Admixtures for Concrete Blocks, Pavers, Pipes and Roofing Tiles

Holderchem supplies admixtures for semi-dry concrete products such as paving stones, fresh slabs, masonry blocks, pipes, hollow cores, manholes, etc. Admixtures supplied for concrete blocks and pipes impart crisp edges, variable surface features, excellent early and late strengths and water repellency. For concrete pavers, products can be supplied not only to enhance strengths and product consolidation but also to minimize efflorescence and absorption.

Internal moisture barriers

Internal Moisture Barriers create an internal moisture vapor barrier below the surface. They are used to internally seal stones and mortars, stopping moisture intrusion and eliminating mold and mildew problems within walls. The application of a penetrating sealer should follow when internal moisture barriers are applied on stone. While Internal Moisture Barriers are designed to enhance the water resistant properties of masonry structures, they should not be construed as a substitute for good design practices and quality construction systems. Batimix admixture products notably extend service life and durability of concrete masonry by drastically minimizing absorption and increasing compressive strength.

Plasticizing admixtures

Ready to use plasticizing admixtures enable the cost-efficient manufacture of concrete blocks, concrete bricks, paving stones, dry cast pipes, and miscellaneous landscaping units. They increase early strength development allowing for a significant reduction in cement content. They improve texture consistency by reducing compaction resistance thus enhancing cohesion; their lubricating properties reduce the abrasion of mold wearing parts. By enhancing the dispersion of cement and pigment particles they improve color consistency.

Accelerators

Accelerators are offered in standard and customized forms. The paver block & concrete block industries use accelerators to increase turn around time and thus productivity.

Masonry sealers

Special blends of polysiloxanes, which crosslink below the surface of the concrete making the concrete surface water repellant and stain resistant, allow spills to be removed more easily. Polysiloxane sealers are normally applied on all types of decorative and stained pavers, aggregate driveways and walkways, bricks, clay tiles, sandstone, limestone, marble, granite, slate, and any natural stones. They can be used on above grade plaster and stucco providing a breathable barrier against water, stains, and acids, and will seal hairline cracks. These products can either be applied alone or on top of other Batimix sealants based on silicates to provide double protection of the concrete with both deep sealing and a repellant finish.

Specialty masonry admixtures

Efflorescence is normally the white, powdery scum that can appear on masonry walls after construction but can also be brown, green, or yellow, depending on the type of salts. Efflorescent salts are primarily alkalies of Sodium Sulfates (Na₃S0₄) and Potassium Sulfates (K₂S0₄). These alkali sulfates appear because they exist somewhere within the masonry wall, either in the brick, the mortar, or the grout, or possibly a combination of these three. These alkalies combine with sulfates from the masonry to form sulfate salts.

The alkali sulfates in the wall are dissolved by water into a solution, which then moves through the natural pores in the masonry. The solution migrates to the surface of the wall where the water evaporates, depositing the salts on the wall and generating the white powdery scum we know as efflorescence.

Three conditions must exist before efflorescence will occur: (1) There must be water-soluble salts present somewhere in the wall; (2) There must be sufficient moisture in the wall to render the salts into a soluble solution. (3) There must be a path for the soluble salts to migrate through to the surface where the moisture can evaporate, thus depositing the salts, which then crystallize, and cause efflorescence. All three conditions must exist for efflorescence to appear.

Even though the efflorescence problem is complex, it can be reduced so as to make it almost impossible to occur.