Apr
30
The concrete block business is a business that you can start out of your home and become successful once you have the proper equipment. To start making concrete blocks is a low startup cost profitable business. Starting part time in your garage you can make 100 blocks per day using hand made molds. You make the molds from plywood and sheet metal at reasonable cost. The concrete mix is made from portland cement, gravel, sand and water, mixed in the right proportions. You fill the molds by hand, remove the blocks from them, then set them out to dry. With hand-laying, it is difficult to maintain exact joint widths. Some operatives will lay the blocks loose and others tight, making it difficult to control pavement directions. A 10,000m2 project for example can be completed by four qualified laborers in 50 days. Using a dedicated self-propelled laying machine and with good site organization, the same laborers can complete the same project in nine days. If the equipment is purchased, subsequent unit costs will be reduced and competitiveness should be improved. Manual laying will therefore be restricted to just a few square meters per day and confined to edge detailing and areas where using machinery is difficult or impossible.