Through the ages building materials of different sorts have come into and out of fashion as shortcomings or cost prohibitions have shown the materials
Through the ages building materials of different sorts have come into and out of fashion as shortcomings or cost prohibitions have shown the materials to be less suitable for modern societies’ needs.
However, concrete has been around for thousands of years and is still by far the most widely used building material due to its strength, endless possibilities of design and relative low cost. In addition, concrete structures have the ability to last several lifetimes and concrete structures built today, may we still be standing in hundreds of years from now.
In practice concrete is the perfect building material. It is cheap and readily available, can be formed into nearly limitless shapes, sets as hard as stone and has the structural strength to support high rise buildings. In large-scale construction projects users even have the ability to order it precast and erected on site, ready-mixed and simply poured in place or mixed insitu.
Always a winner
Throughout the world concrete’s popularity is soaring. In fact, its thermal properties and resistance to damage from seismic or even terrorist attacks has led to somewhat of a resurgence of its popularity in recent years.
Modern concrete is so versatile that is can even compete with other materials with special characteristics. Even though a building’s function and user requirements will always determine which materials are to be used concrete has evolved and can fulfil a surprising number of requirements. For example, some materials allow lightweight construction, while others enable long spans to be incorporated into a structure or provide thin frames to support glass facades.
Concrete by comparison can achieve all of the above to an extent if required. In addition it is thermally dense and is fire and impact resistant. In the construction of any structure, from a house to a railway bridge, tunnel or skyscraper it is hard to beat concrete for versatility, strength, availability and price.
Unbeatable versatility
Modern concrete gives architect’s room to manoeuvre and approach each design job with a clean slate with very few limitations. Concrete is also stronger and safer in most instances considering that the new World Trade Centre in New York has concrete safety measures including a 60cm concrete wall enclosure for its building core that houses the elevators, stairs and power system for protection from fire or terrorist attack.
Better materials, additives and techniques are enabling us to develop new techniques in all areas of construction, from roads to buildings and infrastructure. We are witness to new developments every day such as our new freeways, rail infrastructure, bridges and thousands of other successful projects which bear testimony to the availability of high-quality cement and concrete right here is South Africa.
Readymix solution
Contractors should still be aware of the limitations and always seek the advice of concrete professionals for mixes and laboratories for testing when undertaking new projects. They should also only make use of quality suppliers who are bound to uphold prescribed standards.
In this way users can get the full benefit of concrete safe in the knowledge that the type of concrete they ordered is delivered and will have the right properties that they require. Maybe the only limitation to concrete is that users should be aware of quality issues and only make use of reliable suppliers.
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