Outdoor decorative work in the form of garden decoration, laying out sidewalk paths, decorating flower beds can be done using such a popular material as colored gravel. It has an almost unlimited range of colors (like the paint itself), so it allows you to carry out any design ideas. But in construction stores such material will cost 2-3 times more than its unpainted counterpart, so the question arises, how to paint the rubble yourself?
Application spectrum
The demand for this material is due to the fact that with its help you can achieve a brighter and more stylish design of the adjacent area, as well as create whole picture-messages that reflect some idea. Painted gravel is used for the following purposes:
- creation of original flower beds and lawns;
- registration of sites around artificial reservoirs;
- landscape works;
- filling terrariums and aquariums (fine gravel).
Choosing a coloring agent
In conditions where you plan to carry out small Finishing work, you do not want to purchase a large amount of building materials, therefore it is better to make crushed stone in color with your own hands, measuring as much stone as you need for the task.
The good news for many will be the fact that the production technology is simple, and the consumption is small - only 1 kg of paint is taken per 100 kg of crushed stone. This rule applies if you are going to paint in a concrete mixer, and with other methods, the consumption increases.
To accomplish this task, you can use any coloring compositions: alkyd paints, water-dispersed, enamels, sometimes even take PVA glue mixed with a dye. But the most favorable option for this purpose is acrylic paint.
This is due to the fact that you need a substance that is resistant to moisture, as well as not fading in the sun, able to keep the color for a long time. This is how the above paint is characterized, but besides this, it is also harmless, both for humans and for nature.
Required Equipment
To make the whole staining procedure go quickly and without hesitation, you will need the following devices:
- concrete mixer;
- machine "roar" - vibrating sieve;
- grate or sieve for washing or drying;
- pallet;
- container for storing finished material.
Stone preparation before painting
When buying crushed stone, you get a heterogeneous composition, the size of each stone can vary from 10 to 30 mm. There are also smaller fractions that are more applicable for interior decoration. That is why sizing is necessary.
This can be done manually on a sieve with the desired mesh size, or, which is faster and easier, use a screening machine. Any of the above technologies provides for the separation of excess litter, too small pebbles, sand.
But in order for the acrylic paint to hold well, the crushed stone must also be washed. This will ensure that the dye adheres better to the surface of the stone and allows you to create exactly the shade that you want, because if not washed, the stone can darken.
Washing can be carried out directly on the screen, pouring from a hose or water from a bucket. Due to the fact that the machine creates shaking, cleaning will pass from all sides. After that, spread the washed mass in a uniform layer on the grate and dry it in the open air.
The process of creating painted gravel
There is only one way to paint rubble, and it is almost automatic, since your participation in the main process will be minimal. The most efficient and time-saving technology involves the use of a concrete mixer. After you have prepared all the components properly, you can proceed to the painting itself, which consists of several stages:
- Crushed stone should be placed in a concrete mixer for two-thirds of the volume of the machine (if the capacity is 0.7 cubic meters).
- Pour paint in a ratio of 30 percent to 70 percent of the stone.
- Start the mechanism and wait 40-60 minutes until the stone is completely covered with a colored layer.
- At the end of the “kneading”, drying follows - lay everything on the grid, substituting a tray under the bottom, where the remaining paint will run.
Dried painted gravel is not desirable to store in the open air, it is better to use a closed container.
To protect against external influences, it is possible to use. This will give the material an additional decorative effect.
Another coloring method
If you don’t have a concrete mixer at your disposal, then it will be more difficult to create painted crushed stone, but it’s possible that you will have to pour the stone into a container with paint and mix it yourself, and then dry the crushed stone.
Or just spray paint on the stone, but this method does not give a uniform color and uniform staining on all sides.
Making your own painted gravel for finishing park areas or a plot near the house is much cheaper than buying a finished product: you will pay a thousand rubles for an unpainted product, while a colored one costs over 20 thousand. Given such savings and an extremely logical production technology, the idea of making crushed stone for decoration with your own hands is rationally conditioned.
The trend of decorating adjacent territories with colored gravel appeared relatively recently. The growth in demand for decorative crumbs attracts the attention of entrepreneurs who want profit with minimal investment. The production of colored gravel has a fairly simple and low-cost technology. With a properly designed marketing campaign, this business brings high incomes and quickly pays off.
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How is colored gravel made and who needs it?
The production of decorative chips is carried out by painting natural stone with acrylic paint. For these purposes, granite or marble is selected, with a size of 4 cm or more.
