This post is sponsored by The QUIKRETE Companies and written by its vice president of marketing, Frank Owens.
Concrete and sustainable construction
Green building remains a construction focus with billions of square feet of office space US Green Building Council LEED certified in 2015. While concrete and mortars may not seem like an obvious contributor to environmentally-friendly building, advances in manufacturing technology highlighted by the use of post-consumable materials like recycled concrete aggregates and slag cement can contribute to LEED certification. Slag cement, a by-product of iron ore transformed from iron during the molten process in a blast furnace, reduces landfill waste, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Today, everyone has a responsibility for being a good steward of the environment including concrete companies.
The aesthetics of concrete
Similar to misperceptions about its environmentally friendly viability, concrete’s aesthetic versatility is becoming more prevalent among contractors. In addition to using concrete to fulfill the structural requirements of a project, many interior and exterior designs call for the visual appearance of concrete surfaces to be elevated. Stamping, polishing, etching and painting are well-represented in the concrete decor community, but staining may be the most permanent way to transform an ordinary concrete slab into beautiful surface these days. Unlike many common film-forming stains that easily peel, flake and fade over time, our QUIKRETE translucent, penetrating stains absorb into the pores of concrete and chemically bond for lasting beauty. And with a vast assortment of tints and shades ranging from very light translucent colors to bright and bold solid colors, idea concrete is limited only by imagination.
Technology makes it easier than ever to work with concrete
The concrete industry is also benefiting from advanced technology beyond new product development and quality control. Recently, we launched a new QUIKRETE mobile application so contractors can easily access the project and product information they need from anywhere. The interactive functionality provides real-time, downloadable and shareable product data sheeta and SDS sheets, as well as material calculators and where-to-buy locations with one-touch from a smartphone. With more than 20,000 downloads of the QUIKRETE mobile app to date, we’ve found that leveraging technology to extend support to contractors and other customers is invaluable, whether they are completing a project bid or problem solving on a jobsite.
Come see us and learn more at Booth S10527 in the Las Vegas Convention Center during World of Concrete 2016, Feb 2-5.