Concrete Parking Areas Concrete parking areas are an excellent choice for a durable, low-maintenance, and aesthetically pleasing parking area for retail developments, grocery stores, industrial sites, and commercial businesses.   Suggested Specifications for Concrete Parking Areas General Concrete…

Decorative Concrete Concrete is one of the most versatile building materials, and can be made to look like almost anything else.   Colored and Stamped Concrete provides beautiful colors and patterns to driveways, walkways, and patios.   Versatility Concrete can be colored, stamped, or…

Cold Weather Concrete Placing concrete in cold weather often involves heating some of the concrete ingredients, protecting the freshly-placed concrete from freezing, and closely monitoring the strength gain of the concrete.   Residential Concreting:"The COLD Facts" With the arrival of…

Hot Weather Placing concrete in hot weather might mean cooling materials or placing concrete at nighttime to avoid daytime extremes.   SUCCESSFUL HOT WEATHER CONCRETING Throughout summer, difficulties in mixing, placing and curing concrete often arise. High ambient/concrete temperatures, low relative…

Cylindrical Sense Proper fabrication, care, and curing of concrete test cylinders is critical for the results to be valid and meaningful. Concrete cylinders are cast for a variety of applications to ensure that the compressive strength requirements for a project are being met. Did you know, however,…

Flowable Fill Ready mixed flowable fill is commonly referred to as controlled low strength material (CLSM).   Ready mixed flowable fill is usually a blend of cement, fly ash, sand, and water. It is typically designed as a low strength, flowable material requiring no subsequent vibration or tamping…

Tilt-Up Nationwide, over 15% of all industrial buildings are Tilt-Up, ranging in size from 5,000 to over 1.5 million square feet.   Tilt-Up offers your project the following:   Fast Track Delivery: Tilt-up lends itself to your Design Build project. Earlier occupancy results form…

Concrete Basics At its most basic form, concrete is composed of three main ingredients: cement, water, and aggregates. In its simplest form, concrete is a mixture of paste and aggregates (i.e. sand & rock). The paste, composed of cement and water, coats the surface of the fine (sand) and…

Concrete Care Take care of your concrete to ensure that it lasts like it should.   Although concrete is one of the most durable construction products, it endures the harshest elements of our climate. Other wearing surfaces such as carpets and wood floors often have protective products applied (i.e.…

Basement Walls Concrete is the single most popular material used to construct residential basements in Illinois.   A concrete basement is the most economical part of a home to build and is the best value for the dollar spent. Concrete basements provide adequate support for the home above it, can…

Driveways Concrete driveways are the preferred choice for most homeowners due to their durability, low maintenance, and numerous aesthetic options. Concrete Driveways are preferred over other paving materials for a variety of reasons:   Durability is a key to the longevity of driveways. Concrete…

Insulating Concrete Forms ICF homes and structures are some of the most energy efficient, disaster-proof, and structurally sound buildings available.   Homes constructed with Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) walls are quiet, high quality, safe, energy efficient, durable, and cost efficient.…

Overlays Concrete overlays are very cost effective solutions for deteriorated streets, roads, highways, runways, and parking lots. Concrete overlays can be built over existing asphalt or concrete pavements, without the need to remove the existing surface and/or reconstruct the entire pavement structure.…

Weather Conditions Both hot and cold weather can affect how a concrete pavement should be constructed and treated.   The American Concrete Institute (ACI) defines cold weather as: "When air temperature has fallen to, or is expected to fall below, 40°F (4°C) during…

Curing Proper curing of concrete is critical for the cement to fully hydrate, to prevent cracking, and to develop the desired engineering properties of the concrete.   The most common method of curing freshly-placed concrete pavement is through the spraying of a membrane-forming curing compound…