Sika SikaGrout-104
A ready-to-mix, gas-expanding cementitious pouring grout that fills base plates, foundations and voids with full contact and no settlement shrinkage.
What is it?
A cement-based, two-stage expanding pouring grout supplied as a ready-to-mix grey powder that you gauge on site with clean water.
Where is it used?
Under machine base plates and column bases, in anchor-bolt pockets, precast joints, and to fill cavities, gaps and voids in concrete.
Why use it?
It expands by gas generation in the plastic state, so it compensates for settlement and delivers full-contact bearing without the load losses that plain sand-cement grouts suffer.
How is it applied?
Mixed with a slow-speed drill to a flowable or pourable consistency, then poured continuously from one side into pre-soaked, formed openings so displaced air can escape.
About Sika SikaGrout-104
On paper, grouting a machine base looks trivial: mix a bag, pour it under the plate, done. In practice, the grout under a heavy base plate is a structural element. It has to transfer dynamic and static load into the foundation across the full bearing area, and it has to keep doing so through years of vibration and thermal cycling. An ordinary cement-and-sand mix shrinks as it sets and bleeds water upward, leaving a thin film of separation right where you need contact. That is exactly the gap SikaGrout-104 is built to close. It is a factory pre-blended, single-component grout: cement, graded fillers and aggregates, and a set of additives that together handle flow, strength and volume stability, so the person on site only has to add the right amount of clean water.
For a distributor audience this is the general-purpose workhorse of the SikaGrout family. It is not the ultra-high-strength precision grade you would specify under a turbine or a heavily loaded press; it is the grout you reach for on the bulk of routine industrial and structural work where you need reliable non-shrink behaviour, sensible early strength and forgiving placement. Space Arc Engineering supplies it as an authorised Sika distributor across Delhi NCR and Pan-India, and we position it exactly where it belongs in a specification: dependable, code-friendly cementitious grouting for foundations, connections and voids, with the pricing and availability that make it practical to use in volume rather than sparingly.
The technical insight
The property that separates a real grout from a site-batched mortar is controlled expansion, and SikaGrout-104 achieves it through gas generation rather than by adding metallic iron filings. While the mix is still plastic, a reactive additive releases fine gas bubbles that cause a slight, controlled volume increase before the cement paste stiffens. That gentle push counteracts the natural plastic settlement and drying shrinkage of the cement, so the grout stays in intimate contact with the underside of the base plate and the walls of the pocket instead of pulling away. Because the expansion is gas-based and not corrosion-based, there are no embedded metal particles that could rust and stain over time. Alongside this, the graded aggregate and low water demand give the paste enough cohesion to flow freely at a 0.14 to 0.16 water-to-powder ratio yet resist bleeding and segregation, which is why the hardened grout develops uniform, dense strength across the full section rather than a weak, watery top layer.
Where it is used
- Bedding steel base plates for pumps, motors, compressors and other rotating machinery
- Grouting anchor bolts and holding-down bolts into pre-formed pockets
- Filling column-to-foundation and beam joints in precast concrete construction
- Setting bridge bearing pads and structural bearing plates
- Bedding crane rails and track base plates subject to repeated impact loads
- Filling cavities, gaps and voids in concrete where non-shrink contact is required
- Grouting stanchion bases and structural steel column feet
- General industrial and civil grouting where 20-100 mm pour thicknesses are involved
Key advantages
- Single-component, ready-to-mix powder – only clean water is added on site, reducing batching error
- Gas-based expansion compensates for shrinkage and settlement, maintaining full-contact bearing
- Very good flow at the correct consistency, so it self-levels and reaches under the whole plate
- Rapid early strength (>=15 N/mm2 at 1 day) supports quicker return to service
- High final strength (>=50 N/mm2 at 28 days) for durable, load-bearing bedding
- Chloride-free and non-corrosive, safe against embedded reinforcement and bolts
- Impact- and vibration-resistant, suited to dynamic machinery loads
- Adjustable consistency (flowable or pourable) to match pocket geometry and pour distance
