Building a structure like a house or a skyscraper would involve a lot of different materials. You can use steels to lay the foundations and pillars and wood for creating panels for walls, floors, and ceilings. But a favorite among contractors is concrete. This is a composite material normally made up of coarse sand and crushed gravel. It is often mixed with a binding agent like wet cement so it can hold the desired shape when dried. More importantly, from pre-cast concrete fencing for homes in Utah to concrete flooring for commercial buildings in New York, concrete offers the following:
Durability
As mentioned, concrete is made up of different raw and rough materials. When you have coarse sand, crushed stones, and gravel as your main ingredients, you should expect no less than a solid final product. It may not look much at its raw form, and the same thing goes when you start mixing it with water and cement. But once you have poured it into a crevice or created a floor out of it, you will slowly see it takes shape. When it dries, you will see a tough surface that is ready to take on various elements. Couple it with steel framing, and you can have a structure that can withstand strong earthquakes.
Versatility
The mix of concrete and wet cement allows you to handle it as soft clay. This enables you to have some options on how you will be using it. You can use it as a filler to reinforce a hollow cavity. You can also use it as pre-made components, like slabs and blocks. You can also do the mixing yourself and plaster it on walls and many other surfaces. With such versatility, concrete allows you to form study structures in odd shapes and irregular sizes.
Convenient Logistics
Transporting large concrete slabs could be a challenging task. If you do not have enough large trucks, it could take time to move them all. But since concrete is a versatile material, you can opt to bring it to your building site in its raw form, and then you can finish creating the mix on location. You have different ways to strategize when it comes to logistics. For instance, you can store them in sacks, so you can easily stack them on top of each other and move them using smaller vehicles. Concrete in sacks is also easy to handle and store on-site, allowing you to stock up on supplies.
The best structures are the ones that endure. You want to get your money’s worth and expect them to last for many years. This would not be possible without the help of concrete. It is the material that many builders rely on if they want to create something that is sturdy and can take on all kinds of abuse. It is a durable material that is versatile enough to give you endless design possibilities. It’s no wonder for it to be highly in demand in the construction circuits.
