If you’re looking to get crafty this winter, homemade concrete offers plenty of possibilities for DIY fun.
Whether you want to make something more functional, like pavers, or strictly decorative, like a concrete vase, you are limited only by your imagination. First you’ll need some concrete, though, so read on for instructions on how to make your own!
What is Concrete?
Concrete is simply a mixture of cement, gravel, sand, and water. While gravel, sand, and water are straightforward ingredients, you might be wondering what cement is and where to get it. Cement refers to a source of lime, such as limestone, oysters, freshwater mussels, or seashells that have been pulverized and heated to a high temperature to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂).
Where to Find Cement
If you want to really go the do-it-yourself route, it is possible to make your own cement. If you live somewhere with a ready supply of shells, that could certainly be an option. More common, though, is limestone, which is easy to find outside or at your local garden center or hardware store. The process would then require you to heat the shells or limestone in a fire or a kiln, letting them cool, and then crushing them into a powder. You would want to be sure and wear a respirator while completing the pulverizing step. If you would like to sidestep this entire process and leave cement-making to the professionals, there are a number of ready-made products on the market, such as Portland cement. Portland cement is not a brand name, but rather a generic term for the most commonly used type of cement. And, great news, it comes in a ready-to-use bag, no kiln required.
Match the Product to the Application
For most projects you’ll be doing at home, bagged cement you’ll find at the local hardware store will be appropriate to use. You can use this pre-made cement to mix with sand, gravel, and water to create the concrete mix needed for your project. For many craft and decorative projects, you can actually simplify the process even more by using a rapid setting cement mix, which only requires adding water–no need to actually mix up homemade concrete. Take a look online and you’ll find all kinds of creative projects made with this cement material, from concrete dog bowls to concrete guitars! The more technical the project, the more precise you’ll want to be. If you’re attempting to pour footings, for example, you’ll want to create the right mix of concrete to support the structure, and one-step rapid setting cement mix probably isn’t it.
Turn to the Experts at Hard Rock Concrete Coatings
Homemade concrete is a fun material to experiment with, and it’s definitely possible to learn how to both make your own concrete, and complete some great projects with it. When it comes to large-scale projects, however, you’ll want to turn to the concrete experts at Hard Rock Concrete Coatings. As the elite Utah concrete coating expert, our services include concrete repair, reconstruction, and replacement, as well as a wide variety of coatings and acid stains. We serve Salt Lake City and surrounding areas. Give us a call at (801)-918-3656 or contact us online today to start creating your next concrete project.
