Ok, so a kind person gave me a compliment & asked for a follow-up post...I've been following up a bit on two different & new blogs as well as a new website, which are:
http://groveontario.wordpress.com
http://grovecanada.wordpress.com
http://www.grovecanada.com
as well as some updates on
http://www.grovecanada.ca
But I will do a follow-up here because I am a sucker for compliments & people who actually care about how complex mixing concrete can be-especially in a climate like we have in Canada!
Ok, so here is the recipe I have settled on after much more research:
3 parts white Portland cement ( I get mine in 8 kg. bags from Sutton garden & Building Supply at Finch avenue- nobody else sells it in 8 kg. bags- you have to buy a 50 kg. bag which I can't lift)...
1.5 parts Aggregate (Ok, here is where it gets more complicated- In that 1.5 parts, I am using 4 (FOUR) different things...Here are the FOUR different components of that 1.5 parts...
*
Perlite (for lightness)
*
3/4 inch glass fibres (holds stuff together better)
*
Aragonite Sand (you can buy this in different colours from the Reptile section of Petsmart stores- it is the same thing chemically as crushed marble, which I could not source...I know, Genius...Moi...)
*
White Silica sand (for strength)
Ok, so just take a little of each of those 4 things, put them all together to total not more than 1.5 Parts...
Last is
LIQUID: Total liquid is again 1.5 parts: Within that 1.5 parts,
*25% of that is cement bond admixture (which makes it all stickier & more waterproof)
*75% Water (water can be made warm to cure things faster by the way)...
Ok, do you have the recipe?
here it is again...
3 parts white cement: 1.5 parts aggregate:1.5 parts liquid
My "part" is the size of a small plastic square tupperware dish someone gave us that used to contain some sort of dessert squares...About as wide as your hand & as tall as your other hand on top...You get it right?
This mix worked really really well for me...
of course, you could say that as a rule, one part white cement to half a part aggregates to half a part liquids is a basic concept...Then start with as many parts as you need & work your way along...
If you need coloured cement, then you have to add concrete colour powdered pigments, I used Granastar from Home Depot & it is brilliant...(the black at least is great)...
You shouldn't really paint ON the concrete 'cause it isn't as permanent...Plus, always use concrete powder pigments designed for concrete- regular paints aren't the right PH for concrete so don't experiment in that way...
Ok, I'm done...Hope you like this post?
P.s. My new work uses copper pipe, 3/4 inch, 6 foot long, cut by me with a pipe cutter into many pieces, then joined together with copper Tee coupling, to form a strong armature that you don't need to weld...I dabbed some crazy glue on the joints to hold things better, until I put the concrete on...I also strung a wire through all the piping too...Then , a cover with cut up pieces of galvanized chicken wire to make the shape...Gonna be a raccoon...(made a friend this summer)...
