Concrete products: road construction, water supply and

Concrete is a truly unique artificially created material, the scope of which is not limited to the erection of buildings and the construction of runways of airfields. In the modern construction market there are also concrete products for the improvement of country houses and land. In our article we look at the popular varieties of this material.

What surrounds us

We will try to describe as many different concrete products as possible, which are found in our life almost every day:

Road construction

As before, for the arrangement of motorways, road pavement of the territories of large enterprises, where traffic is moving around the clock (mostly heavy):

• The road plates of large sizes (6 * 2m; 3 * 2m; 1.5 * 3m; 1.2 * 6, etc.) are rectangular, hexagonal.
• Side stones, curbs.

Modern paving of streets and sidewalks dictates its own conditions for creating pavements and requires an extensive range of its elements:

1. Artificial stones.
2. Tiles.
3. Elements of drainage systems:

• Rainwater trays.
• Lattice.

Note! Dimensions of tiles and stones intended for paving are regulated by the Specifications "Stones of artificial road pavement". According to this document, their thickness should not be less than 60 mm, and the area of ​​the supporting surface should not exceed 0.05 m2, the length of the stone is between 28 and 30 cm for rectangular and figured products.

Pavement elements are available in a wide color palette and of various shapes for several reasons:

• To give the streets of the city individuality.
• Creation of informative coatings with the allocation of transition zones, public transport, recreation, parking lots, etc.

Interesting! In foreign countries, additional machining of paving elements is practiced (milling, grinding, sandblasting and shot blasting). Using these methods, the artificial stone is given a more expressive appearance depending on the tasks set by the customer.

Water supply and sewage facilities

A large segment in the total mass of the production of concrete structures and products occupy sanitary precast elements:

• Trays and covers to them of various modifications for laying pipelines.
• Well rings, bottom plates and covers.

This product is manufactured in standard dimensions and must strictly comply with the requirements of GOST and SNiP "Reinforced concrete and concrete sanitary facilities".

Accomplishment and decoration

In order to improve and diversify the appearance of the streets, courtyards, squares and squares of the city, the production of concrete products from which so-called small architectural forms are made is used. These LFAs have acquired tremendous importance in large cities, where mainly high-rise buildings of the same type are built.

To help architects responsible for the appearance of the city, manufacturers of concrete products, produce individual elements:

1. Fencing, flower beds.

1. Retaining walls for creation, organized by a different level landscape:

• The links.
• Angle details.
• Radial parts.
• Parapet plates.

1. Supports garden benches.

Additional decorations of architectural ensembles in places of recreation for people are also made of concrete today.

Its physico-technical and operational characteristics ensure a long service life of such products and at the same time allow to create such aesthetically directed decorative objects as:

• Fountains.
• Sculptures.
• Vases.
• Pergolas.
• Pools.

Many homeowners arrange "alpine slides" on their farmsteads, decorated with the help of artificial stone, decorative elements, various plants with a supply of water falling down a stepped array.

Others arrange concrete painted sculptures in the form:

• Funny animals.
• Heroes of fairy tales, myths.
• Geometric figures (gardens of contemplation), etc.

Manufacturing technology

The manufacture of concrete products for any purpose and size includes two stages:

• Concrete preparation and product formation.
• Electrical heating, steaming of concrete products, mechanical or chemical effects.

Steaming process

Currently, the most common heat treatment of concrete, which allows in a short time to obtain products of design strength, allowing:

• To transport them to construction sites and improvement objects.
• Start the installation work.

In the factory, concrete products are steamed in special chambers or autoclaves, molding units or stands. Heated products are exposed to treatment in the vapor-air mixture or saturated steam. To create the desired climate in the heating chamber using a steam generator for steaming concrete products.

Steam forming equipment is additionally equipped with:

• Auto on-off appliances.
• Solenoid valve.
• Sensor and temperature controller.
• A timer to set a specific steaming cycle time, etc.

Its price depends on the power and configuration of the steam generator. The average cost of such equipment today is 35,000 rubles.

The device of a concrete path by own strength

To help non-lazy craftsmen who want to build their own territory near the house, they produce special stencils for paving slabs. This lesson will give you a lot of pleasure in the process of creativity and will help you save money.

Instructions for self-manufacturing garden path:

1. We mark on the territory the configuration of the path.
2. We expose the lubricated technical grease forms and fill up to half the height of the solution.
3. We put the reinforcing mesh of a small cross-section of the rods, fastening with knitting wire.
4. Fill the concrete mixture to the end and gently seal.
5. Within 2-3 days we wet the surface of the tiles, save it from direct sunlight.
6. Until the solution is completely frozen, you can decorate it at your discretion:

• Create a drawing by attaching a harvested wire stencil.
• Lay out an ornament of glass, broken tiles or porcelain plates, slightly pressing into a fresh mixture.

Tip! Cement-sand mixture for tiles can be enriched with marble chips in a small amount or painted in any colors, making pigments during the preparation.

Those interested can go ahead and create their own unique concrete products:

• Sculptures for decorating the local area, fencing, parapets.
• Flowerpots and flower beds of various shapes.

For example, a strict-shaped flowerpot can be easily made with your own hands, having two plastic buckets of different sizes and a portion of the concrete mix on hand.

• At the bottom of a larger tank is poured a layer of concrete with a height of 5-6 cm.
• Then we place a small bucket inside the large bucket and pour the rest of the mixture into the resulting gap.
• Leave to dry for 2-3 days.
• We get rid of improvised formwork.
• The finished product will be wrapped in a wet sackcloth, then in a film and left for a week.

If you are lucky enough to find a “fabulous” formwork, the finished pot can claim originality. A simple form can also be given a unique look with the help of a mosaic device on its surface made of scrap materials or water-based painting.

Conclusion

Как видите, бетон присутствует не только в «грубом» строительстве, но и позволяет украсить наши загородные участки. Некоторые бетонные изделия для сада вы можете сделать сами, мы об этом уже упомянули, но есть и готовые продукты, которые можно приобрести в различных магазинах (см.также статью «Железобетонные изделия: особенности и назначение»).

In the presented videos in this article you will find additional information on this topic.