Which type of concrete is right for your home? 

The answer to this question can be complicated because there are many different types of concrete available–each with their own benefits. 

For example, some people prefer the aesthetic appeal of decorative concrete, while others may want ready mix concrete if they’re on a strict timeline. 

In today’s blog post, we will explore all the options available so you can make an informed decision about which type of concrete is best for your project.

Decorative concrete 

This is a great choice for homeowners who want to add some extra flair to their property. Decorative concrete can be stamped or stained to create a unique look that will enhance the appearance of your home. 

It can also come in pre-designed, etched slabs and is most often used on walls. Not to mention, it’s also very durable, so you can be sure it will last for many years.

Transit mix concrete 

If you have a large job that requires high volumes of concrete, then transit mix is the way to go. This type of material is often used when contractors need to pour a large cement slab or foundation in one fell swoop. It’s important to note, however, that most concrete companies will have a minimum order amount for transit mix concrete.

Bulk dry materials 

For homeowners looking for a simple and cost-effective option, bulk dry materials can be a great choice. They’re typically used by contractors or homeowners with experience mixing concrete and are perfect for large projects.

Ready mix concrete 

Ready mix concrete is ideal for homeowners who don’t have a lot of time to spare. This type of concrete comes premixed, executing your project on a quicker timeline than custom orders like decorative concrete. 

For homeowners who are trying to create the perfect blend of strength and beauty for their home improvement projects, ready mix may be the right choice. In most cases, this type of concrete doesn’t need additives or special equipment because it comes ready to go.

Dry ready mix concrete

Dry ready mix is available for purchase in large bags. Simply add water as directed and you’ll have your own concrete in minutes that can be used for various projects. This type of concrete is often used in small projects and is well-known for its simplicity when it comes to mixing and pouring. 

Concrete has come a long way over the years, and there are now many different types available to choose from. By taking the time to carefully consider your options, you can find the perfect material for your home improvement projects. 

Port Aggregates offers the highest quality ready mix concrete in central and southwest Louisiana. It’s why we’ve been a trusted contractor for over 40 years! Contact us today to request a quote and get started on your residential project. We look forward to helping you build or renovate your home using concrete.

The post Which Type of Concrete is Right for Your Home? appeared first on Port Aggregates.

Concrete is an integral part of the modern world. It’s used to build everything from sidewalks and driveways to skyscrapers and dams, but many people are unaware of just how many options are available. 

There are endless types of concrete, each with unique properties that make them ideal for certain applications. This article will introduce you to the most common types so you can decide which will best suit your needs.

1. Lightweight concrete

Lightweight concrete is made up of water, polystyrene particles, cement, and other additives. It’s lighter than regular concrete and is used for applications that require the least amount of weight possible, such as roofing and flooring.

Lightweight concrete also has better insulation properties and a lower density than regular concrete, making it ideal for use in climates where heating and cooling costs are a drain on the wallet. Proper installation is essential to ensure that lightweight concrete performs as expected. Be sure you choose a contractor with extensive experience using this type of concrete.

2. Reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete is made with steel rebar or mesh that’s embedded in the wet concrete. It’s much stronger than regular concrete and can withstand greater loads without breaking.

Reinforced concrete is used for heavy-duty applications such as bridges, parking garages, and skyscrapers, and is common in both residential and commercial foundations and slabs. While it is more expensive than regular concrete, it’s also stronger and longer-lasting. 

There are two types of reinforcement: steel rebar or a fiber mesh. While both offer strength benefits over standard concrete, steel offers slightly more strength, but fiber mesh is less expensive and easier to install.

3. Polished concrete

Polished concrete is a type of flooring that’s made from regular concrete. It can be used in both residential and commercial applications and is becoming increasingly popular due to its aesthetic appeal and durability.

This type of concrete offers a shiny and smooth surface that’s ideal for offices, stores, restaurants, healthcare facilities, schools, and more.

Concrete polishing is something that should only be done by professionals because improper installation can damage the surface of your polished flooring. If done incorrectly, polishing can also void the warranty on your flooring.

4. Mass concrete

Mass concrete is poured into ready-made molds. It’s a type of precast concrete made from regular or lightweight aggregate. It’s commonly used to create dams and large foundation slabs.

Mass concrete is similar to standard concrete with just one main difference: mass aggregates are larger than standard aggregates. This makes the concrete less dense, which can be a good or bad thing depending on your needs.

5. Prestressed concrete

Prestressed concrete is made with steel cables that are stretched prior to installation using hydraulic jacks, which creates tension on the beams as they set. This compression adds strength to the concrete and minimizes cracking but also makes it more expensive.