Sorted and washed from debris and unsuitable stones, the crushed stone is immersed in a concrete mixer and poured with the desired pigment. After careful processing, already colored chips are loaded onto a sieve with a tray, where excess paint will drain. It is possible to dry painted stones both with the use of a special apparatus, and simply in the fresh air. The finished dry stone is packaged in portioned bags or sold in bulk.
Colored gravel has a fairly wide scope:
1. Decoration of streets and park areas.
2. Improvement of graves and cemeteries.
3. Decoration of adjacent territories of private houses.
4. Use for aquariums and indoor flowers.
Where and with what help is colored crushed stone produced?
In order to organize an enterprise, counting on a minimum start-up capital, first of all, it is necessary to rent a room or an area of about 30 square meters. with a canopy.
Mandatory criteria for the desired workshop are:1. Access to water (rubble must be washed from dust and dirt).
2. Light for equipment operation.
For painting and storing decorative gravel, a garage of 30 square meters is quite suitable. The rent of such a room will cost 93-124 USD. e.
If the production will be organized in an open area, then bunkers will be needed for the convenience of storing raw materials and the finished product. Rent of the bunker with a volume of 10-15 cubic meters. can cost an average of 232 USD. e. (464 c.u. for two tanks).
To start a business, you must also purchase equipment:
1. Concrete mixer. For starters, you can get by with a 210-liter unit, costing 186-310 USD. e. depending on the manufacturer. About 700-800 kg of raw materials are placed in such an apparatus in one batch.
2. Vibrating sieve. It is convenient to use it for drying painted gravel. The stone dries well on all sides and excess paint flows into the supplied tray (it can be used in the next batch of staining). The cost of a new vibrating sieve is 310-775 USD. e. However, you can save money and dry decorative gravel on a hardened grate or any flat surface.
3. Bag sewing machine. It is used for sewing portion bags. This tool costs from 93 USD. e. (Chinese version) up to 620 c.u. e. (Japan).
4. Buckets (4-6 USD / piece). For one worker, you will need 2 buckets: for raw materials and finished material.
5. Shovels ($10-38/piece). When hiring two workers, 4 shovels are needed.
Expendable materials:
1. Crushed stone 40-60 (17-31 c.u./t).
2. Acrylic facade paint of the desired pigment (0.62-1.1 cu/kg). Material consumption: 2 kg per ton of stone.
Where to look for a consumer of colored gravel?
Buyers of decorative crumbs are:
1. Utilities.
2. Ritual organizations.
3. Owners of private houses.
4. Owners of animals living in aquariums.
5. Pet stores, botanical gardens, amusement parks.
For the successful functioning of a business, it is necessary to declare yourself to each of the potential clients. Personal negotiations, sales letters - all this will help the new enterprise to appear among competitors.
A well-planned marketing campaign including a discount program for wholesalers and repeat customers to build relationships with customers. In addition, you need to create an online store product. The minimum cost of organizing a virtual store has a minimum amount of 775 USD. e. The cost of advertising on the Internet and print media range from 200 c.u. e./month
Calculations of expenses and profits from the production of colored crushed stone.
Equipment and other tools for the enterprise will cost 645-1881 USD. e.
Monthly costs, including the salary of two mercenaries, will be:
1. Raw materials in the amount of 45 tons: 765-1395. Average price of crushed stone: 1080 USD e / month
2. Facade paint 40 kg/day. Monthly consumption: 880 kg, average cost 757 USD. e.
3. The salary of two mercenaries will vary within 775 c.u. e./month
4. Rent for the premises and storage bunker: 573 c.u. e/month
So, the company will have fixed expenses in the amount of 3185 USD. e.
For the project to have legal grounds, it is necessary to issue individual entrepreneurship. Registration cost - 50 USD. e.
One worker per day can fulfill a norm of 2 tons. Making calculations for 22 days of production, two workers will complete a volume of 44 tons of colored crushed stone at a price of 372 USD. e./t. By selling this product in a month, you can get about 16368 USD. e. Therefore, the monthly revenue has a size of 13183 c.u. e. So, organizing a business on a decorative stone will pay off within a month or two. These predictions can be realized if a lot of potential is invested in adjusting marketing routes. In extreme cases, it is enough to sell 10 tons per month in order to reach payback within 3-5 months.
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Usually, colored decorative gravel (crushed stone) is made and used for decorative elements, for landscape design. Its production is very profitable and cost-effective, since the original, unpainted material is quite cheap, and the dyeing of raw materials is also not a very expensive process.
Main consumers
Usually this:
- individuals using crushed stone for the arrangement and design of the landscape of the adjacent territory of summer cottages, estates, estates, country houses;
- various utilities and organizations, services engaged in landscaping and decoration of urban lawns and flower beds;
- design companies and studios involved in decorating and creating various types of landscapes.
