How Concrete is Made at Rock Solid
Rock Solid Concrete produces high-quality concrete from each of its concrete batch plants. Concrete is also referred to as Ready-mixed concrete.
Ready-mixed concrete is produced from basic raw materials: Crushed and natural aggregates, Sand, cement, fly ash, water, and chemical admixtures,.
In a typical cubic yard (standard measurement) of ready-mixed concrete, the primary component (weight and volume) is aggregate, natural and crushed rock and sand. Giant machines, called rock crushers, pulverize larger-sized rocks into smaller aggregates that are sized through screens to provide graded materials for each concrete mix we produce. Each mix is different, depending on the use of the concrete.
Cement is a fine, grey powder made with calcined lime and clay. When cement is mixed with water, a chemical reaction begins that will eventually result in a hardened substance. When aggregates, rock and sand are added to the cement and water paste, the result is concrete.
Chemical admixtures and fly ash are used in the production of ready-mixed concrete to increase strength, improve workability and durability, and adjust concrete set-times. It takes skill and experience to know the right mix design and the right amount of each admixture to make top-quality concrete for the Arizona environment.
Concrete ingredients are weighed and measured at a computer-controlled batch plant. These materials are discharged from weigh hoppers in the batch plant into a ready-mix truck. The ready mix truck mixes all measured ingredients into a homogenous product during 70 revolutions of the mixing drum, about 5 minutes.
While the concrete is being transported to its destination, the cement mixer never stops revolving, continuing to mix ingredients.
In the summer months in Arizona, the placement and curing of concrete may require extreme measures. Most concrete is delivered before noon. On many larger projects in hotter months, concrete is placed at night or during the early morning hours to avoid the high daytime temperatures.
It’s important to know how much concrete to order for your project. To make it easier for you, we have provided a concrete calculator. Just go to https://www.rocksolidconcrete.com/calculator. We also show you how to measure for your project, whether it be a slab, and footing, or a column. (video coming soon).