Many of us who do not have the necessary knowledge and experience in the construction industry can confuse cement mortar and concrete. The difference between cement and concrete consists of many parameters. What does it consist of, and what does this component represent? Consider in our article today.
What is cement?
Cement and concrete: what is the difference? If you are interested in the answer to this question, then it is worth considering each substance separately. Cement means a dry substance that acts as a binder in the manufacture of cement and concrete solutions.
Cement mortar is a composition that includes 3 main components. It is cement, sand and water. In addition, various regulatory additives are usually added here, which increase strength, resistance to temperature, and moisture.
What is concrete?
When you do not know how concrete differs from cement, it is worth considering the basic concepts. Concrete is a stone that is created artificially from water, cement, aggregates. This may also include various additives that will improve performance.
Distinctive properties of cement mortar as intended
If we talk about the purpose, then the cement mortar usually acts as a screed for such floor coverings as laminate, parquet, linoleum and much more. Very often, with the help of it, various seams between plates and blocks are sealed. In addition, the composition produces plastering of many surfaces. This allows you to give them an attractive appearance and compact the surface.
Unlike concrete mortar, the cement component does not require the introduction of coarse aggregate. Here you will perfectly manage ordinary sand. Very often you can see plasticizer in the list of additives. It allows you to improve the mobility of the solution and increases its strength. And if you do not want to purchase a purchased version of the solution, then you can make it yourself. Here you need to adhere to a specific regulatory document and study in advance the difference between concrete and cement.
Cement mortar composition
The composition of the solutions can be:
- Cement
- Limestone.
- Cement-lime.
In addition, experienced craftsmen resort to various additives. Among them, slag, silica, ash and limestone can be noted. These impurities can improve the quality of the finished mixture. They increase ductility, hardening speed, service life, and also resistance to various mechanical and chemical influences.
Some differences in concrete mixtures in composition
Concrete composite consists of the following components:
- The binder, which is most often used in the form of cement.
- Various types of sand.
- Crushed stone or gravel.
- Water.
- The introduction of various additives is possible.
At the same time, cement is selected of any particular grade. But in most cases, they resort to the PC500 brand. It is great for a variety of designs. To find out how much cement is contained in a cube of concrete, it is worth making the necessary calculation.
If we talk about gravel and sand, then it is worth recalling the particle size distribution, because it is from it that the strength and density characteristics will depend. When the concrete mix is made at the factory, then all the parameters and characteristics of each component are immediately taken into account. After all, a correctly selected version of fillers and a binder allows you to increase the workability of the mixture.
When you make the solution yourself, then many inexperienced builders make it by eye. However, they miss out on possible performance gains.
The use of additional components
In addition, many now use various plasticizers. They can improve strength, increase ductility, as well as increase resistance to atmospheric exposure. In addition to plasticizers, today there are various additives that increase frost resistance, increase density, accelerate hardening. All of them are freely available in any hardware store, so everyone can buy them. You need to use them only according to the instructions and do not zealous with the proportions. This can only lead to negative effects.
Reinforcing Fiber Additives
In order for concrete to be stronger, very often resort to various impurities. This may include:
- Metallic threads.
- Fiberglass.
- Polymer threads.
- Basalt fiber.
The latter option is best used because it does not rot, is resistant to fires, and also has good durability. When adding such components, it is necessary to mix the concrete mixture gently to avoid uneven distribution.
What types of concrete are there?
If you do not know how concrete differs from cement, then it is worth considering the basic classifications. Concrete can be distinguished using a variety of criteria, but among the main will be the following.
Depending on the mass, concrete can be:
- Easy.
- Lightweight.
- Particularly light.
- Heavy and especially heavy.
By purpose, concrete is:
- Special. They can be resistant to various chemical influences, radio emission, low as well as high temperatures.
- Constructive. Typically, such concrete is developed for the manufacture of various structures.
- Straining. This type is used in fusion with tensile reinforcement.
By type of cement, concrete can be as follows:
- Cement Cement is used as a binder.
- Silicate. It uses calcareous raw materials and silicate materials.
- Gypsum. Concrete is produced from slag materials with the addition of various gypsum binders.
What is the difference?
In the event that you do not know how concrete differs from cement, it is worth making a final conclusion and summarizing in detail:
- Application. It is worth remembering that concrete and cement will differ in scope. Concrete has a wider range of areas in which it can be used. It is used in all construction processes. And if we talk about the cement composition, then it is used for finishing work, repairing various cracks and depressions, as well as for masonry building materials.
- Structure. The cement composition has few components, which reduces its strength in comparison with concrete mortar. It includes concrete and cement, and crushed stone, and sand. He also tolerates the introduction of various additives in the form of liquid components or reinforcing fibers. In addition, a building component such as reinforced concrete, which is used everywhere for housing construction, is made of concrete.
- Decorative properties. If we talk about the decoration of facades, then with the help of concrete only a monolithic wall can be made. Further, it needs to be carefully finished, even with ordinary cement mortar. Concrete cannot be used as a finish. It has a lot of hollows, chips, cracks, as well as oil stains from the formwork. That is why it always needs to be trimmed. The cement mortar is easy to apply and can eliminate all visible defects.
- Life time. If you do not know how concrete differs from cement, then you just need to remember this particular feature. It is worth knowing that concrete will only gain strength every year. It will withstand all negative loads and impacts, therefore, it is an excellent material for foundation construction. Cement mortar, whatever its quality, will eventually begin to crack, crumble and become unusable. That is why concrete will be better in this regard.
- Cost. When it comes to cost, concrete will be more expensive here. This is due to the fact that it contains a larger number of components, which immediately leads to its rise in price.
- Consistency. In a cement mortar, you will observe a fairly dense and uniform consistency. Concrete, however, cannot boast of this, because it contains a large aggregate.
- Workability. Due to the fact that the cement mortar contains only fine aggregate, it will be more conveniently stacked. If we talk about concrete, then here it will again be slightly behind. In the event that gravel or crushed stone is picked up with the wrong particle size distribution, and also the compaction is illiterate, this can lead to the formation of voids.
Conclusion
So, we found out how concrete differs from cement. A comparison of the characteristics led to the conclusion that these materials differ in all respects. And do not confuse these two components.