Today speed and time plays a crucial role in the construction industry. The mortars are made of the following raw materials like limestone powder, sand, hydrated lime and cement. Some of the advantages are consistent quality, savings in time, labor and controlled inventory. Other materials are also added in the mortar mix depending on its application. They can also be used in number of projects including concrete bricks and other building materials. The products can be used in number of applications like interior or exterior stucco, adhesive for tiles, repairing tiles and filler. For any kind of bricklaying work the right amount of mortar will help you to save both money and time.
Working with mortar becomes much easier and the bricklayer should only be made to use within couple of hours. Once this mixture is over another batch can be made. The mortar compound can be made with the help of the machine manually. The process is much faster for builders that search for pocket-friendly construction materials.
In an ideal environment the most common construction materials can definitely end to the last and are durable. But in-spite of this, degradation can take place in any form which comprises of chemical reaction, mechanical wear, erosion and consumption by living organism. Some of the traditional building materials are wood, concrete and steel that can deteriorate easily.
As per dry mix manufacturers there are number of innovative materials that can be put to best use. Nowadays the market has number of construction materials due to which the process is much faster and economical for builders. Not only this less time is taken to mix the compound and the quality of the product might be consistent depending on the maker of the compound.
Dry mix products provide excellent technical properties to meet the stringent performance requirements which are common in the current construction scenario. The use of dry mix mortar products will be cost effective by reducing the potential construction problems with the long-term integrity of structures with a simple materials approach.
Dry mix mortar has a wide category of products that includes dry mix products and construction chemicals in dry form. Globally, manufacturers of construction chemicals have the entire dry mix mortar product range. However, they are not specifically categorised as dry mortar manufacturers as they also have liquid and resin based products.
The advantages for dry mix mortar include:
- Factory made dry mortar with quality certification as per standards
- Usage of quality raw materials as per the applicable standards
- Green products for environment sustainability
- Educating the users on good construction practices and quality of the contents
- Pursuing the industry to deliver structures with good standards
- Testing of products for all technical parameters and creating awareness about the technical attributes to users for choosing the right product
- Proper quantification of materials and reduction in wastage
- Speed
- Hassle free and ease of application and usages
Raw Materials for Dry-Mix Mortar
Most of the dry-mix mortar products require only the addition of potable water and mixed with a simple mixer to produce high-quality fresh mortars. Although the dry mortars are relatively easy to prepare and use, the ingredients and their proportions of each product are sometimes very complicated. Most of the high-performance products are usually based on extensive development process and tests in order to achieve the designed materials properties.
The raw materials used for dry-mix can generally be grouped into four main categories (binders, fillers, chemical additives, pigments) and some of the basic generic types are listed below:
Binders
- Ordinary Portland cement (OPC)
- High alumina cement (HAC)
- Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS)
- Pulverized fuel ash (PFA)
- Micro silica
- Hydrated lime
- Gypsum
- Anhydrite
- Polymer
Fillers
- Silica sand
- Quartz sand
- Limestone powder
- Silica powder
- Bentonite
- Perlite
- Polystyrene
- Vermiculite
- Expansion clay
- Cellulose fibre
- Polypropylene fibre
Chemical Additives
- Cellulose esters
- Superplasticizers
- Thickening agents
- Air entraining agents
- Accelerating agents
- Retarding agents
- Defoaming agents
- Hydrophobic agents
- Plasticizing agents
- Shrinkage compensation agents
Pigments
- Inorganic pigments
- Organic pigments
Most of the dry-mix mortar products contain both mineral cementitious binder (e.g. OPC) and the polymer binder (e.g. re-dispersible powder) and they are normally packed in bags after mixing in the factory. Hence, the dry-mix mortar products are also known as Premixed or Pre-bagged Polymer Modified Cementitious Mortar.
Some of the Dry Mix Mortar Products Include
- Plastering – internal / external
- Thin joint mortars
- Floor screeds
- Stuccos
- Cement grouts
- Tile adhesives
- Tile joint fillers
- Waterproofing products
- Crack fillers and repair materials
Market Potential
In India, the trend of dry mix mortar is catching up for the last few years and is showing a good prospect for future in the construction industry. By using dry mortar products, the quality, and speed of construction increases. The market is yet to see its full potential but with an increasing interest of the manufacturers its getting adopted more as the days goes by.
The Key players of this system include the name such as- Ramco Cements Limited, Magicrete Building Solutions Pvt. ltd, Citadel, Green Built, Perlecon, Ultratech, Frigmaires Engineers, Buildmate Projects Pvt. Ltd, Saint Gobain Weber. These all are national players.
Apart from them there also firms some local players such as, DICO FIX, PNEUCON PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES, Laxmi En-fab Pvt. Limited,The, Ready Mix Construction Machinery Pvt. ltd, Robuster Constructware LLP, S. F. Engineering Works, 360 Degree Global Equipments Pvt Ltd, Avcon Technics Private Limited, Speed Dry Mix India Pvt Ltd. etc
Factors driving the demand
One key factor that has been driving demand is the ability of these products to save on labour costs. With the use of specialized application equipment, substantial improvement in workmen efficiency and output has been reported due to the use of these products. For countries like India suffering from a crunch in construction labour, adoption of this technology could be the answer. Ease of application is another important factor that works in favour of dry mix mortar products. This is one more factor that is especially important in countries like India, where a majority of the construction workers are unskilled, with very low levels of education.
Another important factor that can further drive the demand for dry mix mortar-based products is the pressure from various quarters to deliver buildings that are durable and require very low maintenance. Their ability to deliver on the promise of consistency of quality is what has been a major reason for the remarkable growth in demand for these products. The need to increase the sustainability quotient of buildings and ensure long-term functional durability is the demand nowadays from specifiers and dry mix mortar technology is what is they are looking towards for delivering on this key aspect.
Future:
The non-availability of river-sand and the increase in labour cost and non-availability of skilled labour have necessitated the requirement of ready-made building products. This scenario was well understood by major cement manufacturers globally and in India for a forward integration business model through dry mix plants. Considering cement volumes and the percentage cement volume for masonry applications, the higher rate of conversion of conventional cement mortar system to factory made dry mortar is possible in the near future. the need of the hour is the adaption of the technology based on local requirements and availability of raw materials. There is also a need to increase awareness levels about the benefits of using the technology. There needs to be a sustained campaign organized in order to drill the fact that here is a technology that can not only enable improvement in construction productivity, but it will also help enhance building quality, while at the same time being easy to apply.