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The Technology Of Block Making - Properties - Nairaland

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The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 12:51pm On Sep 09, 2011
Some call it blocks while others call it 'sandcrete', this is an important building material which we get by mixing powdered cement, sharp sand and water in a ratio made to suit the job it was produced for. You might wonder why I used the phrase 'in a ratio made to suit the job it was produced for'? Okay,  there are many uses for blocks apart from using it to raise the walls in homes and fences. Blocks could be used for a variety of works, including

1. Walling of a house
2. Making a fence
3. Building a generator house or any other house that have vibrating machines inside it.
4. Toilet pits or soak away tanks.

Because of the various uses for blocks, the mixing ratio cannot be the same, we tend to reduce the ratio of sand to a bag of cement if we want a more solid mix or a block product which can do more than covering the walls in a house. I will like to mention here that most houses, especially those built with reinforced concrete columns and metal rods, blocks don't bear any loads, this is why you see houses built without blocks at first, the builder will first raise the columns and deck the first floor, then continue with another set of columns which will bear the next floor, and up and up we go.
There are many different types of blocks in modern building, these include

1. 9" hollow blocks
2. 6" hollow blocks
3. 6" solid blocks
4. 5" solid blocks

These blocks could be used according to the specifications of the building plan you are using. Most houses with more than one floors uses the 9" blocks on the ground floor and maybe the next few floors, but as a house rises in height, it is recommended that the weight of the blocks on the top floors be reduced, ie. If you use 9" blocks to do a ground floor, use 6" to do the top floors to ease the weight on the columns, beams and foundation.

Many more things to say about blocks, let me rest and come back to the topic later.

8 Likes

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 2:13pm On Sep 09, 2011
There are two major ways of producing blocks, the first is the older method of using manual labour. Skilled block makers using a metal contraption called a mold, they use this mold to compress mixed cement/sand/water to form blocks and leave them on the ground to set.
The second method was a product of industialization and the need for increased output to meet builders demand. A machine was invented to help compress mixed sand and produce blocks. This is the type we call the machine made blocks. This machine uses vibration method to compess blocks as against the manual method.

Which one is the strronge? Well, it still depends on the mixing ratio, because it is what you mix that the machine will vibrate. I have seen many breakages among machine made blocks as well with hand made blocks.

2 Likes

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by jerryben12: 3:38pm On Sep 09, 2011
spyder880:

Some call it blocks while others call it 'sandcrete', this is an important building material which we get by mixing powdered cement, sharp sand and water in a ratio made to suit the job it was produced for. You might wonder why I used the phrase 'in a ratio made to suit the job it was produced for'? Okay,  there are many uses for blocks apart from using it to raise the walls in homes and fences. Blocks could be used for a variety of works, including

1. Walling of a house
2. Making a fence
3. Building a generator house or any other house that have vibrating machines inside it.
4. Toilet pits or soak away tanks.

Because of the various uses for blocks, the mixing ratio cannot be the same, we tend to reduce the ratio of sand to a bag of cement if we want a more solid mix or a block product which can do more than covering the walls in a house. I will like to mention here that most houses, especially those built with reinforced concrete columns and metal rods, blocks don't bear any loads, this is why you see houses built without blocks at first, the builder will first raise the columns and deck the first floor, then continue with another set of columns which will bear the next floor, and up and up we go.
There are many different types of blocks in modern building, these include

1. 9" hollow blocks
2. 6" hollow blocks
3. 6" solid blocks
4. 5" solid blocks

These blocks could be used according to the specifications of the building plan you are using. Most houses with more than one floors uses the 9" blocks on the ground floor and maybe the next few floors, but as a house rises in height, it is recommended that the weight of the blocks on the top floors be reduced, ie. If you use 9" blocks to do a ground floor, use 6" to do the top floors to ease the weight on the columns, beams and foundation.

Many more things to say about blocks, let me rest and come back to the topic later.


There are 4" blocks as well. I recently did a partitioning with 4" blocks. It looks so nice. With the increasing cost of cement, 4" blocks may be the sure way to go.

2 Likes

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by Fhemmmy: 3:50pm On Sep 09, 2011
Another great thread . .

1 Like

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by rastaman20(m): 4:00pm On Sep 09, 2011
Here comes @spyder880 again with what he knows best.pls keep them coming as we learn everyday from great minds like yours.
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by Nobody: 4:09pm On Sep 09, 2011
These days when I come to property section, I am always hoping to meet a new dynamic spyder880 thread. This is kind of important as it relates directly to cement and its price.

