I'm going to start mixing cement - what tools?

[Mark Lewis]

So my new property means a need for mixing cement/lime/mortar etc for repairs to everything from garden walls that will be fine with cement mortar to an old barn that needs lime and love and care!

Last time I mixed cement I was 7 and it was 1979 - my dad had me do it on an old wooden board with a spade and watering can.....to be fair, that wall is still standing.

Now I have no tools for this so will be buying what I need afresh....and don't want the wrong thing. So for anyone that regulary mixes stuff like this - any goto tips for shopping? Is it still massive sheet of wood, spade, hose pipe or can I now get a wifi cement mixer and a trowel with an app and a silicone bucket liner looks cool?

Buy daft, buy twice.....so I want to get it right!

[normalbloke]

[Drumroll]

I tend to hand mix in a Gorilla tub. it does make it easier to move around once mixed. Using a standard shovel and a large hand trowel to do the mixing.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/red-gorilla-polyethylen...

[PhilboSE]

Yes you can do it on a sheet of ply or even a fancy mixing octagon but IMO you need something that can do a decent quantity, and has decent sides to stop any slop going anywhere, and can be easily moved around. A builders plastic tub thing or a wheelbarrow are standard.

For bigger amounts a mixer is nice, but one 2nd hand off gumtree/marketplace and then sell it for what your paid for it.

[J6542]

Depends how much you are going to need at one time, hand mixing is ok for small quantities, but if your going to be using a fair bit then buy a small mixer, either petrol or electric

[Mark Lewis]

J6542 said:

Depends how much you are going to need at one time, hand mixing is ok for small quantities, but if your going to be using a fair bit then buy a small mixer, either petrol or electric

So I'd go from cement mixer into big builders tub to work from? So that's all I need mixing wise?

[J6542]

Mark Lewis said:

J6542 said:

Depends how much you are going to need at one time, hand mixing is ok for small quantities, but if your going to be using a fair bit then buy a small mixer, either petrol or electric

So I'd go from cement mixer into big builders tub to work from? So that's all I need mixing wise?

Mixer into a wheel barrow, Screwfix have electric mixers for under £300, clean it properly between uses and l you won’t ever lose much if you ever sell it on.

[Mark Lewis]

J6542 said:

Mark Lewis said:

J6542 said:

Depends how much you are going to need at one time, hand mixing is ok for small quantities, but if your going to be using a fair bit then buy a small mixer, either petrol or electric

So I'd go from cement mixer into big builders tub to work from? So that's all I need mixing wise?

Mixer into a wheel barrow, Screwfix have electric mixers for under £300, clean it properly between uses and l you won’t ever lose much if you ever sell it on.

Perfect!

[JoshSm]

Just remember if you haven't had a lot of practice, and especially if you're mostly doing stuff like repointing you *probably* don't want to be mixing too much in one go as your work rate isn't going to keep up with stuff starting to set.

Mixers are great for volume but an amateur, untrained, single handed, and if not laying rows isn't going to work through their supply very quickly.

Concrete yes, but cement seems less likely you'll need mixer loads?

[JoshSm]

For actual tools - bucket trowel, big trowel or two, little trowel, pointing tool, big wire brush, bricklayers brush (dustpan one will do), probably a bolster and a joint rake. And a bucket or three. Only need stuff for levelling (levels, string etc.) if you're actually laying bricks instead of just repairing.

If you need to cut bricks out of a wall without ruining them out an SDS brick remover chisel is easier & cleaner than an angle grinder.

[Juan B]

Don't forget the washing up liquid

[paulwirral]

You need a wheel barrow to mix in and move the mix to the job , a shovel to load your mix into the barrow , a small spade to actually mix it up with . Needles to say a couple of buckets and a couple of trowels , a bricklayers trowel turned upside down works well as a hand board to point off and a pointing trowel , although a hand board is buttons to buy or make yourself .
Unless your planning on building walls with a bricklayer mate forget the mixer , it’ll take you longer to set the mixer up and clean it out when your finished than it will to mix by hand in a barrow .
I am a builder and still just mix by hand if I only need a couple of barrows of mortar even though the mixer is already set up .

[blueg33]

For small quantities, I found one of these works well



Its a cement mixing barrel called an Odjob. I have had mine for years, but having a quick look on the web I'm not sure how easy they are to find. There maybe used ones on Ebay. basically you put your materials in, roll it around for a few minutes and you have perfectly mixed cement, concrete, mortar etc

[wolfracesonic]

normalbloke said:

End thread here tbh, in conjunction with a MK 1 shovel. Gorilla tubs are great for smaller quantities but anything much over a bucket the mixing board is best unless you start with mixing paddles and drills, which is more faff. If you buy a mixer, a wheelbarrow can be handy to decant into as said above…and stay away from the Fairy liquid.

[Gary29]

Love the YT channel Mark, good luck with the new property!

I've mixed tons of concrete and mortar with my old man back in the 90's, we used a mixer and shovels. The good old days. Enjoy!

PS those black things above are known as 'Tuff Trays' my 6 year old has one for her 'experiments' in the garden. Bullet proof.

[blueg33]

This thread is reminding me of my start in the construction industry, aged 17 carrying hods full of mortar up scaffold ladders, dumping them on the brickies "spots" and heading back down to mix some more. For a gang of 8 brickies it was a tough job for two labourers to keep up supplying them with bricks and muck.

I now sit at a desk much of the day, but always remember my labouring days when I speak to my site teams.

[woodypup59]

If you plan to render inside the barn, you'll need a Tyrolean machine. A handheld box with a handle which flicks the mortar / plaster / WHY out at high speed to make it stick to the wall.

I also enjoyed the Youtube tours of the land and gym. Bookmarked like the "rock house" and "dude wheres my house" threads.

Edited by woodypup59 on Tuesday 3rd December 09:55

[Prawo Jazdy]

normalbloke said:

I did this back in the summer. My advice is:
1) They’re not bulletproof so make sure the tray is on a firm and flat surface - mine cracked almost immediately because there was space for it to flex under one part of it.
2)Do small amounts unless you’re a fair bit stronger and fitter than me!

I can’t remember what I measured out, but it was a decent pile. Once I started trying to mix it and realised how much effort was required to properly move it around with a shovel (more so when wet), I started to feel quite inadequate. I keep myself fit and healthy, but not with any exercise or exertion that was useful for repeatedly lifting/stirring shovels of concrete.

It also made a big mess around the tray despite my best efforts - again probably because I put in too much mixture.

Edited by Prawo Jazdy on Tuesday 3rd December 10:02

Edited by Prawo Jazdy on Tuesday 3rd December 10:04

[The Gauge]

I prefer to mix in a wheelbarrow

[Wacky Racer]

Get a mixer if you are going to do a lot.

I have since found out you can get the same as mine at B&Q for less than £200 in orange.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...