What’s Concrete, Anyway?

Concrete is a hard construction material: a mixture of cement, sand, aggregate (gravel) and water that hardens to a stone-like condition when dry. The word “cement” traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry that resembled concrete.

This blog explores both the history and modern uses of concrete. It’s written by Ready Mix USA, a supplier of ready mix concrete in the Southeastern United States. We offer a wide variety of resources for contractors and homeowners, including our online Concrete Calculator, which provides instant estimates for your project.

Concrete has been around for thousands of years. It’s a common building material used in everything from commercial skyscrapers to home driveways. What is concrete, anyway?

History of Concrete

Concrete is a mixture of water, aggregate, and cement. A recipe for concrete has survived from the Roman Empire, and it shows that the ancient Romans had mastered the art of using this mixture for large-scale construction projects. The Romans made concrete by mixing volcanic ash with lime and seawater to create a mixture that became rock-hard when dry. They built many structures with this material, including roads, aqueducts and the dome of the Pantheon, which is still standing today.

Modern Concrete

Today’s concrete mixers combine cement, water, fine and coarse aggregates (like sand and gravel) and sometimes other additives like pigments or waterproofing agents. This mixture must be poured into forms before it hardens so that the final product takes on its intended shape.

The most popular use of concrete is in the building of homes. Concrete was first widely used for this purpose in the mid-1800s when it was discovered that concrete could be poured into molds, creating a brick. From there, different forms of concrete began to be developed and used, and by the early 1900s, reinforced concrete had become a staple of the construction industry.

Concrete is also widely used in other industries such as road construction, water pipes and sewers, and even in the manufacturing of cars. In fact, some people think that without concrete there would not be any cars at all!

So if you ever find yourself wondering what’s concrete and where did it come from, now you know.

Concrete is a composite material that has been in use for thousands of years. It’s made from a mixture of cement, sand, aggregate (crushed rock) and water. The cement acts as the glue that holds everything together, but the other ingredients are essential to making concrete strong enough for construction projects.

In this series of posts, we’ll look at what concrete is and how it works. Then we’ll look at some of the more interesting uses for concrete in modern construction and architecture.

Concrete is one of the most versatile building materials on the planet. It is used in the construction of bridges, dams, skyscrapers, foundations, and homes. Concrete has been around for thousands of years, but it’s not just a modern invention. It’s also a material that’s still evolving through research and development.

The basic ingredients of concrete are Portland cement and water. It can be mixed with many other materials to provide strength or enhance its appearance or workability. Fly ash is often used instead of some of the Portland cement to reduce concrete’s carbon footprint, while gravel and sand add strength and aggregate.

Ready mix concrete is usually ordered by cubic yards or cubic meters. The typical truck can deliver between 9 and 11 cubic yards total capacity although lower amounts can be ordered, as little as a single cubic yard. The maximum quantity per truckload is usually restricted to between 12 and 14 cubic yards due to weight limits for federal highways. For example a full 10-yard truckload of concrete weighs roughly 20 tons (18 metric tons). Each cubic yard (meter) weighs approximately 4000 pounds (1800 kg).

Though concrete is one of the most widely used materials in the world, many people have no idea what exactly it is. Concrete is made from a mixture of cement, water, sand, and gravel or rock. Cement refers to a finely ground powder that contains a mixture of minerals. When water is added to this powder in proper proportions, it makes a paste that binds together the other components of concrete.

Concrete has been used for thousands of years for construction purposes. The earliest known use was by the Nabataea traders or Bedouins who occupied and controlled a series of oases and developed the ability to control the water supply in desert areas. This allowed them to build structures such as baths and aqueducts along with cisterns capable of storing water needed for irrigation systems. They also developed ways to make various cement compounds as well as mortars which were harder than stone but more durable than mud bricks.

The ancient Romans are credited with advancing concrete technology by mixing volcanic ash with lime and developing specialized concrete mixes that would set underwater and in cold temperatures. Roman builders created some of the most impressive structures in history such as the Colosseum, Pantheon, and Roman Forum using concrete mixed on site using mobile equipment like mortar mills and mixing tub

Concrete is a mixture of cement, water, sand, and other fine and coarse aggregate. The cement is made from limestone and clay or shale that has been heated in a kiln at a high temperature. This process is called calcination. The resulting product is called clinker. It’s then ground up with gypsum to make cement powder, which when mixed with water will bind to aggregates to create concrete.

Ready mix concrete is the type of concrete that can be purchased from concrete supply companies in pre-mixed batches. Ready mix concrete allows for projects to be completed more efficiently by eliminating the need for measuring out each ingredient and mixing the components on site. The ingredients are then sent to the job site in a ready mix truck equipped with a rotating drum that mixes the components as it drives to the intended location.

Concrete’s strength, durability, and versatility make it one of the most widely used materials in construction projects around the world today. In fact, we use over four billion tons of concrete every year! Concrete is created by mixing together four critical ingredients: water, portland cement, sand (aggregate), and rock (aggregate).