Every Thing You’ll Need To Know About Molding your own Blocks In Nigeria.

Sandcrete manufacture could be for Solid blocks, hollow blocks. It could also be Called cement block manufacture.

On this post, I’m going to explain the concept of cement block manufacture and I hope you’re going to learn a lot from it.

Sandcrete Blocks are usually made with cement and Sharp sand. In Nigeria, the most popular cement makers include Dangote, Elephant, Unicem and the rest of them

How are blocks Made In Nigeria?

Block Manufacturing is a very interesting topic in Nigeria especially for those intending to be landlords.

While some commercial molders use the sandcrete molding machine, others use the manual molders which I think is really the most common in Nigeria.

Sandcrete Blocks are made by mixing sharp sand and cement in the right proportion along with water. This must be done by a reputable molder in order to ensure the blocks are of the required strength.

Ratio is 1:4 ( 4 wheelbarrows of Sharp sand to be mixed with 1 bag of Cement). You’re also going to add water depending on the moisture content of the Sharp sand used.

How Many Blocks Can I Make From A Bag Of Cement?

Usually, this depends on the need of the client. For the sake of standards, it is normal to make 35 blocks from every one back of cement for 5 inches blocks.

For 6 inches blocks (solid), 25 blocks is the standard. This is the average number of blocks you’re going to get if you’re holding a solid block

But for the same 6 inches block (Hollow), a total of 30 or 30 blocks

For 9 inches blocks, you can get 20 in total and they’ll all be of the required standard.

Please note that the standard mentioned here is According to BS 8110.

What Do I Do after Molding the Blocks?

You’re to carefully ensure they’re off from destruction. This means you’re to barricade the area where the blocks are laid. Sandcrete blocks are usually soft, just like a moist soil for the first 6 hours (If its A sunny day).

After the first day, you can cure. Curing means spraying water in the blocks in order to reduce the rate of Strength dissipation.

Curing can also be done by covering the sandcrete blocks with Nylon, Grass materials. But the generally accepted method of curing is that of spraying water on the blocks.

How Do I Get A Good Molder?

Depends on the time available for the project. If you have a lot of time, its best you ask within the community for the best molder. Its preferred you see some works he’s done before or employ his based on recommendation.

 

How Much Do I Pay Per Bag?

This also depends on the location. But for 5 inches blocks, the minimum you can get is 700/bag (NGN1,000 per bag). This means if the molder molds 100 bags for you, you’ll pay him #70,000.

The Secret You Must Know

1. Ensure you’re always present on site to ensure he complies to the specification. This is because some could be dubious especially the young boys. If you cannot be on site, place someone you trust there to monitor the molding. This ensures they don’t mold 5 bags only to tell you they’ve molded 6 or 7 bags.

2. If you’re using the manual molding Method Of producing blocks, there will always be a 2 blocks difference. It may be just 1 block sometimes. This means if you directed the molder to mold 35 blocks per bag, you may end up having up to 37 or 36 in most cases since he’s using eye gauge for the measurement.

There may be no difference if he measures with wheelbarrow.

How Many Blocks Will I Get From 10 Bags Of Cement?

Since you’re molding at the rate of 35/bag, then you’ll have a total of 350 blocks from the 10 bags. But sometimes you may have 360 because of the difference arising from errors due to measurement.

That is how to Make Sandcrete Blocks for your building construction. I hope this was useful to you as the latest Contractor, latest Landlord In town.

Please share to enlighten others.