Concrete is one of the strongest building materials there is, but it can be surprisingly delicate, especially during its pouring and installation. Even after it’s poured and set, concrete is susceptible to sun damage and other forms of deterioration. Unfortunately,…
When it comes to flooring, concrete is always the safest choice. It goes well with any building design, from warm and rustic to monochromatic and contemporary. Concrete is also quite affordable, costing about $2 to $6 per square foot for…
Pavement performance is crucial to road safety, which is part of the bigger spectrum of community safety. Residents and commuters benefit from smooth surfaces that reduce the risks for collisions, falling hazards, tripping, and more. Regardless of the type of…
Sidewalk standards are funded and regulated by various agencies, from the Federal Highway Administration to the city councils. This is the reason many people assume that municipalities are solely responsible for any injuries that stem from unsafe sidewalks. Historically, city…
The winter storm in November 2018 made for bad road conditions in Kansas, forcing people to stay indoors. Shoveling snow isn't enough to make the roads accessible and safe for driving again. Some roads will need de-icing. Unfortunately, this method may damage…
At first glance, concrete is a hard, durable material that seems indestructible against the elements. However, it’s not uncommon for even the strongest concrete to show signs of weakness, especially when snowstorms hit. If you did not prepare your commercial…
In order to choose between concrete pavers and poured concrete, it is first necessary to have a good understanding of what each one of them is. Poured concrete is often referred to as concrete flatwork, because after a framework is setup and the moist concrete is poured into that framework, you can achieve a perfectly flat and uniformly even surface. Concrete paving and flatwork is very often used to install driveways, patios, foundations for houses, and sidewalks, because the flat and even surface is essential for those structures.
If someone were to ask you what the most frequently used building material in the world is, would you know the answer? Would your answer be wood or steel? Perhaps plastic or aluminum? In actuality, none of those are the correct answers, and in fact, the amount of concrete used globally amounts to twice as much as all other building materials combined, including all four of the wrong answers listed above.
Have you ever been strolling down a sidewalk or walking along a roadside, and suddenly taken notice of that seemingly indestructible surface you’re moving over? Concrete is one of those things that you don’t think much about, unless you happen to be observing a construction site or a crew paving a new roadway. If you’ve never read much about it, you might think concrete is a fairly modern invention, developed because there was a need for highways to drive vehicles over, or to provide reliable support for today’s huge commercial buildings.
Most of the world’s ubiquitous and recognizable man-made structures — highways, skyscrapers, bridges, houses — are testaments to the versatility of the most commonly used construction material on Earth: concrete.