6. Precast concrete

Precast concrete is molded in a factory setting, which allows for more precise measurements and a higher level of quality control. Because it’s cured under controlled conditions, a stronger product is yielded that is less likely to crack. It’s also easier to install than standard concrete, helping you ensure quality and efficiency and avoid installation issues. 

7. Ready mix concrete

Ready mix concrete is a type of concrete made in a plant and delivered to the job site in a ready-to-use form. It can be used in both residential and commercial applications, but it’s most commonly used for foundations, walls, and slabs.

At Port Aggregates, our concrete mixes are made using limestone instead of gravel, adding extra strength to your product. When you order from us, you can expect superior quality, lower costs, on-site quality control, prompt scheduling, fast turnaround, and more. Contact us today to request a quote

The post Your Guide to the Most Common Types of Concrete appeared first on Port Aggregates.

Choosing the cheaper option when buying anything is always tempting, but when it comes to precast concrete, this is a dangerous mistake. 

There are many ways that shortcutting precast concrete expenses can go wrong and lead to unexpected costs. Knowing these dangers is the best way to stay within your budget and prevent your project from becoming delayed.

Here’s what can go wrong if you choose the cheaper precast concrete option.

1. Drab appearance

One thing you’ll notice about cheaper options is that they don’t look as nice. But if appearance isn’t a major concern, these materials may be fine for your needs. 

Even so, you should consider investing in nicer-looking precast concrete to give your home or business that extra boost of curb appeal. Keep in mind that if you’re putting your precast concrete outdoors, it’s going to be exposed to the environment’s natural wear and tear, but will still need to look nice for years to come.

If appearance is a priority, why risk choosing materials that can’t live up? 

2. Less strength

When it comes to strength, cheap precast concrete will never compare. Good quality materials won’t bend or buckle under pressure and are made from high-quality ingredients that toughen up over time. 

Cheaper concrete is composed of low-grade minerals that tend to break apart after just a few years. Not only does this mean more repairs, but broken concrete is also more susceptible to mold, water damage, and rust.

3. Lacking in durability

When it comes to durability, premium precast concrete is the only way to go. If you want your new structure or installation to last for decades without any signs of wear and tear, you have two choices: cheap precast concrete that will fall apart after just a few years, or high-quality, durable concrete made from ingredients that are built to withstand the test of time.

Of course, many people are tempted to choose the cheaper option just because it’s a better deal in the short term. However, they end up spending more down the line in repairs and ongoing maintenance.

Along with being more cost-effective over time, high-quality materials are also safer because they’re less likely to fall apart and collapse.

4. Limited styles available

If you want the freedom to choose between different styles and finishes, you’ll want to look at higher-end concrete. The more you spend, the more you’ll be able to customize every aspect of the installation or structure so that it fits in seamlessly with your style preferences. This means you’ll have more control over design elements like color, texture, and finish–all while using premium ingredients that will last for decades.

Some companies even offer different textures and finishes. But of course, the trade-off is that these premium materials cost more than lower quality alternatives.

5. High maintenance costs

As mentioned previously, what you don’t pay upfront for precast concrete, you’ll likely have to make up for in repair costs later. Because premium precast concrete is strong enough to withstand extreme weather conditions, less maintenance is required over time. All you’ll have to do is keep it clean and let the high-quality materials work their magic.

If you’re investing in a precast concrete structure or installation that will be exposed to extreme weather conditions, it makes sense to choose high-quality materials for the best results. At Port Aggregates, all of our concrete products are made with the finest ingredients. It’s why we’ve been trusted for over 40 years! Contact us today to request a quote for your next precast concrete project.

The post The Dangers of Choosing the Cheaper Option When it Comes to Precast Concrete appeared first on Port Aggregates.

Building sustainably: there are many ways to go about it. (We’ve even discussed some ourselves right here on this blog!) But naturally, you might wonder which way is best for you.

If you’re in the concrete industry, it might feel especially critical now. After all, many professional organizations within the industry are more heavily promoting sustainable construction. And many are also establishing their own way to contribute to reaching net-zero concrete by 2050.

So, how should you contribute? And what does that even look like?

To shed some light on these questions and more, we’ve interviewed Kryton Vice President of Product Development, Kevin Yuers.

Thank you for joining us today, Kevin! Let’s start off with defining what building sustainably even looks like for concrete structures.

