Concrete is a sturdy, green, and economic building material. And, believe it or not, scientists have figured out how to add strength and green sustainability to an already incredible product. How did they do it? Scientists have discovered how to add a material called graphene to the concrete. Graphene is one of the strongest materials…
Concrete is one of the world’s greatest eco-friendly building materials, and it’s known as such because it remains eco-friendly in all its steps of process. First, the foundation of all concrete is limestone, and limestone is the most abundant mineral to be found on planet earth; yes, it is mined, but it is abundant. And,…
The major difference between shotcrete and concrete is the method used by a concrete contractor to place the concrete; there are clear advantages aside from just method, but we’ll get to those in a moment. Basically, shotcrete was invented when the concrete “gun” was developed in early nineteen hundred. Originally this gun shot out a…
Some jobs are practically made for the average weekend home-improvement-warrior. Most anyone can learn to mix simple batches of concrete, to build forms correctly, and then to pour concrete, float it and seal it. But there are reasons to hire a professional. And it’s not just for the big jobs—although size is a valid reason.…
In Montana basements are fairly common, and often the basement floor is made up of concrete. A homeowner might finish the basement, might put down nice flooring over the top of the concrete, but, when the concrete below it has issues then so does the flooring above it. So, what do you do? Well, you…
Concrete is a simple, eco-friendly building material, that most anyone (at least when we’re considering a project with a size and complexity comparable to a manageable, non-construction crew-needed, type of scale) can learn to do. Concrete is a perfect Di-it-yourselfer’s material, because it’s so straight-forward. It’s like hammering a nail, with a little practice, and…
Concrete steps are common on many homes. Unfortunately, because the steps are poured separately from the foundation of the home, as the home’s foundation shifts over time its movement directly affects the stability of the concrete steps, causing the steps to possibly crack or begin to crumble. When you’ve decided it’s time to remove the…
Concrete does age, and when it comes time to be replaced, it can be a difficult job to remove the old slab. There are several tools that work efficiently to break down concrete, although the two that work best are probably the jackhammer and the sledgehammer—oftentimes both are used on a demolition project with success.…
Usually, it’s the shoulder seasons—both Spring and Fall—that have the best temperatures for a concrete pour. The reason is that temperatures are usually neutral, and milder. Two things to be cautious of in these seasons are precipitation, and that temperatures don’t swing dramatically in either direction. Sometimes, especially in the early spring, days can warm…