How to dilute bitumen? When restoring a roof or basement insulation, the question often arises: how to dilute the bitumen? Roofing on new buildings is rarely poured on them, since now there are many more attractive options for insulating and covering it. But over the decades of their existence, such a layer of roofing material has accumulated on old houses that, apart from bitumen, there are practically no restoration options left (after all, sometimes it is not even possible to peel off multiple layers). The dismantling of ruberoid "pies" is so laborious that people try to push it as far into the future as possible, especially if the building is not residential - a garage, a barn, summer cuisine, extension. And for coating waterproofing of the foundation, bitumen is still one of the most popular materials - cheap, fairly reliable, available for self use, even if the work is associated with hard physical labor and some danger in carrying out. True, if the goal is to get the most reliable foundation waterproofing possible, it is better to glue a waterproofing barrier or the same roofing material over the bitumen. Alone, the bituminous coating cracks quite quickly and begins to let moisture through. How to dilute bitumen in the conditions of private construction or repair? As you can see, this issue is still relevant both in the construction of foundation protection and in the repair of old roofs. Therefore, it is worth taking a closer look here, which we tried to do in this article. If you are reading this article in some other group, we recommend that you find the Repair Book group, where similar articles come out earlier. Features of bituminous processing Gone are the days when bitumen existed in only one, solid, variety. Now there is a fairly large variety of waterproofing materials of this type: - solid bitumen; - liquefied bitumen; - bitumen-rubber mastics; - bitumen-polymer mastics. All solid variations need to be melted. It is impossible to dissolve bricks in any solvent. To some extent, bitumen will pass into it, however, it will be quite insignificant. Often such a solution is used as a primer - a primer under bituminous waterproofing. The primer is made as follows: - The bitumen is pricked into small pieces. It is advisable to carry out this operation in the shade - when heated in the sun, it becomes sluggish and reluctantly splits. - The fragments are immersed in diesel fuel or waste oil. By volume - so that the solvent covers the pieces completely, but does not form a large layer above it. - When the liquid takes on the color of bitumen, it is ready to be used as a primer. How to melt lumpy bitumen If we consider solid bitumen as a waterproofing agent, then it needs to be melted for use. And this step cannot be avoided. Moreover, in its pure form, bitumen for application (and further existence with functioning) is not very suitable. First, it freezes too quickly. Secondly, it does not fill the pores too tightly - it is too viscous and dense. Thirdly, very soon the layer begins to crack. Therefore, when working with bitumen, the following algorithm is usually observed: Bitumen, broken into pieces, melts into metal barrel on a quiet fire. Moreover, the fire should be as slow as possible: during rapid combustion in some places, the material already begins to coke from overheating, while in others it still remains solid. We remind you that this article was compiled for the Repair Book group. If you have not subscribed to it yet, then subscribe urgently - similar articles are published earlier in it. After melting, it is left on fire until foam stops appearing, that is, dehydration stops. A filler is poured into the container, as which the best choice is dissolved asbestos, but it is quite difficult to find. So cement, chalk, gypsum (including alabaster), talc, ground clay, and so on are usually taken. Pursued goal: prevention of the formation of pores by the coating. When the filler is kneaded, a solvent is added - it will prevent the bitumen from solidifying too quickly. The approximate ratio of components is as follows: half of the volume is bitumen, 30% is diesel fuel, the rest is fillers. It remains to add a couple of clarifications. First, do not forget that bitumen is a combustible material and can flare up if overheated or heated too intensely. It is useless to extinguish it with water; you need to keep a tin cover on hand to stop the access of oxygen. You need to be especially careful after adding diesel fuel: in its pure form, bitumen ignites at 230 degrees, with a solvent, the flash point is significantly reduced. Second: many people suggest using mining, gasoline or kerosene as a solvent. If it is quite possible to agree with the first option, then the last 2 are no good: the substances are very volatile and combustible. Most of it will evaporate before it fulfills the task of a solvent, the rest will increase flammability at times. Liquefied bitumen It just does not need to be heated, it is already in a suitable consistency for application. However, it can thicken over time. In this case, it is used to dilute it: low-octane gasoline. On the one