Building sustainable concrete structures means doing two things well. First of all, you need to build from the start with the smallest carbon footprint possible. Secondly, you need to build structures that last through their entire design without needing to be replaced or receive unnecessary repairs.

We know that concrete is a very durable building material. But we also know that its key ingredient — cement — has a very large carbon footprint.

So, it sounds like cement adds to the carbon footprint of concrete. Why is that?

You may have heard that for every ton of cement produced, a ton of CO2 is released.

Now, this is not exactly true anymore because cement manufacturers have made great improvements to their production processes and reduced this number by more than a third. But it is still a big number.

Most of the CO2 released is simply the result of the chemical reaction of turning limestone into cement, and there’s little that can be done about that.

What can be done is reducing the amount of cement you actually use in your concrete.

How can construction professionals reduce their use of cement?

Typically, the way that a concrete producer will increase the strength and durability of their concrete is to just add more cement. But there are ways to avoid that.

So, for example, many of our customers build concrete structures that are exposed to very abrasive environments, such as industrial floors, high-traffic slabs, and hydroelectric spillways. Instead of using cement-rich concrete to improve abrasion resistance, our customers add our Hard-Cem solution, an abrasion-resisting admixture.

This technology increases abrasion resistance without increasing cement content, lowering your initial carbon footprint. And because the concrete lasts more than twice as long with Hard-Cem, it can eliminate the need to replace worn-out concrete. What could be more sustainable than that?

What about countering other obstacles to a concrete’s life span like corrosion?

I can’t think of anything that contributes more to the deterioration of concrete structures than corrosion. Preventing corrosion should be a key consideration for any designer of concrete structures — especially infrastructure projects.

Again, we have to ask ourselves: what can be done to extend the life of this structure without increasing its carbon footprint right off the bat by adding more cement?

It turns out that the crystalline waterproofing admixture technology invented by Kryton in 1980 is an answer to this challenge for many structures.

Our admixture for concrete, Krystol Internal Membrane (KIM), is used today all over the world to replace membranes in water-retaining structures, basements, tunnels, and the like. But one of its lesser known advantages is its ability to delay or prevent the corrosion of reinforcing steel, which is especially a problem in places where reinforced concrete is exposed to salt like marine structures or transportation structures in cold climates.

KIM sounds like a perfect remedy for that. How does it work?

You may have heard of emerging smart technologies in building materials. These are materials that can react autonomously to events or changes in their environment by repairing themselves. Such self-healing or self-sealing is one of the ways that KIM works to protect concrete from leaks and corrosion.

If the concrete is poured with a porous area or if a crack should form, the technology from KIM reacts by growing crystals to fill the area and block the movement of water and salts from reaching the reinforcing steel. We call that Smart Concrete.

That’s great insight, Kevin! So, in short, for those looking to increase their concrete construction’s sustainability, they should strongly consider using Hard-Cem and KIM.

The post Interview: What Building Sustainably Looks Like for Concrete Structures and How to Achieve It appeared first on Kryton.

When it comes to getting a durable concrete slab, a critical part of it involves keeping the concrete resistant to abrasion. Without that resistance, construction professionals will often encounter ruts, dips, potholes, or worse in the surface of their concrete. All of which can lead to safety hazards and operational inefficiencies.

Professionals usually try to counter this with conventional surface-applied concrete hardening solutions. But these aren’t reliably effective and come with a number of setbacks.

To look into why that is, we’ve decided to explore the bad, the good, and the better parts about concrete abrasion resistance. Helping us in this discovery are two of our Smart Concrete experts: Jeff Bowman, one of our technical directors, and John Andersen, our territory manager for Western Canada. To start, let’s dive into some of the negative aspects surrounding concrete abrasion resistance.

Thank you for joining us on the first part of this interview series. Let’s start by discussing what abrasion actually is and why it is an issue for concrete in the first place.

Jeff: Abrasion describes the steady loss of material from the concrete through some sort of mechanical action. It’s generally more of a surface phenomenon.

So forces that are acting on the abrasion of concrete are usually going to be some sort of object that’s either rolling or sliding over the concrete.

And this may also be combined with foreign particles trapped between those two phases that are also gouging and sliding through the concrete.

John: When we talk about the significance of that wear and tear on concrete, we typically think about just the cost of taking the building out of service and replacing the concrete. But there’s also a cost regarding safety. And it’s not just about the people tripping and falling and encountering all other hazards because of it. There’s also an issue of breathing in the concrete dust, the cost associated with keeping the facility and machinery clean, the cost to the equipment, and the reduced productivity due to the worn out concrete.

