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| Concrete Wall |
A pioneer in construction safety and technology, Highbury Concrete is a concrete superstructure contractor based in New York City, New York. Since its establishment in 2013, Highbury Concrete has worked on several large projects requiring the use of reinforced concrete, including the Skyline Tower and Hope Street Capital condo project.
Concrete is a combination of three basic ingredients: cement, water, and a mix of aggregates like stone or gravel. Typically, the mix of aggregates accounts for the largest percentage of a concrete mixture, while cement and water account for 10 to 15 percent and 15 to 20 percent of the mix, respectively. Once dry, the resulting concrete is relatively waterproof, fireproof, and strong against compression. Not only that, but wet concrete is easy to pour and mold into different shapes. These different factors make concrete a popular material for building.
While concrete is very strong against compression, it’s extremely weak to tension. Compression refers to the act of pushing weight down onto an object. For example, if someone jumps on a bunch of crackers, they are adding compressive force to the crackers. Meanwhile, tension refers to the act of pulling an object, as if pulling a piece of string. With concrete, jumping on it or walking on it will usually not crack the material, but pulling it will.
To combat the issue of concrete being weak to tension, steel bars or other steel reinforcement is placed within the framework of the concrete item. This is usually done before the concrete is poured. Doing so creates reinforced concrete. Steel, which is high in tensile strength, improves how strong concrete is when exposed to tension. This makes reinforced concrete much stronger than regular concrete, and a more suitable building material.
Concrete is a combination of three basic ingredients: cement, water, and a mix of aggregates like stone or gravel. Typically, the mix of aggregates accounts for the largest percentage of a concrete mixture, while cement and water account for 10 to 15 percent and 15 to 20 percent of the mix, respectively. Once dry, the resulting concrete is relatively waterproof, fireproof, and strong against compression. Not only that, but wet concrete is easy to pour and mold into different shapes. These different factors make concrete a popular material for building.
While concrete is very strong against compression, it’s extremely weak to tension. Compression refers to the act of pushing weight down onto an object. For example, if someone jumps on a bunch of crackers, they are adding compressive force to the crackers. Meanwhile, tension refers to the act of pulling an object, as if pulling a piece of string. With concrete, jumping on it or walking on it will usually not crack the material, but pulling it will.
To combat the issue of concrete being weak to tension, steel bars or other steel reinforcement is placed within the framework of the concrete item. This is usually done before the concrete is poured. Doing so creates reinforced concrete. Steel, which is high in tensile strength, improves how strong concrete is when exposed to tension. This makes reinforced concrete much stronger than regular concrete, and a more suitable building material.
