Water content for mortar

Posted by Ingenuir on February 6, 2007, 11:21 pm

Hi everybody,

I am trying to mix cement:lime:sand mortar in the lab for research
purpose. However, I am not sure about the amount of water required to
achieve good strength and sufficient workability for cement:lime:sand
mortar. For cement:sand mortar, the water/cement ratio is normally
being 0.45-0.65 or so. Will the water/cement ratio change when we add
lime? should we proportion water for the combined cement+lime content.

I am mixing a 1:2:9 cement:lime:sand mortar and have worked out the
following material weights in accordance with ASTM C270-06.

Portland cement: 131 grams (density = 94 lbs/ft3)
Hydrated lime: 111 grams (density = 40 lbs/ft3)
Sand: 1000 grams (density = 80 lbs/ft3)

Can you please comment on the mix design. Obviously, it is quite a
weak mortar mix - ASTM type 'O'.

If we work out the amount of water with a 0.485 (ASTM standard) w/c
ratio, the amount of water comes out to:

water = 0.485 (131) = 64 grams

or with a water/lime + cement ratio of 0.485:

water = 117 grams

I thank you in anticipation of your promt response.

With best regards,

Hamid

Posted by tbasc@bellsouth.net on February 7, 2007, 9:17 am

> Hi everybody,
> I am trying to mix cement:lime:sand mortar in the lab for research
> purpose. However, I am not sure about the amount of water required to
> achieve good strength and sufficient workability for cement:lime:sand
> mortar. For cement:sand mortar, the water/cement ratio is normally
> being 0.45-0.65 or so. Will the water/cement ratio change when we add
> lime? should we proportion water for the combined cement+lime content.
> I am mixing a 1:2:9 cement:lime:sand mortar and have worked out the
> following material weights in accordance with ASTM C270-06.
> Portland cement: 131 grams (density = 94 lbs/ft3)
> Hydrated lime: 111 grams (density = 40 lbs/ft3)
> Sand: 1000 grams (density = 80 lbs/ft3)
> Can you please comment on the mix design. Obviously, it is quite a
> weak mortar mix - ASTM type 'O'.
> If we work out the amount of water with a 0.485 (ASTM standard) w/c
> ratio, the amount of water comes out to:
> water = 0.485 (131) = 64 grams
> or with a water/lime + cement ratio of 0.485:
> water = 117 grams
> I thank you in anticipation of your promt response.
> With best regards,
> Hamid

Check Brick Industry Association (BIA) web site.
The Tech Notes section has good info.
TB

Posted by Glenn on February 7, 2007, 11:03 am

Or make it simple, ie the kiss method. Keep adding water out of a
measured container until you get a 2" or your choice of slump, see
how much water you used and use that proportion for the larger
mix. Why make it so complicated?

> wrote:

>> Hi everybody,
>> I am trying to mix cement:lime:sand mortar in the lab for
>> research
>> purpose. However, I am not sure about the amount of water
>> required to
>> achieve good strength and sufficient workability for
>> cement:lime:sand
>> mortar. For cement:sand mortar, the water/cement ratio is
>> normally
>> being 0.45-0.65 or so. Will the water/cement ratio change when
>> we add
>> lime? should we proportion water for the combined cement+lime
>> content.
>> I am mixing a 1:2:9 cement:lime:sand mortar and have worked out
>> the
>> following material weights in accordance with ASTM C270-06.
>> Portland cement: 131 grams (density = 94 lbs/ft3)
>> Hydrated lime: 111 grams (density = 40 lbs/ft3)
>> Sand: 1000 grams (density = 80 lbs/ft3)
>> Can you please comment on the mix design. Obviously, it is
>> quite a
>> weak mortar mix - ASTM type 'O'.
>> If we work out the amount of water with a 0.485 (ASTM standard)
>> w/c
>> ratio, the amount of water comes out to:
>> water = 0.485 (131) = 64 grams
>> or with a water/lime + cement ratio of 0.485:
>> water = 117 grams
>> I thank you in anticipation of your promt response.
>> With best regards,
>> Hamid

> Check Brick Industry Association (BIA) web site.
> The Tech Notes section has good info.
> TB
>

Posted by tmurf.1@juno.com on February 7, 2007, 5:33 pm

> Or make it simple, ie the kiss method. Keep adding water out of a
> measured container until you get a 2" or your choice of slump, see
> how much water you used and use that proportion for the larger
> mix. Why make it so complicated?

> > wrote:

> >> Hi everybody,
> >> I am trying to mix cement:lime:sand mortar in the lab for
> >> research
> >> purpose. However, I am not sure about the amount of water
> >> required to
> >> achieve good strength and sufficient workability for
> >> cement:lime:sand
> >> mortar. For cement:sand mortar, the water/cement ratio is
> >> normally
> >> being 0.45-0.65 or so. Will the water/cement ratio change when
> >> we add
> >> lime? should we proportion water for the combined cement+lime
> >> content.
> >> I am mixing a 1:2:9 cement:lime:sand mortar and have worked out
> >> the
> >> following material weights in accordance with ASTM C270-06.
> >> Portland cement: 131 grams (density = 94 lbs/ft3)
> >> Hydrated lime: 111 grams (density = 40 lbs/ft3)
> >> Sand: 1000 grams (density = 80 lbs/ft3)
> >> Can you please comment on the mix design. Obviously, it is
> >> quite a
> >> weak mortar mix - ASTM type 'O'.
> >> If we work out the amount of water with a 0.485 (ASTM standard)
> >> w/c
> >> ratio, the amount of water comes out to:
> >> water = 0.485 (131) = 64 grams
> >> or with a water/lime + cement ratio of 0.485:
> >> water = 117 grams
> >> I thank you in anticipation of your promt response.
> >> With best regards,
> >> Hamid

> > Check Brick Industry Association (BIA) web site.
> > The Tech Notes section has good info.
> > TB- Hide quoted text -

> - Show quoted text -

cement lime and sand are normally measured in cubic units as opposed
to weight. The water should be added untill you have the stiffist
workable consistantsy. The most common ratio for cement, lime and
sand is 1:1:6. You should mix the dry ingrediants first then add
water slowly while mixing.

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