How exactly do construction professionals usually try to resolve this issue?

Jeff: Dry shake hardeners are quite a common product for this. I’m sure many people reading this now probably use or specify them.

But for anybody who’s not familiar with them, a dry shake hardener is some sort of blend of cement and possibly some other additives and an abrasion-resistant aggregate particle, such as aluminum oxide (also called emery). And these products get broadcast in a dry form overtop fresh concrete and then worked into the surface during the final finish.

Now, certainly, these products can work and can give you a good abrasion-resistant finish if they’re installed well. The challenge that the industry has is they’re very difficult to install.

Dry shake hardeners are applied in two portions, and there’s some work that needs to be done in-between. And one of the significant challenges of this application is that it all takes place in a very time-critical period. All the steps are time-critical, and it can be very easy to miss that perfect window of opportunity.

There are just so many variables that could be happening with the concrete and with the weather. And if workers start to have trouble with it, sometimes they just can’t get a full specified amount of the dry shake applied to the concrete.

John: That’s exactly the challenge that the contractor Graham Construction faced when they were building a new pea protein plant in Manitoba. This is a massive facility with large slab pours, and they were trying to get that shake-on hardener down in that little window of opportunity. And they lost the first slab.

They eventually changed to Hard-Cem to get away from the challenge of that little window of opportunity for properly applying the shake-on.

re there other challenges that come with using dry shake hardeners?

Jeff: Another challenge that we see is that this work normally comes up fairly late in the day when workers have been at it for many hours and they’re just getting fatigued. This is a lot to put on them at the end of the day.

We also see that the dry shakes are very sensitive to bleed water. If there’s too much bleed water coming out when you apply the dry shake and you work that water back in, the surface will become weaker and is likely to delaminate. If you have a low-bleeding concrete, perhaps something with a lot of fly ash, there’s just not enough water there to really work it in properly. The concrete sets up too quickly.

There can also be challenges with wind. And of course, it’s very important not to use dry shakes with air-entrained concrete because the power troweling needed to really work them in properly leaves a high risk of delaminating the concrete surface. So there are many challenges to dry shake products that people might face.

There are also some products that professionals apply post-construction, right? What about those?

John: Yes, I think if you’re in Western Canada, where I live, many of these products use silicate as the base for their formulas.

Jeff: Right. When we’re describing liquid hardeners (which are sometimes called liquid densifiers), these are all some sort of silicate-based product. They work by penetrating into the concrete and reacting with the calcium hydroxide there, which is a by-product of cement hydration. That reaction turns into what is called calcium silicate hydrate gel, which is the normal hydration product of cement. It’s what gives the cement paste its strength and what gives concrete its properties. So this reaction pathway is really quite similar to the reactions you get from fly ash or slag or other supplementary cementitious materials.

That introduces some challenges in and of itself. Some suppliers of these products recommend limiting the amount of fly ash or slag you’re using in your concrete. That’s not always possible or desirable for many other reasons. Or they may recommend delaying the application for at least 28 days to allow the concrete to come up to its specified strength first so that the silicate is not competing with the other cementing materials.

Does their application work effectively?

Jeff: While they are often used or specified specifically to increase the abrasion resistance of the concrete as placed, that’s not really what they’re intended to do.

They function by slightly increasing the amount of cement paste on the surface. But cement paste is the weakest and most vulnerable phase to abrasion. Having a little bit more doesn’t significantly move the dial on the abrasion resistance of that concrete.

Now, liquid hardeners do serve an important purpose. If a contractor does have a slab that has had some challenges when they’re placing it, the surface might be poorly hydrated or weak or might have dried out too early. These products can help strengthen that surface as a remediation measure.

But they’re not really an appropriate material to specify as an abrasion-resistant material for concrete that’s been otherwise properly placed and finished.

re there other solutions that have been used to increase concrete abrasion resistance?

Jeff: Another common solution is high-strength concrete.

And why not just use stronger concrete? You get better abrasion resistance. And normally, this approach would be just using a mix that has more cement. You could use more fly ash or slag or maybe silica fume to really get that strength up and keep that water-cement ratio down real low. The concrete gets stronger, and the abrasion resistance is better. And this generally does work.

But there are some limitations.

Now, the research shows that when you double the compressive strength of concrete, you can roughly double the concrete’s abrasion resistance. And there is research and literature on this.

But there can also be some consequences. Any time you are using a stronger mix, especially with anything that has more cement paste, you’re getting more hydration. That generates more heat in your concrete.

