The Difference Between Cement & Concrete

Cement vs Concrete
Do You Know the Difference?


Most people don't know the difference between "cement" and "concrete" and if asked they are likely to say something like, "I've never really thought about it but, aren't they the same thing?" While cement and concrete are related they are nowhere near the same thing!


Cement, which is the abbreviation of the correct name, "Portland cement" is a fine grey powder which looks very much like grey flour. Most people have never seen cement. Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand, rock, water and small amounts of additives. Concrete is the material we encounter in our everyday lives.
The relationship between cement and concrete is similar to the relationship between flour and cake. While neither cake nor concrete can be made without the "flour" they are definitely not flour and like a cake, when the concrete has finished "cooking", the flour is nowhere to be seen.


Another way to think about it is that; cement is the glue in the concrete holding the sand and stone together. It should also be noted that like a lot of glues, cement doesn't "dry"; it hardens through a process called hydration.


Just as different occasions call for different types of cakes (one would never take Christmas cake to a 2 year old's birthday party), different applications call for different types of concrete. While basic concrete can be made at home most concrete today can only be made by your local ready-mix concrete manufacturer and delivered ready-to- use in a ready-mix concrete truck.

Anyone in the cement and concrete business would be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding concrete, the most widely used and versatile building material in our society.

 

BC READY-MIXED CONCRETE ASSOCIATION
26162 – 30A Avenue, Aldergrove, BC, V4W 2W5
Ph: 604-626-4141   Fx: 604-626-4143   Em: info@bcrmca.bc.ca