are those paddle mixers on an SDS drill any good or is it easier to just hire a small mixer? Will be laying about 50 concrete blocks for a small retaining wall.

I reckon you would do better with a shovel and a big spot like a 6×4 sheet of OSB than with a paddle.

Cheaper than hiring a mixer, although if you’re anywhere near malvern you can borrow mine.

One of these – you’ll be needing one for measuring out the sand and cement anyway.

Still remember my dad showing me how to mix mortar and concrete when I was 7 🙂

If you can get hold of a mixer it’ll make it much easier.

I just mix it in the wheelbarrow with a spade, builds up the forearm muscles turning it over endlessly 🙂

How competent are you at laying blocks and mixing? A shovel should be enough but I found it much easier to keep going using a proper mixer. As an amateur it took me probably three or four times as long as a pro to lay the blocks and a lot more effort moving them around and repartitioning them. I was knackered at the end of the day. I think if I had to mix by hand as well I’d still be doing it now.

I bought a second hand Belle for just over £100, I think I’ll get most of that back when I sell it, too. It’s staying for a while though as I still have a lot of jobs to do

you’ll be needing one for measuring out the sand and cement anyway.

My brother is adamant that this is the wrong way to measure the ingredients out.

You get significantly different amounts on a shovel with sand and cement due to the way they sit so the ratio’s in the final mix aren;t right.

He did use to be a quantity surveyor though.

He did use to be a quantity surveyor though.

Meh…. dad was an Architect so there 😉

TBH seeing as a shovel has been the standard measuring device on sites for decades I reckon the OP would be fine.

You get significantly different amounts on a shovel with sand and cement due to the way they sit so the ratio’s in the final mix aren;t right.

You do if you put different amounts on the shovel yes.

But if you get a builder to do it, rather than a quantity surveyor, you will be fine 😉

My brickie just sawed the cement bag in half and used half a cement bag to x shovels of sand….

Can’t remember what x was though…..

was planning on either using whole bags or buckets to measure out. Should add I am still recovering from a broken wrist (9 weeks ago) so am not fully up to strength to mix by hand. I moved 40 blocks at the weekend which was hard enough.

Just found a £10 discount voucher for my local tool hire place making it £23 + vat for a weeks hire for a 240V mixer. Thought it was going to be a lot more than that based on previously going to hire a drill and then buying one instead.

Stoner – down in brizzle sadly.

Mix ratios seem to vary from 1:3 to 1:5. It’s going to be exposed to lots of damp so thinking 1:3 as it won’t cost much more.

for £30 I’d go for the mixer – it’ll save you hours and lots of effort.

Buy a used mixer from the likes of gumtree, I guarantee you’ll sell it for about the same money when you’re done. There’s always people looking for mixers, I bought a used belle from gumtree for 60 quid, I reckon I’ll make money on it!.

I hired a mixer to do some slabs in the summer. HSS hire were the most expensive according to the website. Phoned up and the bloke on the phone did it for half price. He said he’d rather have some money in the till rather than a unit full of non-hired kit. Worth asking.

Mixing by hand is murder on my back. Mixer all the way.

Yup 3 and 1. So that’ll be one bag of cement and twelve sand. Which should just go in a belle nicely. One tip is if you have an old dustbin type lid stick it on the drum whilst mixing, it keeps the splashing down a treat when working on areas you don’t want to get too messy!

You laying them flat btw?

Add some SBR / waterproofed to the mortar mix – can get it in any builders merchants or DIY store – will improve the workability of the mortar as well as enhancing the bond strength and durability.

Oh ffs… 🙄 can tell the most of you are IT boys!
For the sake of 50 blocks, just mix it by hand(shovel) Either use a board to mix it on or mix it in the barrow, ffs don’t worry about the ratio too much!, especially for block work, I’d just throw half a bag of cement in and shovel about 8 good shovels of sand, nowt hard n fast, get some fairy liquid in, ‘but don’t let the foreman see yaa put it in! :wink:’ will make it nice n supple to work with, and stop calling it mortar! 👿 it’s Gobbo!

**** that, mixer’d be out every time for 50 blocks. My back can’t take barrow mixing anymore.

5 shovels sand to 1of cement and remember to squirt some fairy liquid into the water

Buy a second hand mixer off gumtree/ eBay etc use it then sell on otherwise it’s gonna be hard work otherwise a big sheet of ply from the builders merchant and mix it on that

No! Three shovels of sand and one cement!
ie 4 shovels in a bag of cement = 12 sand!

use a mixer. that way you can get a nice fluffy mix. ill mix by hand for stonework but not for bricks or blocks…the mix is never right.
they are only £12.50 a week in my local hire shop

Do it by hand (on a spot or in a barrow) in manageable quantities – if you use a mixer you’ll mix too much and it will have gone off before you come to use it. Unless you are very quick at laying blocks!

5 shovels sand to 1of cement and remember to squirt some fairy liquid into the water

Never add fairy liquid to mortar or render it weakens the mix.

A shovel and board is all you need its only 50 blocks

Never add fairy liquid to mortar or render it weakens the mix

Oh ffs! 🙄
Well all them doctors surgerys we built are still standing strong anyway, must have gone through a 100 litre of the stuff on one building! 😆

pussywillow I agree too many soft lads who have never worked on a site talking crap on here

Bet it was the cheapie stuff tho and not mild green fairy liquid…

pussywillow I agree too many soft lads who have never worked on a site talking crap on here

Many years render experience and adding fairy liquid is one of the biggest reasons for a weak mix and subsequent failures.

Bet it was the cheapie stuff tho and not mild green fairy liquid…

😀

I would do 4:1 and bung in some plastisier (not fairy liquid FFS) and if you are worried about the wet chuck a bit of SBR.

good place to get stuff is: http://www.constructionchemicals.co.uk/

Dunno if I would bother with a mixer for 40 block though ……. where in Bristol are you?