hand, a cheaper and more affordable solvent, but the fire hazard is high, as is volatility. The presence of open sources of fire (in particular, smoking) is unacceptable, and there is a risk of inhaling vapors to the point of poisoning; white spirit is more expensive, but much safer. The solvent must be added little by little, constantly stirring it. Remember that it is lighter than bitumen and will collect on the surface. If accidentally poured, you can wait for separation and simply drain off the excess Bituminous mastics Solvents remain the same regardless of what is the second component - rubber or polymers. Mastics are good because they can be used when it's already cold outside. In addition, they do not need heating. However, when low temperatures mastics become too viscous. Solvents are added to overcome their reaction to frost. As they can be used: - gasoline - it works great, but the mentioned shortcomings do not go away; - kerosene. It is desirable - aviation, with which problems may arise. The household one is not clean enough and can degrade the quality of the insulation. In addition, he, like the previous position, is combustible and volatile; - White Spirit. The only downside is the cost. Despite its relative cheapness, it is needed in large volume, so it will cost a pretty penny; - turpentine: liquefies the mastic well, inexpensive, less volatile and combustible than gasoline and kerosene, but the smell is very characteristic; - nefras, he is gasoline - "galosh"; - acetone, solvent, 646. The most suitable solvent is recommended for a specific type of mastic by its manufacturer. So before deciding how to dilute bitumen or mastic from it, read the manufacturer's recommendations.
The foundation of the house is exposed to constant destructive effects from various factors. environment. Particularly active is the water that is contained in the soil and penetrates into it after precipitation. During the construction of the foundation, it is necessary to provide additional protection against this influence. The most frequently used bituminous mastic.
Why is coating waterproofing with bitumen necessary?
AT classical form, bituminous mastic is a mixture of several components that reliably and tightly cement cracks in the base surface and prevent moisture from penetrating into the foundation structure.
Mastic quickly hardens due to the application various solvents and other elements that ensure the effectiveness of the solution. With the help of mastic it is possible to create highly effective seamless surfaces. This is true for the roof and for the walls, and definitely for the foundation.
Before using the mastic, it is important to know how and with what to dissolve the resin to paint the foundation. From right combination elements depends on the effectiveness of the subsequent operation of the protective layer.
How to dilute bituminous mastic
To know exactly how to dilute the resin for painting the foundation, you need to understand what indicators you want to get. The proportions in which the constituent components in the mastic are combined determines not only the density, but also performance characteristics solution. Among the substances used to dissolve the mastic, the following are used:
- Gasoline (kerosene).
- White Spirit.
- Gasoline-galosh (Gasoline-solvent for the rubber industry).
Correctly choosing the substance and amount of material that needs to be diluted with bitumen for the foundation means preparing the optimal material for processing the foundation.
What additives are used to dilute the mastic
It is possible to add to the created solution various options fillers. Therefore, the builder should decide what parameters he wants to get in the end.
Now the most popular types of mastic are the following:
- bituminous rubber mastic,
- polyurethane,
- latex,
- oil, rubber.
If we take bitumen-rubber mastic, then at the heart of its composition are directly bitumen and polymer.
Polyurethane and rubber form in the solution additional plasticity of the solution, in which the formed film is not only strong, but can be stretched by about 20 times.
The use of rubber for the preparation of cold mix allows you to create a material that does not require preparation before use. The mastic is applied evenly and is homogeneous and durable.
The addition of oil components helps to prevent hardening of the material. Such compounds are necessary for waterproofing pipes and which will be placed underground.
Cooking features
The process of making bituminous mastic is not difficult, you just need to choose the right ingredients and follow ground rules cooking.
The following elements are required to complete the work:
- pieces of bitumen, cleaned of contaminants;
- specially selected fillers,
- various plasticizers.
For example, to create waterproofing, you need to have about 10 kilograms of mastic. This will require approximately 8 kg of bitumen, 1 kg of filler and 500 grams of plasticizer.
For mastic cooking, durable boilers with a wall thickness of 3 mm or more are selected. There should also be a lid. Thanks to the heating of the walls, the bitumen heats up evenly.
