Since the last half of this century, concrete has been the go-to material for all types of construction. From adorable little cottages to large skyscrapers that tower over clouds, concrete is used in all of this. To add to this, that is not where it ends; concrete has also become the backbone of foundations and structural support systems. Concrete’s raw and rustic look has made it popular for flooring, worktops, wall finishes, and more. But why is concrete so good, and why does it work so well? Keep reading to find out.
Concrete In Its Essence
Concrete is a composite material where the base ingredients are cement, water, and aggregates. The aggregates can be coarse or fine such as stones or sand. Along with this, admixtures of varying types complete the formula. Concretes’ strength is measured 27 days after curing when it is strongest.
Furthermore, its strength can vary according to the mixture and ingredients. Now that we’ve covered the basics let’s look at what makes concrete a good material for building.
It Is Strong!
Concrete is one of our strongest materials today, and it only continues to become stronger
with time. The ingredients in concrete, specifically the cement, become a stronger bond as it absorbs moisture from its surroundings, thus making it stronger. With this, admixtures can be added to increase their potency further.
Depending on the needs, the mix can be manipulated to increase its characteristics accordingly. Tall buildings require strong foundations, even more, if the building is going to have a lot of foot traffic, such as hotels, malls, and office buildings. For this, concrete foundations are reinforced with metal to add additional strength. Such a result cannot be achieved with any other material.
A Durable Building Material
To add to its benefits, concrete is also highly durable. It will last a lifetime and more. It is one of the few materials we have that can be used around the world with its varying environmental conditions. With concrete, there is no worry of rust, corrosion, or rotting, as you would expect with metals and wood. Sunshine or rain, buildings made of concrete will stand the test of time and weather.
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There is not much that can destroy concrete buildings, thus immensely reducing ownership costs. This durability is important if we want to reduce the impact of construction on the environment.
Highly Energy Efficient
Concrete works will aid in keeping the weather outside… out of doors. This means the effect of a hot summer or a freezing winter will barely be felt inside the building. That is not to say that concrete will give you a uniform temperature inside, no matter the weather outside, but it is quite good at minimizing the impact. Consequently, the vicinity of the building will consume less energy to regulate the temperature. Less air conditioning and heating is always good for the environment.
Easy To Maintain
Concrete is one of the easiest materials to maintain in the long run. This low-maintenance material will not throw a fuss come hell or high water, rain or shine, to be more specific. Rain will only give it the moisture it needs to become even stronger, and the sun will dry it again. Further, the raw look of concrete means it is only going to look wabi-sabi as it ages. This aesthetic appeal means owners don’t have to spend a lot of time to keep it looking good.
A Highly Resourceful, Adaptable, And Versatile Material
Concrete is one of the few resources we have that is so versatile. A small change in the mixture or ratio of ingredients is enough to change its characteristics entirely. This is why it can be used for foundations, decorative walls, flooring, and worktops. It can be painted to give it colour, and textures can be added to manipulate how it looks.
Cement can also be adapted according to the soil conditions to keep it from reacting or corroding.
Can Be Recycled
If it does reach the end of its life or if the building needs to be taken down for any reason, the concrete in the building can be completely recycled or reused. We can already find many buildings constructed that use old concrete. Concrete is often a replacement for coarse as well as fine aggregates when fresh concrete is mixed.
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The concrete blocks that are collected from old buildings are crushed and separated to make maximum use of them. In essence, concrete can be used to make more concrete.
Zero Emissions & Less Carbon Footprint
Unlike other materials used in construction, concrete does not react to anything in the air or water once it is cured completely. This means there will be no reactions for it to emit harmful gasses. Additionally, with modern methods such as ready mix concrete and Volumetric Concrete Trucks, the wastage of concrete has largely come down. These modern types of machinery also allow the consumer to use less concrete than ever before, effectively reducing the carbon footprint.
The fact that concrete lasts a very long time is another environmental benefit. The longer the buildings last, the less material we will use, as there will be no need to construct newer structures.
Bottom Line
What we can take away from this is that concrete comes with a lot of benefits. No wonder we still have many of those Roman structures, right? Well, modern concrete may differ from old Roman concrete, but only because we found cement. And so it continues to be reliable, strong, and durable. The fact that it can be recycled should be the fact that seals the deal.
At Pro-Mix, we are happy to serve you such amazing material so that you can construct your home sweet home or anything else really. Get in touch with us for all your commercial or domestic concrete requirements! With that said, Happy Building (the verb, not the noun)!
