Before you start to mix cement, make sure to have all your materials gathered and ready to use.

We will give you a full demonstration and safety procedures before you leave our shop.

How to mix cement with an electric or petrol mixer

1. Keep your bags of Portland cement in a dry area, up off the ground and covered with plastic to protect them from rain and ground moisture.
2. Start the loading of the mixer by using a garden hose on the inside of the mixer drum. It doesn’t take a lot of water to do this. This also works best for keeping the machine clean during and after use.
3. Add water to your mixture using a bucket so that you can keep track of the amount used and duplicate it more easily on following loads.
4. Use this simple, time-tested formula for a common concrete mix ‘ 1:2:3 parts by dry volume. That is: one part Portland cement, two parts sand and three parts heavy aggregate. Masonry mix, of course, has no heavy aggregate and uses a better quality of fine sand or plastering in its mixture.
5. Make small additions of water to your first few batches of concrete until you learn what consistency you will achieve with the different amounts of water. In general, a consistency of a very thick cake batter is the desired result. Such a mixture will be workable when wet and strong when dry.
6. Mix only the amount that you can use in a short period of time. Once the cement-and-water chemical reaction starts, you have only a limited amount of time to work with the concrete.

When you are finished using the mixer , make sure to wash it out with a garden hose straight after use.