Raw materials and equipment for production
Granite and marble chips are used as the main raw materials for production, as well as for a cheaper option - gravel or sand.
Since the finished crushed stone is sold by fractions in normal manufacturing companies, you do not need to do any additional screening, which means that you do not need to buy a vibrating screen for this, but you may need it to facilitate other tasks.
| Fraction in mm. | Price, ton (cube) / rub. |
| 0-5 (dropout) | 250 |
| 5-10 | 300 |
| 5-20 | 300 |
| 10-15 | 300 |
| 15-20 | 300 |
| 20-40 | 330 |
| 40-70 | 340 |
List of main equipment:
- Concrete mixer, is the main equipment. Due to it, it is possible to evenly color each stone for the maximum a short time. If your business goes uphill, then you can then purchase your own concrete mixer for each color. The cost of the cheapest concrete mixer is from $200.
- Drying chamber or room- designed to speed up the drying of finished colored gravel, but in the summer you can do without them if there is no rain.
Since colored gravel is sold in kilograms (in the Russian Federation from 20-25 rubles), you will need scales, packaging equipment in case you decide to pack products. For plastic packaging, you can use the simplest option - a manual bag sealer with a knife (from $ 100).
Usually, raw materials are used for manufacturing in the form of finished crushed stone of small fractions up to 20-30 mm.
Gravel staining technology
It is not recommended to store raw materials without any protection, as the pores of the stone become clogged, and the quality of painting will then suffer from this. Dirty gravel will increase paint costs, so it will need to be additionally washed and dried, for example, in the same concrete mixer using a gas gun.
Granite crushed stone is painted worse than marble, since marble has higher adhesion.
Crushed crushed stone or crumbs are placed in the hopper of a concrete mixer for painting. For coloring stone for decorative purposes, manufacturers use various options and technologies. The main requirement for choosing a paint is cheapness, drying speed (quick-drying only) and abrasion resistance. As a dye, you can use, for example, acrylic-styrene paint (AK-) for marking and painting roads, acrylic water-dispersion matte (VD-AK-) for painting concrete and brick surfaces, facade enamels resistant to mechanical stress. The price for them is not high and they are safer to use, unlike paints with the addition of volatile and toxic solvents.
There are reports on the Internet about the use of nitro enamels (NC paint), as well as a mixture of primer and iron oxide pigment. At the same time, preheating the crushed stone helps speed up the drying process, and when using a mixture of primer, the stone supposedly absorbs it after heating, which prevents it from peeling.
It should be noted that nitro enamels are quite toxic and, as a rule, after about 3-5 years they begin to lose their external characteristics. The use of NC is possible only with the use of respiratory protection.
It is best to experiment with the color and composition of the mixtures. Perhaps you can come up with more The best way by adding some of its components and staining methods.
Approximate consumption of paint: ideally, about 3 kg of dye should be spent on 100 kg of crushed stone.
Ideally, the concrete mixer should run no more than 15 minutes, but it all depends on the chosen staining method and drying time.
Video of the painting process:
Ready-made colored gravel or decorative chips are stored after the entire production process, if necessary, packaged.
Do not forget that the products have their own season of demand - summer. In winter, practically no one needs it, since the construction and arrangement of sites during this period of the year stops.
Colored crushed stone and decorative chips are used in landscape design, in creating a favorable microclimate in terrariums and aquariums. The production of colored crushed stone and chips is quite a profitable business, since the unpainted version - the raw material - is much cheaper than the final version.
The raw materials used are crushed marble, granite or marble chips, or gravel or sand.
- individuals using building stone for the arrangement of adjacent territories;
- communal organizations and city gardening services for the design of lawns and flower beds;
- companies performing specific landscape works;
- organizations of funeral services that perform the arrangement of cemetery plots;
- pet owners who purchase colored gravel and crumbs to ensure the natural microclimate of aquariums and terrariums;
- pet store owners for a spectacular setting.
Manufacturing technology
As a raw material, crushed stone of a fraction from 10 to 30 mm is suitable, and various paints, as well as various binders, can be used to give color. The principle of manufacturing products does not involve any complex operations, as a result of which we get a material that is quite in demand in modern construction for creating landscape design - a multi-colored stone.