The boiler must be loaded no more than 70% - otherwise the mastic may begin to splash out. For cooking, the following rules must be strictly observed:
- The cauldron is not placed above the fire, but is set to the side.
- The temperature should be at the level of 190 degrees, which does not lead to the decomposition of the material.
- Temperature fluctuations are unacceptable, which can lead to the formation of homogeneous mass mastics.
- For the fastest preparation of the mixture, it is necessary to divide the bitumen into small pieces.
- Cooking mastic should be slow and even.
- Filler and additives should also be crushed.
- The addition of components is carried out gradually.
- The solution is regularly stirred and the resulting foam is periodically removed.
- After the disappearance of the foam, fillers can be added.
- After adding the resulting solution is thoroughly stirred - and the bituminous mastic is ready for use!
Now, after you have learned how to dilute the bituminous mastic for the foundation and how to prepare it, you should know how to properly apply it to the surface.
How to apply bituminous mastic
After preparing the mastic, it should be properly applied to the surface. For this, 2 methods are used:
- Application by hand.
- Mechanized method of application with the use of special tools.
The manual method of work is optimal when performing a small amount of work. For a large work area manual technology impractical, so mechanisms are used. Also, tools are used to work with hard-to-reach places.
Before application, the surface to be treated should be prepared. The surface is cleaned and dried thoroughly. After that, a thin layer of primer is applied, which ensures interaction with the mastic.
After the mixture is ready and warm enough, you can proceed directly to the application. For this, an ordinary roller or brush is used - the choice of a specific tool depends on the nature of the surface, volume and complexity of the configuration of the foundation, wall or roof. Sometimes a wide spatula is used for application.
The layers of mastic are applied with an overlap, which should be approximately 10 centimeters. This prevents the formation of empty parts, which will be exposed to moisture penetration.
The application of the next layer of mastic begins after the previous one has completely hardened.
The use of bituminous mastic for waterproofing the base is an important factor in protecting the structure and preventing the formation of microcracks and damage.
When restoring a roof or basement insulation, the question often arises: how to dilute the bitumen? Roofing on new buildings is rarely poured on them, since now there are many more attractive options for insulating and covering it. But over the decades of their existence, such a layer of roofing material has accumulated on old houses that, apart from bitumen, there are practically no restoration options left (after all, sometimes it is not even possible to peel off multiple layers).
The dismantling of ruberoid "pies" is so laborious that people try to push it as far into the future as possible, especially if the building is not residential - a garage, a barn, a summer kitchen, an extension. And for coating waterproofing of the foundation, bitumen still remains one of the most popular materials - cheap, fairly reliable, available for independent use, even if the work is associated with hard physical labor and some danger in carrying out. True, if the goal is to get the most reliable foundation waterproofing possible, it is better to glue a waterproofing barrier or the same roofing material over the bitumen. Alone, the bituminous coating cracks quite quickly and begins to let moisture through.
How to dilute bitumen in the conditions of private construction or repair? As you can see, this issue is still relevant both in the construction of foundation protection and in the repair of old roofs. Therefore, it is worth taking a closer look here, which we tried to do in this article.
Features of bituminous processing
Gone are the days when bitumen existed in only one, hard, variety. Now there is a fairly large variety of waterproofing materials of this type:
- solid bitumen;
- liquefied bitumen;
- bitumen-rubber mastics;
- bitumen-polymer mastics.
The primer is made as follows:
- The bitumen breaks into small pieces. It is advisable to carry out this operation in the shade - when heated in the sun, it becomes sluggish and reluctantly splits.
- The fragments are immersed in diesel fuel or waste oil. By volume - so that the solvent covers the pieces completely, but does not form a large layer above it.
- When the liquid takes on the color of bitumen, it is ready for use as a primer.
How to melt lumpy bitumen
If we consider solid bitumen as a waterproofing agent, then it is required to melt it for use. And this step cannot be avoided. Moreover, in its pure form, bitumen for application (and further existence with functioning) is not very suitable.
First, it freezes too quickly.
Secondly, it does not fill the pores too tightly - it is too viscous and dense.