Limitations & considerations
- It is a grouting product only – not intended for patch repair, screeding or general concrete repair work
- Layer thickness is bounded at 20 mm minimum and 100 mm maximum per pour; thicker sections need aggregate extension or multiple lifts
- Short pot life of roughly 20 minutes at +30 degrees C means only mix what can be placed quickly
- Performance depends on correct water-to-powder ratio – adding extra water to ease placement will lower strength and cause bleeding
- Requires a saturated-surface-dry substrate and secure, watertight formwork; poor preparation undermines the result
- As a general-purpose grade it is not a substitute for ultra-high-strength precision grouts under critical, heavily loaded equipment
Selection & best practice
Preparation carries most of the risk on a grouting job, so treat it as the main task. Roughen and clean the concrete mechanically, then pre-soak it with clean water for 2 to 6 hours to reach a saturated-surface-dry condition, and remove any standing water from the formwork just before pouring. Put 80 to 90 percent of the gauging water in the drum first, add the powder, mix for about three minutes with a slow drill (max 500 rpm) to avoid entraining air, then add the balance of water; never exceed the 0.14 to 0.16 ratio. Pour continuously from one side only, keeping a constant head so the grout drives the trapped air out ahead of it, and place the full pour within about 15 minutes to make use of the expansion. In hot weather use chilled gauging water and in cold weather use warm water to keep the pot life workable. Finally, protect the exposed grout edges from drying by covering with wet hessian or keeping them moist during early curing.
Specifications
| Product type | Non-shrink, two-stage expanding cementitious pouring grout |
| Chemical base | Cement, selected fillers and aggregates, special additives |
| Appearance | Grey powder |
| Packaging | 30 kg bag |
| Compressive strength (ASTM C109, 70 mm cube, +30 C) | >=15 N/mm2 at 1 day; >=25 at 3 days; >=35 at 7 days; >=50 at 28 days |
| Flexural (tensile) strength (ASTM C293) | >=4 N/mm2 at 7 days; >=5 N/mm2 at 28 days |
| Water : powder ratio | Flowable 0.15-0.16; pourable 0.14 by weight (approx. 4.2-4.8 L water per 30 kg bag) |
| Layer thickness | 20 mm minimum / 100 mm maximum per pour |
| Pot life | Approx. 20 minutes at +30 C |
| Shelf life / storage | 6 months from production, in dry, unopened sealed packaging |
Industry use cases
Manufacturing & process plants
Bedding pump, motor and compressor base plates so dynamic loads transfer into the foundation without shrinkage gaps.
Precast & structural construction
Grouting column-to-foundation joints and connections in precast frames where non-shrink, full-contact filling is required.
Infrastructure & bridges
Setting bearing pads and structural bearing plates that must maintain uniform load transfer over time.
Material handling & cranes
Bedding crane rails and track base plates that face repeated impact and vibration during service.
General civil works
Filling anchor-bolt pockets, cavities and voids in concrete on routine industrial and building projects.
Frequently asked questions
What compressive strength does SikaGrout-104 reach?
How much water do I add per bag?
What is the maximum thickness I can pour in one go?
Can I use SikaGrout-104 for concrete repair or patching?
How long do I have to place it after mixing?
Does it contain chlorides or anything that can corrode reinforcement?
How we position Sika SikaGrout-104
Within the Sika family, SikaGrout-104 is the general-purpose starting point; step up to SikaGrout-214 or the high-flow precision grades when equipment loads, pour distances or strength requirements are more demanding, and pair it with Sika anchoring resins where chemical fixing of rebar or bolts is needed rather than pocket grouting. Across the brands we distribute, the equivalent role is filled by Fosroc Conbextra GP1 and GP2 and by MC-Bauchemie’s cementitious grouts, so a specifier standardised on any one of those can be matched like-for-like. For the concrete repair work that SikaGrout-104 explicitly should not be used for, we would direct engineers to Sika MonoTop repair mortars or the corresponding Fosroc Renderoc range.
Fosroc Conbextra GP1 — A specifier already standardised on Fosroc, or one who wants a directly comparable general-purpose free-flow cementitious grout, may prefer Conbextra GP1 for the same base-plate, pocket and void grouting duties.
Related Grouts & Anchors products
Source Sika SikaGrout-104 for your project
Authorised distribution, technical advice & professional application across Delhi NCR and Pan-India.