Concrete is a construction material that consists, in its most common form, of Portland cement, aggregate (generally gravel and sand) and water.
Product
Our main product is concrete. Concrete is made up of five primary constituants:
- Water
- Cement
- Air
- Fine aggregate (FA)
- Coarse aggregate (CA)
The water and cement form a paste, which binds the aggregate into a rock-like mass as the water and cement combine through a chemical reaction called hydration. The paste also includes entrapped air introduced by mechanical mixing and entrained air introduced by the addition of chemical admixtures. The paste constitutes between 25 and 40 percent of the volume. The aggregate makes up the remaining 60 to 75 percent. Air in concrete varies from about ½ to 2 percent in non-air-entrained concrete to about 4 to 8 percent entrained air in concrete containing air-entraining admixtures.
Concrete solidifies and hardens after mixing and placement due to a chemical process known as hydration. The water reacts with the cement, which hardens, bonding the other components together and eventually creating a stone-like material.
Concrete is used more than any other man made material on the planet. It is used to make pavements, architectural structures, foundations, motorways/roads, overpasses, parking structures, brick/block walls and footings for gates, fences, and poles.
Ready mixed concrete is option preferred over on-site mixing because of the precision of the concrete mixture and reduced project/work site confusion. Concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, water, and aggregates comprising sand and gravel or crushed stone. These raw materials are purchased by weight whereas the batched concrete mixture is sold by the volume - usually expressed in cubic yard or cubic meter. Most of ready mixed concrete is currently manufactured under computer-controlled operations and transported and placed at project sites using sophisticated equipment and methods. Ready mixed concrete assures the end users numerous benefits as follows:
- A centralized concrete batch plant can serve a wide area
- Better quality concrete is produced
- Elimination of storage space for basic materials at project sites
- Labor and space associated with project site concrete production are eliminated