More paste means more shrinkage. More shrinkage normally means more cracking. And if you’re pouring a slab, you also now get more curling, so your floors just don’t stay as flat. And curling can result in a lot of damage and wear at the joints.

All of these things are actually really bad. They target some of the core properties that a facility owner expects of their floor. An owner wants more than just good abrasion resistance. They want their floor to perform in many other ways.

And as an added bonus, using high-paste strong mixes comes with a cost premium. Because you are using so much more cement in the concrete, the carbon footprint of that concrete can go up quite significantly.

So most popular concrete abrasion-increasing efforts don’t seem to work as well as expected. Is there a better way to get that abrasion resistance?

John: Adding Hard-Cem into concrete at the batch plant! Hard-Cem lives in that concrete paste, and that’s how it works. It increases the resistance to abrasion and erosion that way. It’s easy to apply. There are no negative effects on your plastic or your hardened concrete. It’s fully compatible and used often with air-entrained concrete, so no longer do you have to specify products like this just for indoor use. You can now use it outdoors. And it can be used in horizontal and vertical slabs, behind formwork, in precast, and in shotcrete. There’s a huge opportunity for this product to be used often in mining applications as well.

And Jeff very clearly articulated the difficulty in applying the shake-on hardeners. So no longer do the jobsites have to take all this into consideration. Basically, they can just order Hard-Cem when they order their concrete. And there’s no harmful dust exposure.

Hard-Cem’s been used for 18 years now for over 7 million m2 (80 million ft2) in all kinds of applications. And many of the top-producing concrete companies have branded their own durability concrete using the Hard-Cem admixture.

Once concrete finishers get to use this, they start to ask for it by name because it just makes their job that much easier.

It sounds like Hard-Cem could be a much more effective solution. But how well does it perform? We’ll look into that in more detail in Part 2 of this interview series.

The post Concrete Abrasion Resistance: The Bad, the Good, and the Better (Interview Part 1) appeared first on Kryton.

Treating about 80% of San Francisco’s water since 1952, the Southeast Treatment Plant has been a critical structure for sanitizing the wastewater of San Francisco. However, the plant has been around for years, and now, many of its facilities need an upgrade.

Knowing this, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has started modernizing the plant. Part of this transformation includes replacing the treatment plant’s headworks facility with a new one. That will ensure the treatment plant will be able to more effectively remove debris and grit from the water while meeting the current seismic standards.

To construct this more modern headworks facility, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has collaborated in a joint venture with The Walsh Group Ltd. and Sundt. And we are pleased to note that we are helping The Walsh Group Ltd. optimize their work in this venture with our Maturix Smart Concrete Sensors.

Our Maturix specialist, Kris Till, got to discuss this in a recent video interview that he conducted (which you can see here). And in this article, you’ll get to see that discussion along with some extra details on the topic.

Why don’t we get started by having you tell us who you are, who you work for, and what you’re building?

My name is Tanner Santo. I’m a superintendent for The Walsh Group here in San Francisco, California. We are building the new headworks for the Southeast Treatment Plant. It’s going to be up to a 300-million-gallon-per-day capacity in the wet season. We’re looking at probably a good two years of structural concrete, which will primarily be my focus.

What do you consider to be the most important factor when building a project like this?

I think one of the biggest things I look for as a superintendent is to maintain efficiency while also preserving quality. There are a lot of moving parts and challenging logistics on this project. And what we need to do is just get our crews into a rhythm.

So, why are you monitoring concrete in this project?

That’s actually a very good question. We’re doing a lot of vertical walls on this job. I think we have 300 to 400 different wall placements. And the big thing for us is that we cannot strip those forms until we reach a minimum compressive strength.

What would you have done in the past to monitor your concrete compressive strength?

So, in the past, in situations like this, we pour a wall, say on a Monday, and take a bunch of concrete cylinders. By Tuesday morning, they’re sent off to a lab. If I want early breaks to remove the formwork, I need to take extra cylinders.

The extra cylinders can be costly when you talk about hundreds of wall placements. So taking and breaking extra cylinders for every placement adds up very quickly.

What’s even more of a hassle is getting those break results. So if I put in a 30-foot-tall [9.14-meter-tall] concrete wall on a Monday, Tuesday morning, I’m waiting on a testing lab to give me early breaks back, and what I need them to tell me is that the concrete has reached a minimum strength. So in that morning time when I’m waiting for a break result or for the testing lab, I have a crew of guys who are basically not being efficient. They can’t strip the formwork yet.

nd what’s your current concrete monitoring process like now?

