Improvements in Concrete

Concrete plays an important role in our everyday lives and no matter where you look, you can likely see some form of concrete. Concrete can be found on the roads we drive daily, can be seen in the parks we take our children to, and is used in the buildings we live and work in. In fact, concrete has been an important go-to construction component for a very long time and dates back to Ancient Roman times. The Romans even found a way to streamline their use of concrete and started pouring into molds to form precast concrete. As a locally owned East Texas concrete fence contractor, Hilltop Concrete specializes in precast concrete fences and we know our concrete! We will discuss the improvements in the strength of concrete that have been made since the Romans started pouring precast structures.

One of the greatest improvements in strength is the increased selection of ingredients that can be used to mix concrete. Cement is the most important ingredient in concrete because it is the ingredient that binds the other ingredients together. The grade of the cement used plays an important role in the overall strength of the concrete. Essentially, the higher the grade of cement, the higher the strength of the concrete. Hilltop Concrete uses ASTM-C150, Type I or Type III Portland cement in our concrete mixture, and all of our panels, posts, and caps have a compression strength of 5,000 PSI at 28 days.

Improvement in strength was achieved early on by introducing steel reinforcement. It is now common practice for rebar to be incorporated into concrete to reduce cracking or breaking and improve the overall strength of the concrete to ensure a lasting end product. Hilltop manufacturers our panels with steel reinforcement and our posts and rails with rebar reinforcement.

In addition to steel and rebar reinforcement, concrete strength has also been improved by adding fibrous materials. These fibers can include steel fibers, glass fibers, natural fibers, or synthetic fibers. Varying factors, such as the type, shape, dimension, and length of the fiber, all contribute to the effectiveness of using fiber as a secondary reinforcement method. All components of Hilltop’s precast concrete fences include fiber as secondary reinforcement.

These improvements have made it possible for Hilltop Concrete to manufacture our precast concrete fence systems and ensure that we can provide a product that is sure to last for years to come. Visit our website today to learn more about our products, such as our StackedStone system. You can also reach out to us via email at hello@hilltopconcreteco.com or phone at 903-630-5465 to learn how Hilltop Concrete can become your trusted concrete fence contractor today!