Post Date:16,Oct,2023
The terms cement, concrete, and mortar can be confusing to those just starting out, but the basic difference is that cement is a fine bonded powder (never used alone), mortar is made up of cement and sand, and concrete is made up of cement, sand, and gravel. In addition to their different ingredients, their uses are also very different. Even businessmen who work with these materials on a daily basis can confuse these terms in colloquial language, as cement is often used to mean concrete.
Cement
Cement is a bond between concrete and mortar. It is usually made of limestone, clay, shells and silica sand. The materials are crushed and then mixed with other ingredients, including iron ore, and then heated to about 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. This material, called clinker, is ground into a fine powder.
You may see cement referred to as Portland cement. That's because it was first made in England in the 19th century by Leeds mason Joseph Aspdin, who likened the color to stone from a quarry on the island of Portland, off the coast of England.
Today, Portland cement is still the most commonly used cement. It is a "hydraulic" cement, which simply means that it sets and hardens when combined with water.
Concrete
Around the world, concrete is commonly used as a strong foundation and infrastructure for almost any type of building. It is unique in that it starts out as a simple, dry mixture, then becomes a liquid, elastic material that can form any mold or shape, and finally becomes a rock-like hard material that we call concrete.
Concrete consists of cement, sand, gravel or other fine or coarse aggregates. The addition of water activates the cement, which is the element responsible for binding the mixture together to form a solid object.
You can buy ready-made concrete mixes in bags that mix cement, sand, and gravel together, and all you need to do is add water.
These are useful for small projects, such as anchoring fence posts or other fixtures. For large projects, you can buy bags of cement and mix it with sand and gravel yourself in a wheelbarrow or other large container, or order premixed concrete and have it delivered and poured.
Mortar
Mortar is made up of cement and sand. When water is mixed with this product, the cement is activated. While concrete can be used alone, mortar is used to bond brick, stone, or other hard landscape components together. Cement mixing, therefore, correctly, refers to the use of cement to mix mortar or concrete.
In the construction of a brick patio, mortar is sometimes used between the bricks, although in this case it is not always used. In northern regions, for example, mortar cracks easily in the winter, so bricks can simply be stuck close together, or sand added between them.
Post time: Oct-16-2023