We put a few thermocouples with the Maturix Sensors into the wall at the time of placement, and thanks to the maturity curve that we’re able to calculate with the help of CEMEX, our concrete provider, we actually get a live readout of compressive strength. If we had never run this maturity curve for these sensors or monitored the live compressive strength with the sensors, I don’t think we ever would have realized how quickly we were getting concrete strength on this job.

It gives me a lot of temperature data as well. Had those sensors not been there, we wouldn’t have realized that we are working with a relatively hot mix. We now exercise some caution with some of those thicker placements that I don’t think we ever would have previously because we just wouldn’t have known what type of internal temperatures we were getting on this job. That information alone has been a big help as far as planning and scheduling goes.

It’s even so streamlined that I have notifications set up to my cell phone. I’m not waiting on a call from a testing lab. I’m not hounding a testing lab. I actually get a ding on my phone, but on this project, it’s a bit unique. It’s actually kind of in the middle of the night or the early, early morning when it tells me that a wall has reached 1,250 psi [8.62 MPa]. That way at 7 am, when the guys show up to work, we’re not waiting on anything. We immediately get to work taking the forms off. I know the wall has reached a compressive strength where it’s safe to do so. There’s really no second-guessing anything. And that helps with the logistics of cranes and organizing manpower.

Why did you specifically choose Maturix?

What made Maturix the number one choice was just the cost-effectiveness of it. A lot of the competitors have one-time-use sensors where you’re paying up around $100 a sensor and you embed it into the concrete. In every single pour, that’s $100 down the drain whereas Maturix technology is actually better because I don’t have to go around and capture the data with Bluetooth. It’s all done over a cloud network. It’s sent directly to my phone like I mentioned. I don’t have to pay someone to go around and collect data via Bluetooth. So in reality, I’m paying less for a better product.

So it seems Maturix offers cost-effective concrete compressive strength and temperature monitoring. It also documents everything related to this. Has that helped you with quality control procedures?

Yeah, definitely. It just basically organizes all our pours. I mean, I can go back to stuff I poured a month ago and see that Maturix records the exact time of placement.

What would you tell someone who is considering Maturix?

It’s streamlined. It’s easy. As far as cost-effective, it’s not even close compared to the competitors out there with the one-time-use sensors. And the labor you save in collecting the data is also a huge cost saving as well. So we’ve just been very happy with what these sensors have provided for us here.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us. We really appreciate it.

No problem. You guys are helping us out a lot on this project. We got a good thing going here, so I’m happy to help out.

*Banner photo by Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The post Interview: Optimizing Concrete Compressive Strength Monitoring for a Treatment Plant appeared first on Kryton.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.bellanovatravel.net/?p=234

One of the most dreaded things about winter is its damaging effects on concrete. This can be a costly and frustrating problem, but it doesn’t have to be! 

There are numerous easy ways to help avoid concrete cracks this winter. Follow these steps to prepare your driveway or other concrete slabs for the cold months ahead.

Seal your concrete surfaces 

In winter months when snowfall and low temperatures freeze the top of your concrete, frost damage can occur if they are not sealed. Sealing your concrete protects the surface and makes it easier to remove any ice as well. 

Remove debris

Regularly scraping away any leaves that fall onto your concrete as the seasons change is vital to protecting your driveway or other concrete fixtures. Leaves and other organic matter will prevent your concrete from getting the proper exposure to sunlight it needs in order to avoid freezing.

Repair any damaged concrete

If your concrete has become damaged or is already cracking, you need to take care of it as soon as possible. 

Cracked concrete exposed to freezing temperatures can cost thousands of dollars to replace and is likely to continue deteriorating over time if you do not repair it before temperatures continue to drop. 

Be sure to inspect all areas of your property that have concrete. It is possible that your gazebo, deck, or walkway might need replacement too.

Be careful with salt 

Using too much salt as a melting agent can actually damage your concrete, causing it to become brittle and more likely to crack. It should only be used in moderation. Fortunately, in Louisiana, this shouldn’t be too much of a concern for us. 

If you follow these steps, you can avoid the nightmare of having to replace cracked concrete this winter season. Don’t wait another day to start protecting your concrete. 

With the Louisiana weather being as unpredictable as it has been the past couple of years, there’s no telling what this winter will bring. Start taking steps to protect your driveway now and contact Port Aggregates for assistance. We look forward to helping you keep your concrete safe this winter!

The post Avoiding Concrete Cracks in the Winter: How to Prepare Your Concrete appeared first on Port Aggregates.