Process video:
1) It is supposed to purchase specially selected raw materials, stones of medium fraction, in the range from 10 to 30 mm. When buying crushed stone of a specific fraction, there is no need for additional sorting. The material is stored in a bunker, from where it is shipped as needed for the purpose of painting. Shovels are used for portion loading. Storage of crushed stone without cover is not recommended, as the pores of the stone become clogged, and the quality of the painting suffers from this. For application of paint, it is necessary to ensure a dry and clean surface of the material. If we proceed from the volumes of transportation, which is most often carried out by KAMAZ, then a one-time delivery of cargo is equivalent to a volume of about 14 tons (10 m3).
2) The delivered crushed stone or crumb is placed in a painting hopper, the function of which can be performed by a concrete mixer. If the standard volume of a concrete mixer is 0.7 cubic meters, and it is not filled to the brim, but slightly above half, then the crushed stone approximately occupies 0.5 cubic meters. Paint is added to the material in one container. To get 2 tons of finished material during the shift, the concrete mixer must work out three cycles. Reducing the volume of raw materials loaded into the concrete mixer is impractical: the profitability of production will decrease, since more cycles of the concrete mixer will be required to obtain the same volume of finished products. In practice, it looks like this: 0.2 cubes need to be run 6 times to get a result of 2 tons (in this case, the crushed stone / crumb cube is 1.41 tons).
4) Further, if, for example, granite chips are used, then it is sifted through a vibrating sieve. It is ideal to use a sieve with a tray. After staining, each pebble should have a uniform color and be clean. If we compare ordinary and painted crushed stone, then the difference looks like this: a ton of colored colored - 22-24 thousand rubles, and a ton of unpainted - 1000 rubles. Of course, the buyer will carefully analyze the quality of the product, so it is unjustified to allow negligence in drying technology.
5) Ready-made colored gravel or decorative chips are stored using for this purpose the same bunker as for storing raw materials. The storage of expensive products without packaging and protective coating is out of the question. It is packaged dry and clean.
6) Container. Traditional packaging - bags designed for cargo from 5 to 20 kg. The packaging process is carried out manually and with the assistance of an auxiliary tool (shovel). Filled bags are hemmed with the help of a bag-sewing mechanism.
Equipment for the production of
The production of multi-colored crushed stone does not require large investments if ready-made raw materials are used.
Equipment includes:
- bunker No. 1 (for raw materials);
- concrete mixer (for painting);
- vibrating sieve (for screening);
- bunker No. 2 (for finished products);
- bag sewing machine.
The equipment is chosen taking into account the maximum productivity and the lowest cost.
Two bunkers for bulk building materials with a capacity of 10 m3 each will cost 300,000 rubles; concrete mixer domestic production- 200,000 rubles; vibrating sieve - 40,000 rubles; bag sewing device (preferably made in Belgium) - 40,000 rubles.
The above set of equipment for the production of colored crushed stone is designed to produce products in the amount of 10 m3 per shift. Based on the capacity of a concrete mixer, for example, the Prof-BS700 brand, which produces 0.7 m3 of products in a quarter of an hour, and the drying time of each batch, which is about 5 minutes, it will not be possible to get more.
Accessories and Consumables
To paint the stone, you need a dye and at least two shovels designed to ship raw materials to a concrete mixer, from it to a vibrating sieve, and then to a finished product bin. If the cost of a shovel is about 300 rubles, four shovels will cost 1200 rubles.
Since paint and binders can be different, their prices are different. You will most likely have to experiment with dyes in order to find the best option for your colored decorative stone business.
Painted crushed stone or chips are packed in 20 kg bags. Thus, about 2,000 bags will be required per month, costing 9,000 rubles per month.
The business idea for the production of multi-colored crushed stone is based on the acquisition of raw materials of an average fraction of 10-30 mm and its further painting with acrylic paint. As a result of this not tricky operation, a material for landscape design that is very much in demand today is obtained.
The essence of the business for the production of multi-colored gravel
The business of producing colored stone for landscaping is based on painting ready-made and sorted raw materials.
The finished material is widely used in:
- landscape design of private households,
- in the improvement of urban areas,
- organization of a comfortable microclimate in the aquarium and terrarium,
- in the arrangement of tombs and cemetery plots.
This material is usually sold in large batches. To reproduce a landscape design project for urban and park areas, tens of tons of colored stone are required, for the improvement of house adjoining and household territories, no less, even for arranging a standard cemetery plot, at least a ton of colored gravel will be required.
Main consumers
- Individuals for the arrangement of adjacent territories and personal plots,
- Utilities and "green farms" to create spectacular flower beds and lawns,
- Landscape design companies
- Organizations offering funeral services- arrangement of the cemetery territory.
- Pet lovers (for aquariums, terrariums, cages),
- Pet shops and pet salons (to recreate a spectacular environment for animals).
