Our parody on the Twelve Days of Christmas continues. We dare you not to sing them out loud!
Seven trucks a-pouring,
Six formers forming,
Five golden kings! (of finance that is!)
Four house plans to choose from,
Three French city planners,
Two steel-toed boots,
and a journal for my hopes and dreams!
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The forms are in and now the concrete trucks are rolling on site. Have you ever wondered what concrete really is?
There are three basic ingredients in a concrete mix:
Portland Cement – The cement and water form a paste that coats the aggregate and sand in the mix. The paste hardens and binds the aggregates and sand together.
Water – Water is needed to chemically react with the cement (hydration) and too provide workability with the concrete. The amount of water in the mix in pounds compared with the amount of cement is called the water/cement ratio. The lower the w/c ratio, the stronger the concrete. (higher strength, less permeability)
Aggregates – Sand is the fine aggregate. Gravel or crushed stone is the coarse aggregate in most mixes.
In addition to these basic ingredients, certain additives may be added to achieve specific goals. To find out more about these additives and how concrete is reinforced to add strength to your home, read on…
Source: www.concretenetwork.com
Stay tuned for all 12 days or look at the full 12 days of building series for articles you may have missed!
Happy Holidays!