Thirdly, very soon the layer begins to crack. Therefore, when working with bitumen, the following algorithm is usually observed:
- Bitumen, broken into pieces, is melted in a metal barrel over a quiet fire. Moreover, the fire should be as slow as possible: during rapid burning in some places, the material already begins to coke from overheating, while in others it still remains solid.
- After melting, it is left on fire until foam stops appearing, that is, dehydration stops.
- A filler is poured into the container, for which loose asbestos is the best choice, but it is quite difficult to find it. So cement, chalk, gypsum (including alabaster), talc, ground clay, and so on are usually taken. Pursued goal: prevention of the formation of pores by the coating.
- When the filler is kneaded, a solvent is added - it will prevent the bitumen from solidifying too quickly.
The approximate ratio of components is as follows: half of the volume is bitumen, 30% is diesel fuel, the rest is fillers.
It remains to add a couple of clarifications. First, do not forget that bitumen is a combustible material and can flare up if overheated or heated too intensely. It is useless to extinguish it with water; you need to keep a tin cover on hand to stop the access of oxygen. You need to be especially careful after adding diesel fuel: in its pure form, bitumen ignites at 230 degrees, with a solvent, the flash point is significantly reduced.
Second: many people suggest using mining, gasoline or kerosene as a solvent.
If it is quite possible to agree with the first option, then the last 2 are no good: the substances are very volatile and combustible. Most of it will evaporate before it fulfills the task of a solvent, the rest will increase flammability at times.
Liquefied bitumen
It just does not need to be heated, it is already in a consistency suitable for application. However, it can thicken over time. In this case, to dilute it, use:
- low octane gasoline. On the one hand, a cheaper and more affordable solvent, but the fire hazard is high, as is volatility. The presence of open sources of fire (in particular, smoking) is unacceptable, and there is a risk of inhaling vapors to the point of poisoning;
white spirit is more expensive, but much safer. - The solvent must be added little by little, constantly stirring it. Remember that it is lighter than bitumen and will collect on the surface. If accidentally poured, you can wait for the bundle and just drain the excess
Bituminous mastics
Solvents remain the same regardless of whether the second component is rubber or polymers. Mastics are good because they can be used when it's already cold outside. In addition, they do not need heating. However, at low temperatures, mastics become too viscous. Solvents are added to overcome their reaction to frost. They can be used as:
- gasoline - works great, but the mentioned shortcomings do not go away;
- kerosene. It is desirable - aviation, with which problems may arise. The household one is not clean enough and can degrade the quality of the insulation. In addition, he, like the previous position, is combustible and volatile;
- White Spirit. The only downside is the cost. Despite its relative cheapness, it is needed in large volume, so it will cost a pretty penny;
- turpentine: liquefies the mastic well, inexpensive, less volatile and combustible than gasoline and kerosene, but the smell is very characteristic;
- nefras, he is gasoline - "galosh";
- acetone, solvent, 646. The most suitable solvent is recommended for a specific type of mastic by its manufacturer. So before deciding how to dilute bitumen or mastic from it, read the manufacturer's recommendations.
When I needed to fill the roof of the garage with waterproofing, then I realized from my own experience that it is not only possible, but also necessary to save on materials such as bitumen, or rather bituminous mastic.
I want to correct the question right away, since I myself encountered the fact that bitumen and bituminous mastic different materials. They differ in that bitumen is essentially a natural or modified material, and bituminous mastic is a material prepared to work with some impurities.
There is natural bitumen, this fraction is formed from oil when it is not proper storage, in fact, it is oxidized oil.
Bitumen can also be obtained by vacuum distillation, but this is a complex chemical operation that can only be performed with a special industrial equipment. During oil refining, namely its concentration, residual or precipitated bitumen is obtained.
So, it is not possible to produce bitumen at home, all recipes based on the manufacture of bitumen from waste oil are nothing more than oil thickening, and the final product cannot be called bitumen.
You also need to be clear that there are two professionally prepared materials in stores:
- bituminous primer
- bituminous mastic
The primer is better than the mastic, it dries faster, the anti-corrosion properties are higher, the penetrating properties are higher, it can be applied on a damp surface, it adheres well. But the primer is inferior to mastic in fragility.
