Indoor enclosure
- Thread starter Anyfoot
- Start date
It's just sand and cement mix. Hoping it doesn't crack as it dries out. We will see. Drying it slowly should help to not crack.
When we were building her enclosure wall I also used some of the remaining sand and cement to try and make a food dish. The second day it cracked all over... How is cement cured? I hear it all the time. They said curing it will prevent cracking?
Should have added, if you look in the 1st photo you can see the mix is not over wet, when concrete dries out it shrinks as the water evaporates, so less water in the first place means less shrinkage which should mean less chance of cracking.
Ok, I think I got it. My dad just ask me to keep on spraying water when he was mixing. We didn't even follow any ratio for the cement and sand.
I'm no expert at all in this field. I think the term curing in cement basically means drying out slowly. If it dries fast in the heat of the sun there is more chance of cracking, I think. In your climate you could cover what ever you do with a sheet of wood to cast a shadow and stop the intense sun heat.
I'm dreading looking at mine when it dried. Lol.
1 part cement to 4 parts sand. Add water to consistently required. That's what I was told from a builder.
In the evening the temps drop below 30C. We left it to dry at night, so should be the water.
To cure concrete like this without aggregate the best way is to cover it with wet burlap or some sort of cloth that will hold in the moisture. Concrete does not harden by drying - it actually a chemical reaction. 4 parts sand to 1 part cement will actually not be waterproof. that's about the ratio used for stucco and also gunite - which then needs a plaster coat to make waterproof. A plaster coat is normally about 2 sand to 1 cement and mixed with a latex additive I buy at Home Depot in one gallon jugs. You mix the plaster coat wetter than normal concrete so you can spread it on about 1/4 - 1/2" thick. Perhaps you are planning on coating your pool with a waterproof epoxy like I think you used in your other areas. Obviously that would work well and then no plaster coat is needed.
Also - I really LOVE the work you are doing here. I think you saw my pictures of my backyard environments - so we are kindred spirits in being somewhat handy and loving to make things the best possible. This tortoise house is fantastic.
My plan was to coat with the water proof chlorinated paint too, however my fear was that it may scratch off over time with the tortoises nails and plastrons rubbing. I was not aware of what you have just suggested and it sounds a better idea.
So what you are saying is when this is set hard I can put a 1/4" thick layer of 2:1 ratio with latex addative in. If I do this are the tortoises ok walking directly on that,
And yes, what you have created is out of this world.
@Markw84
Is this the stuff?
http://www.diy.com/departments/mapei-flexible-additive/38137_BQ.prd
Thanks again.
Is this the stuff?
http://www.diy.com/departments/mapei-flexible-additive/38137_BQ.prd
Thanks again.
This is what I used for my pond. It is a Sika product. I don't see where the one you found says it's for concrete, but it is an acrylic fortifier. Normally you most see it used as an additive for thinset for tile. If improves the bond and makes it more impervious to water penetration.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/SikaLate...PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-205116870-_-202521398-_-N
This would create the same surface you end up with in a swimming pool. So yes, a little abrasive but not bad at all. You may just want to go with an epoxy paint, or perhaps a paint on rubberized coating made for fish ponds. Those are made to seal well and shouldn't rub off. That stuff is a little pricy but you have a small area there.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/SikaLate...PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-205116870-_-202521398-_-N
This would create the same surface you end up with in a swimming pool. So yes, a little abrasive but not bad at all. You may just want to go with an epoxy paint, or perhaps a paint on rubberized coating made for fish ponds. Those are made to seal well and shouldn't rub off. That stuff is a little pricy but you have a small area there.
That is what I painted everything with, rubberized chlorinated paint, pond and swimming pool grade. I have enough of the grey colour left to paint the pond. That was my original idea. Would you still go with painting it then. And yes its very expensive £54 a tin. Ive used nearly 8 tins
. Well actually I got it at half price, but still extortionate price, and a nightmare to paint on when cold, And if you roll it too fast it starts spinning like a spiders web. Ok that's my moan for today. Would you paint it if you were in my shoes? Thanks Mark.
Yes, that would definitely be my choice. I would have done that if I didn't have a 1000 sq ft pond to cover. Be careful about applying if too cold - it may not set properly. With your setup there, turn on some of the light and heat the place to the 70s for your painting. It will go much easier and come out better.
Lol, thanks. I discovered that whilst doing ceiling. Oh and the first time I used it I didn't put a mask on. Pink elephants everywhere. Cheers.
Legmaker72
Member
Wow....that's just amazing....
Any news on your enclosure? Looks great so far!
Waiting for the pond to fully set so I can paint it is holding me back a bit. Should be able to paint that this weekend.
Last weekend I put the heat panels up in the ceiling and started to fill it up with soil near the caves.
I'll take photos and update this coming weekend. Thanks for asking.
Update. I got roped into decorating my youngest daughters bedroom, so that took some of my time up. That said the pond took some drying out anyway.
So I now have heat panels connected up to seperate stats(in case one fails others will be OK)
The panels are 320w far infrared(fir) this means they work in a spectrum below 500°c. These actually only work at 90°c. So will take a while to heat up, but once up hopefully will maintain heat level at a low cost, these are attached to proportional stats.
Ive got a 200w CHE in each cave at the back. Stats for them are in the post.
I've coated the pond once with chlorinated rubber paint, Will do again this week. You can see where the wier will be into a filtration tank.
I've also started to fill it up at the back with soil. This is a right pain, no option but do it bit by bit in rubber tubs, can't even use a wheel Barrow. To many steps up the garden. I'll fill it up then put a layer of top soil on. The caves will only be about 4 to 6" deep so they don't lay eggs in there.
I've taken the bamboo barrier out on left hand side of upper level, wasn't happy with that and need to re-think.
So I now have heat panels connected up to seperate stats(in case one fails others will be OK)
The panels are 320w far infrared(fir) this means they work in a spectrum below 500°c. These actually only work at 90°c. So will take a while to heat up, but once up hopefully will maintain heat level at a low cost, these are attached to proportional stats.
Ive got a 200w CHE in each cave at the back. Stats for them are in the post.
I've coated the pond once with chlorinated rubber paint, Will do again this week. You can see where the wier will be into a filtration tank.
I've also started to fill it up at the back with soil. This is a right pain, no option but do it bit by bit in rubber tubs, can't even use a wheel Barrow. To many steps up the garden. I'll fill it up then put a layer of top soil on. The caves will only be about 4 to 6" deep so they don't lay eggs in there.
I've taken the bamboo barrier out on left hand side of upper level, wasn't happy with that and need to re-think.
