Becoming A Geek About Concrete

ChemMasters hosted a learning workshop in their factory in February. 2016. I trekked from Pittsburgh where it was a balmy 58 degrees to Madison Ohio at 38 degrees one Sunday afternoon!  Who knew 2 hours north would be 20 degrees colder! It was a bright day and I enjoyed the Ohio farmlands and landscapes as I traveled over bridges sealed with ChemMasters sealants.

The workshop started with a basic understanding of concrete. Concrete is made of three ingredients.  Rock, Sand or Gravel and Portland cement are the first two ingredients. The cement is in a powder form and is the binding agent when mixed with the third most important ingredient – water.  The chemical reaction is called hydration which causes these ingredients to become a paste and gains strength to form rock hard roads, bridges, columns and more as it dries.  We learned about proportions,  water-cement ratio and curing.

There is a curing process that occurs after the concrete has been formed. The curing enables the concrete to continue to strengthen. Did you ever drive under a bridge being worked on and had water like rain falling down on your car? This is the curing process. It enables a strong product that will withstand the weight it needs to and to perform year after year. Did you ever stop to think about the strength of the George Washington Bridge before you drive over it? No, you don’t. We are secure in knowing our bridge contractors are creating and building the bridge to the specifications that give it the strength to ride on top of it year after year.

 I learned much about pouring and forming concrete, sealing concrete, how to use grout and the chemistry behind these value added products. We poured concrete, applied sealants and used structural repair mortar like ChemPatch to repair walls.

I added to my vocabulary terms like accelerator, cementitious, crack chasing, delamination and efflorescence. We discussed and watched them mix colors for concrete and discussed stamped concrete, colored concrete, stains, and coatings. I never thought I would find it interesting or fascinating but the scientists at ChemMasters were masters at communicating their passion for creating a high value quality product to enable us to live environmentally sound and convenient lives.

Power Tool and Supply inventories the sealers, epoxies, grouts and more that our general contractors and bridge contractors need. Our products are PennDot and ODot approved. Thanks to the great team at ChemMasters, now my workability talk with our contractors will help them get the right product and cement our relationship.