Concrete Mix Ratios as needed for smaller concreting jobs where you may be wanting to mix the concrete yourself. Concrete in its basic form is made from just 4 main materials: cement, sand, gravel, and water. For larger jobs such as driveways and house slabs the best option is premixed concrete that is delivered to site by a concrete truck. The volume of concrete needed for these large jobs would take you a very long time to hand mix even with a small cement mixer. So what about that path you want to mix yourself and fish pond or the that awesome BBQ area you have in mind.
So what are the concrete ratio? (glad you asked!!)
Concrete mixer for smaller jobs
Concrete Mix ratio – General concrete paths, driveways etc.
- Cement = 1 part
- Sand = 2.5 parts
- Gravel = 3 parts
- Water = to make the mix come together so it can be troweled.
The parts can easily be measured with a bucket however I just use the shovel as it is placed into the cement mixer and then add the water slowly with a bucket. When the water is added the cement becomes a paste and then chemically sets in 12-24 hours depending on temperature however does fully harden until 28 days. So with this in mind don’t drive on your concrete the next day unless you want rubble and a lot of cracks.
High strength concrete – ponds, High strength structural
- Cement = 1 part
- Sand = 2 parts
- Gravel = 3 parts
- Water = to make a workable paste
I made a large pond from concrete and I used this mix and it was water tight however I the 1 part cement is a minimum – 1 to 1.5 part cement is best. If you put less cement then water tightness will not be achieved. The other way to achieve a water tight pond is to use general use concrete and then use a paint on waterproof membrane which ensures a good result.
Gravel bring strenght to your cement
General foundation – large volume concrete
- Cement = 1 part
- Sand = 3 parts
- Gravel = 5 parts
This mix is used for filling large areas such as large strip footing and foundations. Its volume makes it strong enough for large foundations however you will need a building engineer to make sure it is right to use for home foundations. Note this mix is too weak for use on a 100mm or 4 inch thick path.
So whether you need to make a path, repair some concrete their is an easy concrete ratio for you. The one I use most of the time is the higher strength concrete because it is easy to remember just 1,2,3.
For more concreting check out our concrete page or home improvement pages.
