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#1
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brick and mortar? or concrete?
I need to rebuild a brick planter outside my home, since over time it has
deteriorated to eyesore level. I think I can rebuild it myself, however I need to understand which mortar or concrete I should use. Home Depot sells something called "Mortar Mix" that you just mix with water - it says on the package "intended for masonry projects." But someone told me that it's better to mix up some concrete and add sand to it for better performance. Can anyone shed some light onto this for me? Thanks! Jeb |
#2
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brick and mortar? or concrete?
Mortar and concrete are very similar, the main difference is the ratio of
gravel and sand used WRT portland cement. Your friend may have meant to say to buy portland cement and mix in your own sand and lime to custom mix a mortar more to your own liking. In fact, if color is important, the color and type of sand will make that differnece. From a bag, you get standard grey. Also if hardness were important, a custom mix will allow for that as well. Mortar is normally used to stick bricks together but it can also be used to form concrete structures. It lacks large gravel and has some lime in it to make it more sticky (gooey). Concrete will have a variety of gravel sizes in it (aggregate) which might make it hard to put into a small form or may show up on the exterior of the finished object but the concern is mostly asthetic. THe aggrigate will interfere with setting of bricks, so don't use it for that. Sand mix is mixed more of a happy medium. like mortar but with more sand and lacking the lime which makes the mortar more sticky. So if you are looking to repair a brick planter and plan to reuse the bricks, use mortar. Additional lime could be added to adjust the consistancy (I.e. you do not add more or less water to adjust this) but you shouldn't have to. "jebber007" wrote in message news:19cd45262110508450b1bc2b12f9d092@homerepairli ve.com... I need to rebuild a brick planter outside my home, since over time it has deteriorated to eyesore level. I think I can rebuild it myself, however I need to understand which mortar or concrete I should use. Home Depot sells something called "Mortar Mix" that you just mix with water - it says on the package "intended for masonry projects." But someone told me that it's better to mix up some concrete and add sand to it for better performance. Can anyone shed some light onto this for me? Thanks! Jeb |
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