Perth website launched Why not take a peek at the new Perth decorative concrete website.
The new site joins our already successful South West website.
You can access information on all forms of decorative concrete, check the colour range, see the latest projects in action and download technical information, colour charts and guides.
Contact us now You can always reach CEMEX sales staff on their mobile. Here's a list to help you out.
Metro
Pat McRobert - 0419 475 284
Yvonne Amphlett - 0429 791 351
Steve Maxwell - 0417 475 283
Julianne Marshall 0429 088 704
Kerry Wilkins - 0419 475 282
South West
Kurt Hislop - 0419 475 165
Neil Page - 0429 790 317
Keith Palmer - 0417 435 142
Decorative Concrete
1300 266 660
Darwin - 08 8981 9190
Geraldton - 08 9964 3888
Concrete Orders
13 11 88
Go to the concretewa website or simply email us now.
Slump for Residential House Slabs and Footings is now 100mm The Australian Standard covering manufacture and supply of concrete, AS 1379, was recently amended to provide that unless otherwise specified, the nominal slump for concrete supplied to domestic house slabs and footings will be 100mm.
This requirement has now also been included in the Building Code of Australia (BCA), the code that specifies regulations for the construction of structures. Compliance with the code on this issue is something that we thought we should bring to your attention.
For more information about the change to the Standard and the BCA, please contact your CEMEX Account Manager, phone contacts listed above.
Like to share? Feel free to forward this newsletter on to friends or work colleagues. Simply click here and follow the instructions.
Your friends can also sign up to receive their own personalised newsletter by visiting our website.
What won't be shared is your email address. We don't share, distribute or loan your details to anyone, so be certain, your private details remain just that.
Best Practice We developed a "Best Practice Placement Guide" specifically for decorative concrete projects although many of the suggestions are true for all "on the ground" concrete placements.
If you are specifying, placing or contracting any decorative concrete project you should ensure that Best Practice is being followed on your site. The brochure is easy to follow and there's a checklist where you can easily see that the best possible job will be completed.
Download a copy of the "Best Practice Placement Guide" for decorative concrete here or if you'd like a full decorative concrete sales kit, simply send an email request by clicking here.
Sustainability and the environment An important topic for us all.
At CEMEX we're committed to doing our part and you'll be hearing more about our goals and successes over the next few months.
In the meantime, we're about to release a new local leaflet entitled "Sustainability and Concrete".
If you'd like a copy you can simply send us an email request and we'll forward this on very shortly.
You are also welcome to download our Sustainable Development Report directly from this email.
Reader, have your say Remember, in the next issue we'll be hosting an online survey where you can tell us how we're doing. If you have a question that you'd like us to ask please email your question through to us now.
See you next time. | Welcome Reader to concrete update
.... and our first emailed newsletter.
At CEMEX, we're committed to delivering to you the level of service you'd like to expect from your concrete supplier.
This newsletter is another step in enabling us to work closer with you, more frequently to stay in touch and to receive your immediate feedback.
We promise not to waste your time with unnecessary gimmicks or offers, we simply would like to quickly and simply to get to you the latest news, technical data and information and innovations or new technologies.
At the same time we're interested in your feedback, so you'll notice lots of email and "click here" highlights sprinkled throughout this newsletter to make it easy to get in touch with us about specific issues. We value your feedback and your views, needs and concerns - these are of the utmost importance to us.
So much so, we're really keen to know how we are performing .... and we're going to ask the Expert .... and that's you Reader.
We'll be running an online survey giving you the opportunity to provide feedback so that we can improve the service we provide you. Because we value your input and because you're the expert in rating our performance, we're inviting you to submit the questions for our online survey. If you have an answer for us, how about emailing us the question.
That is, if you think there's a question to rate our performance, that we should be asking our customers then please email us this question (by clicking here).
Any question we use will be rewarded with the author receiving from us a personally delivered CEMEX T-shirt.
So stay tuned for this survey - we really do appreciate your feedback Reader. In the meantime feel free to forward this newsletter to a friend or if you have friends or work colleagues who might benefit from receiving our email updates, they're welcome to sign up to our email list by clicking here.
Remember we won't share your details with anyone and we promise not to bombard you with useless information. Indeed we'd love to hear from you what you'd like to be included in this newsletter, so if you have a great idea please email us now.
Holcim buys CEMEX
You've probably read in the press that the Swiss construction materials company Holcim has made an offer to purchase CEMEX Australia.
Whilst due diligence is being carried out and we progress towards the sale, it's business as usual. Watch out for updates in this newsletter or if you'd like further information, why not give our sales staff a call?
Technical Update - Curing Concrete
Concrete develops strength and durability properties from the generation of calcium silicate hydrates when cement reacts, or hydrates, with water.
Low humidity, warm weather and strong winds all contribute to the moisture loss from concrete causing potential loss of strength and cracking, reducing the life of concrete.
Curing is the protection of fresh concrete from loss of moisture. If concrete is to gain its potential strength and durability, it must have sufficient water for the full hydration of the cement.
Concrete should be cured so as to ensure the development of full concrete strength, a hard wearing surface, water-tightness, durability properties, the reduction of drying shrinkage cracking and the reduction of surface defects such as dusting, crazing & scaling.
Not curing concrete can result in a strength reduction of about 35% compared with effectively curing of concrete for 7 days.
Start your curing operations as soon as possible after the concrete has been finished. Any delays will allow a loss in moisture - with a delay of 1 day allowing moisture loss of 700% greater than curing without delay. If you pond cure your concrete, apply the water as soon as possible after finishing, delaying only long enough to avoid damage to the surface.
Concrete curing techniques fall into two groups - water retainers, such as leaving the formwork on, covering with plastic sheeting, or impermeable membranes, and water suppliers such as ponding, fogging or the application of wet sand or hessian. Ask your CEMEX sales staff for our Technical Note entitled “Curing Methods” to explain these options further.
Cement type, temperature and the criticality of the structure all need to be considered to determine the concrete curing time. Curing guidelines are to cure until concrete has reached 50% of the specified strength or 70% for critical structures. At low temperatures, it takes more time for concrete to develop strength. Blended cement concrete takes more time for concrete to develop strength than GP cement concrete.
Important: Continuity in curing is a must. Intermittent wetting (and drying) of the concrete promotes the development of cracking - if during curing the concrete is allowed to dry out, as may happen in hot weather, the chemical reaction of water with cement stops when the concrete loses its moisture.
Remember, these curing tips DO NOT apply to decorative and coloured concrete. If you'd like to read the full Concrete Curing Technical Note, feel free to download it now. |
