Re-using a sharp sand:cement dry mix

swajarbal

I used a sharp sand and cement dry mix at 4:1 in the summer as a bed to lay some paving bricks along my garden as a mowing strip. I have had a hedge removed recently, and need to push back the mowing strip to the boundary. I have dug up the bricks and the previously laid dry mortar mix is obviously partly solidified with moisture from the soil. I was wondering if I can re-use the mortar mix by breaking it down (possibly drying/heating it or smashing with a hammer) without having to dispose of it all in a skip, only to then buy new sharp sand and cement to do the same job as before.

stuart45

If you could break it down small enough you could use it as the aggregate, and then get some new cement for a new mix. Might be a fair bit of work depending on how hard it's gone.

swajarbal

stuart45 said:

If you could break it down small enough you could use it as the aggregate, and then get some new cement for a new mix. Might be a fair bit of work depending on how hard it's gone.

Thanks. Would I need to add water to that, or would it be OK to use as a dry mix again?

stuart45

I would add a small amount of water to the mix, rather than relying on moisture from the ground.