What is hydration of cement? – Heat of Hydration

Hydration of cement

What happens when you mix cement with water or if it accidently gets some moisture? It becomes a paste for some time and then becomes hard like a rock-mass. This all happens because of a chemical reaction between cement chemicals and water – called hydration reaction. The chemicals of cement (also called bogue’s compounds) are … Read more

How much does a cinder block weigh? (4″, 6″, 8″, 10″ & 12″ Blocks)

So, while you’re planning for your construction project material delivery, you need to know how much does a cinder block weigh, to accurately know the number of trips for delivery trucks required for your project.  You also need to know how heavy is cinder block; while you’re planning for material delivery in high-rise buildings. A … Read more

Saw Tooth Roof- Construction – Advantages & Disadvantages

Gone are the days when saw tooth roof was merely limited for industrial buildings. Because of the plethora of benefits, especially of the provision of natural light over large area, more homeowners are preferring such a roof type over traditional hip roof. Today the world is moving towards sustainable development because of increasing risk of … Read more

Bond beam in masonry walls – Design – Size – Foundation – Pros & Cons

What is bond beam

When you’re working on a concrete masonry unit, there’re some unique concepts and one of them is bond beam. It is stiffening or a tying beam that goes along top of wall, floor and foundation connections. In masonry walls, there’re number of beams relevant like tie-beam, lintel beam, and bond beam. Well, the concept of … Read more

Concrete Retarders – Disadvantages – Types – Uses – Price

Concrete Retarders

Have you ever wondered how civil engineers use concrete retarders to compensate the accelerating effect of high temperature in mass concrete? Or why thy add sugar in concrete while pouring? The use of concrete retarders as admixture slows down the setting rate of concrete. Slow initial setting time allows site engineers to place concrete in … Read more