If you need a general cement product with improved workability/pumpability, reduced water demand, enhanced bleed control, lower drying shrinkage and creep, and resistance to sulfate attack and chloride penetration, Cement Australia’s Builders Cement is just what you’re looking for.
Builders Cement (blended cement) is manufactured for use in general-purpose concrete applications, cement-based products, mortars and grouts where the use of fly ash has been approved. Concrete made with fly ash or slag cement delivers improved later-age strength, workability, and enhances the durability of concrete. Additionally, fly ash and slag are recycled by-products of the industry. Using these in cement blends assists with reducing carbon emissions.
So let’s get this straight: Builders Cement will shrink less, have better workability, be stronger, and is better for the environment?
Sign me up right now!
For this WTW Tradie Tough Test, we caught up with my good mate Heath Thompson from Impact Pools and Landscapes. Heath has been dialled into this product for some time and has been using it for his poolside paving and landscaping work.
TEST #1: MIX AND CONSISTENCY
Mix, even colour and consistency of ingredients are all essential factors, and any tradie who has been around the traps for a while will be able to look at mixed cement and immediately tell if it’s a good product or not. The way the mixed cement product stands up on the trowel, how sticky it is and its general consistency all paint a picture of its quality. Chatting with Heath and his team on site as they were laying large 600mmx400mmx30mm marble pavers around a pool edge, Heath shared, “You just have to look at how well this product mixes up. It’s a far superior product to others we have used. It’s always consistent, regardless of if it comes out of the same batch or not, and it mixes up well, either in the mixer or in the barrow.
“But we love the quality of the ingredients and the consistency the most. The fact it’s made right here in Australia is pretty good too!”
TEST #2: EASE OF USE
It’s obvious the Impact Pools and Landscape team enjoy working with this product due to its light, fluffy nature and workability.
Anything that reduces strain and stress on wrists and hands after long days and weeks of work is a great thing. But after listening to Heath, his decision to use the Builders Cement over the standard General Purpose Cement comes down to several factors.
“The reduced drying shrinkage and creep of this product is a great feature,” he floated. “Over time it also dries harder and is less prone to sulfate attack, chloride penetration, and has reduced potential for Alkali Aggregate Reaction. What does all that mean at the end of the day? Builders Cement will last longer and perform better than other brands.
“For my clients and the type and quality of work we produce, this means a lot.”
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
The versatility of Builders Cement (blended cement) makes it an ideal choice for a wide range of applications, including domestic construction, major engineering projects, pre-cast concrete where high durability and off-form finish are required, stabilisation, including pavement recycling for road construction, mining applications, and specialist formulations such as adhesives, renders, mortars and grouts.
Blended Cement is a uniform blend of Portland cement and fly ash or slag that complies with the requirements specified in Australian Standard AS 3972 for Type GB (Blended) cement. It also complies with the AS 3972 requirements for Type SL (Shrinkage Limited) and Type SR (Sulfate Resisting) cements