Mortar Fiber: Need Additive or Waste of Money? I used it in my screed, I share my experience.

At first glance, it is somehow difficult to put reinforcing rods and some kind of "synthetic fluff" in one row. Although both are used for reinforcement. It was this misunderstanding that aroused my interest, and the desire to test the polypropylene fiber in practice, and here it is just the screed that needs to be poured ...

Friends, greetings to all. Already several recent articles have been devoted to screed work in my house under construction.

Come in to my channel, there you will find everything ...

Today I would like to share one more important nuance.

Screed reinforcement: I decided to use all methods.

Although it is possible on the Internet to find an opinion that reinforcement in a screed is not needed at all, I decided to adhere to the main commandment of the self-builder: "if you really do, then with a margin (to be sure)".

• First, I used a composite mesh reinforcement.

• And in addition, I decided to use an incomprehensible "ingredient"

Polypropylene fiber is, at first glance, some kind of production waste. Thin fibers, which are supposed to make concrete stronger, do not seem to inspire confidence at all ...

The principle is pretty simple here, though.

It's all about the number, and the randomness of the arrangement of these fibers in the thickness of the screed.

This reminds me of an example with a "twig": One branch is easy to break, but when it is a bunch of branches, then completely different efforts are needed.

As a result, we get:

• Several times higher fracture and point load strength.
• Abrasion resistance is increased.
• Increased impact strength.
• Prevention of shrinkage cracking.

Especially when the screed is floating (poured over the EPS), while with a minimum thickness (about 40-50 mm), then all these advantages must be used.

At the same time, there are no difficulties in the work.

It is better to add fiber to water, and then to a mixture of sand and cement.

Then it crumbles better.

Although not everything worked out perfectly for me, and when smoothing the screed, I came across scraps of fiber. But they do not affect the final result in any way.

It turns out such a "hairy" surface.

Considering the fact that polypropylene fiber is inexpensive, it is simply stupid not to use this additive. At the same time, we get quite significant advantages in the final result.

✅ Friends, I am waiting for your opinion on this matter in the comments. This is a very important addition to every article.

Subscribe to the channel, and like it 👍. We build further, learn new things, gain experience ...