1 Like

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 5:06pm On Sep 09, 2011
@ Oga Rastaman, nice to have you back, welcome.
Oga Blink, we are always at your service.
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by Nobody: 5:13pm On Sep 09, 2011
^^^
No o, na me loyal pass. Here to learn from my boss and you never fail to deliver
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 5:56pm On Sep 09, 2011
Apart from bad mixing ratios, which happens when some block makers add too much sand to the mixture of cement to get more yield of blocks, some other things can cause blocks to come out in a bad condition which can affect the quality of the project.
These other conditions include
1. Using bad/expired cement
Due to the prevailing economic conditions, some block makers tend to go for very cheap cement which may not have the required quality to hold a solid block. These blocks break soon after they are made. Some cement sellers who hoard cement keep the cement for so long that the quality of the cement is compromised, by this I mean that the cement will lack some of the quality needed to make blocks. Another thing to note with cement is that some cement sellers rebag cement, removing and reducing the original quantity of cement from the factory. As a consequence the ratio you thought you are using to produce a given quantity is no longer complete, making for a low quality block that can easily break before it is used for the project.

Quality of the sand
Some sands are sharp while some are soft. The sharp sand is recommended for block making but it should not be too sharp, or it will not be very good for the quality of block. Some people pack dirty sand from the roadside, gutters and ponds. We recommend sharp sands packed from flowing water, or better still the beach. Care should be taken so the bigger pebbles and stones that mix with the sand are filtered out.

Rain

Make sure the weather is clear before you start making your blocks, this is because a freshly made block is softer than eggs, and when it rains, the whole blocks can melt and become useless. We have a way to protect the effects of rain if we must make blocks under the rain. We buy nylon sheets and use them to cover the freshly made blocks. Also ensure that there are no small erosion tracks passing from under the freshly made blocks. Now, keep those your fowls, dogs and goats indoors as a running fowl can break more that 10 blocks if it climbs on frshly made blocks, how much more the heavier mammals like goats, sheep and dogs.
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 11:03am On Sep 10, 2011
9" hollow blocks

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 11:05am On Sep 10, 2011
more

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 11:06am On Sep 10, 2011
6" hollow blocks

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 11:07am On Sep 10, 2011
why is this block whitish and the next brownish?

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 11:20am On Sep 10, 2011
6" solid blocks

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 11:24am On Sep 10, 2011
notice a trip of sand with large pebbles on it. Not so good in making blocks

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 11:26am On Sep 10, 2011
cement, make sure its a sound bag, me I like to buy mine straight from the truck grin grin

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 11:28am On Sep 10, 2011
sometimes when it rains on fresh blocks, it messes up the blocks, use a nylon cover to cover your blocks from light rain

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 12:26pm On Sep 10, 2011
but you can cover the fresh blocks with a nylon sheet to protect the fresh blocks

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 12:27pm On Sep 10, 2011
this is a metal contraption made to mold blocks manually

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Re: The Technology Of Block Making by naf007: 7:49pm On Sep 10, 2011
mr spyder ,nicework. keep it coming. in your view what is the standard ratio of materials for blocks used for wall of a house.and is there considerable diff. in cost when buying already prepared@120 or making on site for a three bedroom flat.
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by makinde3: 8:05pm On Sep 10, 2011
how many blocks are need to fence 4 plots of land?
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 8:47pm On Sep 10, 2011
Around 9000 blocks or a little more.
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by makinde3: 9:45pm On Sep 10, 2011
Thanks spyder880

1 Like

Re: The Technology Of Block Making by Fhemmmy: 2:25am On Sep 11, 2011
Show us the complete pix of the brick making machine . . . . . . . You are doing an awesome job
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 7:13am On Sep 11, 2011
^^^ will do so in the next few days.
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by naf007: 12:19pm On Sep 11, 2011
oga spyder, well done ooo! please for 9 inch block ,how many blocks can you get from a bag of cement .
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by za85: 2:45pm On Sep 11, 2011
spyder880:

why is this block whitish and the next brown

oga spyder u did not answer the question smiley. Nice thread!! Very helpful God bless you
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 2:56pm On Sep 11, 2011
@ Naf007, it depends on what you want to do with the blocks. If I am doing a wall, I tell my block makers to target 33 blocks per bag, I know some people get much more from their bags but I don't like it when too many blocks break before they get to be used in the house.
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 2:59pm On Sep 11, 2011
@ za85, I wanted others to answer that question, can you help us, even if its a guess, let's make it interactive.
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by ogogo24(m): 3:22pm On Sep 11, 2011
spyder880:

@ za85, I wanted others to answer that question, can you help us, even if its a guess, let's make it interactive.

My guess, the white ones are made from pretty white sharp sand and the brown blocks from brown sharp sand. Correct?
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by spyder880(m): 3:27pm On Sep 11, 2011
^^^^ good answer Ogogo24, but what if we add too many cement in the ratio, will it make the brown sand come out with whiter blocks? What do we think?
Re: The Technology Of Block Making by ogogo24(m): 3:38pm On Sep 11, 2011
spyder880:

^^^^ good answer Ogogo24, but what if we add too many cement in the ratio, will it make the brown sand come out with whiter blocks? What do we think?

I doubt if that will work the magic. Another thing that might affect the color of the finished product will be d water used in molding. Using muddy water could affect the color too, I suppose.

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