss the amount of water, compaction, and curing, apart from the cement-aggregate ratio. However, these three factors are just as crucial in determining the durability of our concrete as selecting the right ratio of cement and aggregate.

If you want to make truly good concrete, contrary to popular belief, you shouldn’t determine the ratios in terms of one shovel and three shovels, but rather in terms of mass ratios.

Here’s an article about the proper mixing ratio of concrete. Give it a read if you’re interested: Sóder – cement – víz megfelelő aránya betonozáskor

However, using a scale is inevitable for this. You decide whether you do concrete work differently from others and are satisfied with the end result, or you do it the way it’s usually done and hope for durable concrete.

Using a scale isn’t rocket science. Almost every household has a personal scale and a kitchen scale.

Numerous studies have examined which human-made structure will last the longest after us. The consensus is clear: Mount Rushmore, the sculpture of American presidents carved from granite.

You probably don’t want to create something as enduring, but if you’re doing concrete work at home, you surely want it to be durable.

So, the essential requirements for perfect frost-resistant and solid concrete are as follows:

• Good base surface: compacted soil or a minimum of 10-15 cm thick, thoroughly compacted crushed stone or gravel, possibly with a bedding of gravel. Or an existing concrete surface.
• Proper mixing ratio (use a scale!). A high amount of cement doesn’t necessarily result in much more durable concrete. Excessive water, on the other hand, leads to poor results.
• Compaction: Use a “tamper” or a needle vibrator. It’s important to remove air voids from the fresh concrete structure. The Vip-Rex SF significantly facilitates this process; you can read more about it below.
• Appropriate weather conditions: Do not pour concrete in temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius or below 0 degrees Celsius! Use antifreeze between 0 and -10 degrees Celsius, and cover the finished concrete.
• Proper curing (e.g., keeping it moist): This is often overlooked. Especially in warm weather, it can cause irreversible damage to the concrete if it loses moisture during the setting and hardening period. This moisture needs to be continuously replenished for about 5-7 days.

For risk-free and foolproof concrete pouring, you also need the following:

• ArmoTec structural macro fibers
• Vip-Rex SF superplasticizer

ArmoTec structural macro fibers reinforce concrete across its entire cross-section in three dimensions, enhancing its toughness and load-bearing capacity. Not only does their use result in much more durable concrete, but the concrete pouring process also becomes significantly simpler as they can replace traditional steel reinforcement.

The steel mesh needs to be adequately protected from corrosion with a minimum concrete cover thickness of 5 cm. ArmoTec does not corrode, so the additional concrete intended for covering the steel can be omitted.

By using Vip-Rex SF superplasticizer, you can halve the amount of water, resulting in a much denser and harder concrete.

With the use of these two additives, you can achieve the super concrete you’ve been dreaming of

It’s hard to list all the advantages that come with this technology:

1. It’s much cheaper
2. Much simpler
3. Denser concrete, greater strength
4. Increased wear resistance
5. Longer lifespan
6. Less water usage
7. Reduced shrinkage
8. Higher-quality concrete
9. Lower risk of concrete failure
10. Easier work
11. Less susceptibility to cracking
12. Increased water tightness
13. Better frost resistance
14. Extended workability time (the concrete doesn’t set too quickly)
15. Easier finishing
16. Better final result
17. Less post-treatment work
18. Structure reinforced in three dimensions
19. No corrosion
20. Much faster implementation
21. Safer work
22. Much lower transportation costs
23. Fraction of environmental pollution
24. No need for drilling
25. I can’t think of any more 😀

…but that’s more than enough.

I could hardly believe that the combined use of these two additives offers so many advantages, but years of experience and the satisfaction of thousands of users are proof that every single point we listed is true.

You can read about the benefits of using Vip-Rex here.

If you want to order perfect super concrete, come and get ArmoTec here, and add Vip-Rex SF to your cart as well: ArmoTec and Vip-Rex SF.

You can see that pouring concrete at home isn’t such a daunting task. If you pay attention to a few things, you can create something permanent on the first try, and this is the cheapest way to do it.