WHITE CEMENT AND COLOURFUL DYES: MERGING TRENDS IN CONCRETE DESIGN

Cement is a long-time staple in the design and construction worlds with new trends and advancements in concrete. At W.F. Botkin Construction Ltd. we make sure that we always stay on top of new trends so that we can continue to supply for all your industrial, civil, commercial, or residential needs.

Plain grey, finished concrete continues to be a popular and versatile design choice that can add an industrial yet elegant appearance. Sturdy and durable, homeowners and designers are choosing to incorporate grey finished concrete into counter-tops, fireplaces, sinks, tabletops, and many other different home elements.

While finished grey concrete is still widely used, an emerging new trend in concrete design is colorful and decorative concrete. The key ingredient in decorative concrete in Regina is white cement. White cement is the perfect medium for all sorts of dyes and coloring agents which can help create beautiful and aesthetically appealing concrete structures for a variety of civic, commercial, and residential purposes.

Other new trends in concrete design, such as incorporated optical fibres, reactive powder concrete, and self-consolidating concrete, are centered on emerging new technologies. When optical fibres are added to a concrete mix, the result is a translucent concrete with a very unique look. Reactive powder concrete is a new innovation which allows concrete to reach ultra-high compression strengths of up to 150 to 200 mpa. Self-Consolidating Concrete is a concrete which, as per its name, consolidates itself, creating smooth surfaces without any mix segregation.

Trends often develop to meet certain needs, which is what has happened with the Load-Bearing Wall (LBW) concrete design and construction system. The LBW system has increased in popularity with the expansion of high-rise residential construction. This system is capable of meeting fast construction demands because it consists of pouring the walls and slab at the same time, using tunnel form construction. The forms are stripped after just 24 hours.

New methods of pre-stressing concrete are also gaining in popularity, namely the method of post-tensioning. Introducing compressive stresses into concrete helps to reduce the tensile stresses of the concrete's weight and applied loads. Unlike pre-tensioning, which is done before the concrete is placed, post-tensioning is performed during cast-in-place applications. It involves the installation of reinforcing strands of steel, which are strong under tension, in such a way that the steel does not bind to the concrete.

Whether you're looking for good old-fashioned reliable concrete for a construction project, or for decorative, dyed concrete to add a unique feature to your property, W.F. Botkin Construction Ltd. has all of the concrete supplies you could want in Regina. Our superior line of products and our nearly six decades of concrete supplying experience have helped us become a trusted name in design and construction industries.

If you have any questions about our concrete products or concrete services in Regina, we encourage you to contact W.F. Botkin Construction Ltd. today.