So you can get a bituminous primer or mastic at home, you should not spend money on buying an already liquefied mastic. By the way, you can achieve the desired consistency, which is suitable for certain jobs.
The recipe for making bitumen (or rather finished material) to cover the roof of the garage:
It is necessary to take 85% of the bulk of ordinary solid bitumen and crush it into small pieces.
It is necessary to fall asleep in a metal container gradually, which is heated on ... for example, a fire or a stove, all the bitumen.
Further, without waiting for the bitumen to warm up, you need to add a plasticizer, the cheapest substitute is used engine oil, it needs only 5%, no more, since the finished product can turn out to be liquid.
It is desirable to fill the remaining 10% with some kind of filler, for a more stable insulation later. Personally, I added asbestos chips there, a neighbor advised me to do this, its marking is A6-K-30, it looks something like this:
If it is necessary to fill in the seams, then cement can be poured into the solution at the end of readiness, not much 1-3% of the total mass, the best quality is best. It will give hardness and better adhesion to the surface.
Now about the cooking conditions:
- The solution in the container should be no more than 60-70%, since it will have to be constantly stirred.
- It is not permissible that dirt be present in the solution, cracks may appear due to it.
- The cooking process should be at least 3 hours and should not take place at high temperatures.
- pour fractions gradually, as they are melted and mixed.
- Stir the mixture constantly and most importantly remove the resulting foam from the surface.
After the bituminous mastic is ready, it must be constantly heated, but it must be used within the next 12-18 hours.
Do not immediately pour a lot into cracks and crevices, try to pour in a thin stream and with a long period of time.
Today, there are many types of work that require such material as bitumen. Each bitumen-related work performed is specific in its own way and requires certain knowledge and experience related to the use of bitumen itself.
Depending on the application, bitumen is divided into:
- solid;
- liquid;
- bituminous mastics;
- polymeric;
- rubber.
Without the addition of other components to the bitumen itself, it does not have a high degree of suitability both in use and in further use. This is due to the fact that in its usual form it quickly hardens, becomes viscous, which prevents it from being applied evenly. And also after application, cracks may form on the layer.
What and how to dilute bitumen?
When preservative wood used more liquid bitumen. When waterproofing roofs, foundations and other things, they are thicker. In order to get the desired consistency, you need to perform the following steps.
Bitumen must be crushed. It can be chopped into pieces with an axe. And it is advisable to do this in the shade or indoors in order to avoid a direct hit sun rays on it, otherwise it becomes soft and harder to break.
Then the chopped pieces are placed in a bucket and then, depending on the degree of fire hazard of the object on which these works are carried out. Or we make a small fire, just a small one because of a strong flame, bitumen can both flare up and coke. Or, using an electric extension cord, install the electric stove on safe removal observing safety precautions.
Heating the bitumen to a boil, you must wait until the foam leaves it, this is moisture when it boils, it dehydrates. After that, remove the bucket from heating and add to it to the existing 50% - bitumen, 30% - solvent, 10% - oil, 10% mining. It is this composition that will help increase the flash point and obtain a homogeneous mass with which it is easier to work later. And also due to the absence of pores in it, it will be applied to the surface with better quality.
After adding the components, put the bucket on heat again and stir until a homogeneous mass is obtained. Upon receipt of which the bitumen is ready to work.
Why can't bitumen be diluted with diesel fuel?
There are several reasons why you should not dilute bitumen with diesel fuel.
The first of which is a noticeable decrease in the ignition temperature.
The second reason is the high degree of combustibility and volatility, most of it will quickly evaporate before it has time to dissolve anything.
Also, one of the disadvantages of this dilution method is that when diesel fuel is poured into bitumen, it cannot be drained back, as it can be done with a solvent. After all, for the sake of the fact that it is lighter than bitumen, it settles on the surface and after mixing and settling, it floats up and can be drained.
Summing up, it can be noted that the method of diluting bitumen with diesel fuel is both dangerous and not very effective. Therefore, it is worth working with recommended solvents for certain bitumens.