Production process for painting gravel
- Acquisition finished, sorted raw materials of medium fraction (10-30mm). Buying crushed stone of a specific faction eliminates the need to sort it. It is placed in the bunker for raw materials, from where it is fed in portions, with the help of shovels, for painting. It is not advisable to store it in the open air, since a dirty stone cannot be painted with high quality. Acrylic paint ideally fits on a dry and clean surface. The source material is purchased in a volume of 10m3 (about 14t) - this is the standard volume of KAMAZ, which usually transports crushed stone.
- Putting it in the paint bin, the role of which is performed by a concrete mixer. When using a concrete mixer with a volume of 0.7 cubic meters, its capacity is not filled to the top, but a little more than half, by about 0.5 cubic meters. Together with crushed stone, acrylic paint is poured into the concrete mixer for facade work of the desired shade. To produce finished material with a volume of 2 tons per shift, the concrete mixer will have to be run 3 times a day. The use of a smaller volume concrete mixer (say, 0.2 cubic meters) is less cost-effective, since for painting the same volume - 2 tons, it will have to be run 6 times a day (the calculation is made taking into account the weight of 1 cube of crushed stone = 1.41 tons).
- direct coloring. The process of operation of the concrete mixer takes no more than 15 minutes. Immediately after its completion, the painted, raw material must be dried and allowed to drain excess paint.
- Drying the finished material with a vibrating sieve. For drying newly painted crushed stone, a large sieve is needed, on which material weighing about 700 kg (one batch from a concrete mixer) would freely fit. This sieve should be equipped with a drip tray onto which excess paint will drain. A vibrating sieve with a pallet is ideal in this respect. Painted pebbles should have an even color and be perfectly clean. With the cost of a ton of painted gravel at 24,000 rubles (regular, unpainted costs 1000-1100.00 rubles per ton), the buyer will be picky about its quality, so drying should be taken seriously.
- Warehousing finished material. For warehousing and storage of finished material, a bunker is used, similar to the one in which raw materials are stored. It will not work to store such an expensive material in the open air - it must be packed in bags dry and clean.
- Packing in bags. The finished material is packed in bags designed for a weight of 5 to 20 kg. This is done by hand with shovels. The bags are sewn up using a portable bag sewing machine.
What equipment is required for the production of colored gravel
For the production of colored crushed stone from ready-made raw materials, a little equipment is required and, accordingly, small investment.
- Bunker for raw materials,
- concrete mixer for painting,
- Vibrating sieve for drying and draining excess paint,
- Bunker for finished material,
- Bag sewing machine
The table below describes the set of equipment designed for minimum performance and characterized by the lowest cost.
Total: 870 990 rubles.
The set of equipment given in the example allows you to get up to 10m3 (13 tons) of colored crushed stone per shift. Given the working volume of the Prof-BS700 concrete mixer of 0.7 m3, the painting time is no more than 15 minutes per batch and the drying time using a vibrating screen is no more than 5 minutes per batch, it will not be possible to process a larger volume of raw materials.
Accessories and Consumables
shovels. To paint the crushed stone, you will need the paint itself - acrylic, at least 2 shovels to transfer the feedstock from the hopper to the concrete mixer, from it to the vibrating sieve, and from there to the hopper for the finished material. Four shovels for 1360 rubles. (340 rubles each).
Dye. Given the productivity of 2 tons per day (44 tons per month), about 310 kg of paint will be required at an average cost of 110 rubles. per kg. Total for 34,100 rubles of paint per month.
Colored crushed stone is packed in 20 kg bags. Accordingly, 2200 bags of 4.5 rubles are needed per month. a piece. Total - 9,900 rubles. per month.
Total additional costs:
- total cost tool - 1360 rubles.
- Price Supplies for 1 month of work - 44,000 rubles.
Feasibility study of the project
The total cost of opening and launching the production of multi-colored crushed stone will include the cost necessary equipment, tools, basic raw materials and consumables (paints and bags).
How much money will you need to start a business?
- Purchase of equipment and tools - 872,350.00 rubles.
- Purchase of raw materials (crushed stone, paint, bags): 100,000 rubles.
- Registration in the INFS and other expenses for starting a business - 50,000 rubles.
Total: 1,002,350 rubles.
How much can you earn on this?
The calculation of revenue is made taking into account performance 2 tons per shift and 22 shifts per month.
How much crushed stone should be sold per month to reach the break-even point?
Under the condition of a gross margin of activity in the amount of 480% and the presence of general fixed costs in the amount of 200 thousand rubles, in order for the activity to reach the level of self-sufficiency, it is necessary to sell 250 thousand rubles a month, i.e. about 20 tons of products.
