What is honeycomb in construction

Honey combs can be simply be defined as a rough, pitted surface or voids in concrete resulting from incomplete filling of the concrete against the formwork, often caused by using concrete that is too stiff or by not vibrating it sufficiently after it has been poured.

Normally honeycombs were observes in structural elements like Columns lift walls and a few beams as well.

Causes of honeycomb and voids include the following reasons;

•   Stiff or unworkable concrete
•  Over vibrating the poker the concrete
• Addition of more water
•  Improper placing practices such as pouring or releasing the concrete from a height
• The normal water cement ratio that should there is within the range of 0.4 to 0.6, but if more water is been added the workability of the concrete mixture increases. This will cause problems when the vibrator is been inserted.
•   The grout will start to leak through the small voids and from the bottom voids of the formwork
•  It will also cause the plywood to swell and will also change the dimensions and the cross- section area of the structural elements

Honey Comp in concretewall

Repairing honeycombs

Honeycomb areas should be repaired as soon as possible. The procedure of repairing honeycombs is as follows.

•  Initially the concrete particles and loosened aggregates should be removed by using a chipping hammer and a wire brush.
• Next the area should be cleaned thoroughly with a wire brush to remove finer particles and should be washed
• Let the surface dry well and apply “Chemi-fix” glue on the area
• Next mix the construction grout along with white cement and water as recommend by the manufacturers specifications (the reason for adding whit cement is to get the required colour of the mixture). It it’s a large honeycomb as in figure 44 concrete mixture is been poured after making a pocket.
• Afterwards the mixture should be poured or pasted on the area where the honeycombs have occurred
• The formwork should be removed after 12 hours and should be cured

                   

The normal water cement ratio that should there is within the range of 0.4 to 0.6, but if more water is been added the workability of the concrete mixture increases. This will cause problems when the vibrator is been inserted.

•                 The grout will start to leak through the small voids and from the bottom voids of the formwork
•   It will also cause the plywood to swell and will also change the dimensions and the cross- section area of the structural elements               

Honey comp Repaired using  Construction Grout 

Honey comp filled with Construction Grout 

What is Construction Grout ?

When you need a multi-purpose non-shrink grout, choose  Construction Grout for structural and non-structural applications, including precision grouting, base plates, precast components, machinery and equipment bases, anchor bolts, concrete repair, keyway joints, load bearing pads and other non-shrink applications.