By admin Construction • • 0 Comments

How To Build Concrete Steps & Add Value To Your Home

If you are reasonably handy with power tools and understand the importance of getting a project level and square, building concrete steps can save you a few dollars. As DIY tasks go, concrete steps can be somewhat labor-intensive. But with the right tools and by following these steps carefully, you can add value to your property.

1: Gather Your Tools & Materials

You will likely need the following tools and materials to complete a set of concrete steps: a 4-foot level, framing square, circular saw, hammer, wheelbarrow, shovel, concrete edger, broom, tape measure, circular saw, concrete, trowel, 2x lumber, gravel, rubble, and plywood.

2: Take Initial Measurements

Measure the height from the ground to the bottom of the doorway. Now calculate how many steps you will need extending away from the building at 7 inches per step. This is to say, each step is supposed to be no more than 7 inches. If the door threshold’s bottom is 21 inches from the ground, you usually need three concrete steps. If the height can’t be divided by 7 inches evenly, get each step as close as you can. You can make shorter steps, but not taller ones.

3: Set Your Footings

Excavate the ground where the concrete steps will be poured. Layout 2x lumber to form two boxes to pour the footings. Check that they are perfectly level. These should extend about three inches wider than your steps. As the concrete starts to harden, insert rebar into the footings so that it sticks up about 6-8 inches. Fill the center space with gravel.

4: Build A Frame

Measure and cut two plywood sections to mirror the sides of the concrete steps, based on your measurements. Set one on each footing with 3 inches protruding at the bottom. Check that they are also level. Cut 2x materials to create the face of each step, not the part you would walk on. Hammer them in place. Cut a 2×4 to create a brace. This typically is one length that extends from the ground and over the steps. Attach shorter braces — called cleats — that point down and support each step o the front. Hammer the last cleat into the ground and attach the long length to ensure it stays in place. Check to make certain your concrete steps will all be level, and the form is square.

5: Fill In The Form

Consider using stones, bricks, or cinderblock pieces to fill up a portion of the form. This will cut down on the amount of concrete needed. This strategy also tends to alleviate some pressure on your forms when the concrete is poured. Save room to insert lengths of ½-inch thick rebar about 3-4 inches below the concrete steps’ surface.

6: Fill With Concrete

Mix your concrete in the wheelbarrow and shovel it into the concrete steps form. It’s essential to prepare a firm but moist concrete mixture. This will help prevent leakage, reduce the hardening time, and allow you to manipulate it effectively.

7: Detail Your Concrete Steps

Use the edger to enhance the outer areas’ appearance once the concrete is fairly hard. Then take the broom and add traction lines to the spaces people will place their feet.

8: Remove Forms

Concrete steps usually take 12 to 24 hours to cure. Once the concrete has hardened, remove the forms. A flat tool such as a trowel may prove effective. Keep in mind that hard impacts or prying from tools such as a crowbar can damage the steps.

Concrete steps require some muscle to build. While handy homeowners can save a few bucks on labor, a masonry contractor may be worth considering.

By admin Asphalt Paving • • 0 Comments

DOES CONCRETE CONDUCT ELECTRICITY? YES, HERE’S WHY

People generally don’t consider what conducts electricity, as long as they don’t suffer the results of the conductivity. People are aware that metals and even the ground move electricity. Concrete electricity, on the other hand, is outside the box for all but civil engineers, the military, and other such professionals. How does concrete move electrical currents?

 

What Is Concrete?

 

First, it’s important to understand how concrete is made. Many consider concrete and cement interchangeable. However, they are two completely different things. Cement is composed of crushed stone, shells, and other aggregate with chemical compositions of iron, calcium, and more. These things harden when combined with water to make cement.

 

Concrete is made when finely ground cement is added to things that have no chemical presence such as sand, gravel, and rocks. These act as a binder when mixed with water. It then hardens, forming concrete. How do these conduct electrical current?

 

How Does Concrete Conduct Electricity?

 

Completely dry concrete doesn’t conduct electricity; in fact, it insulates instead. When wet, concrete electricity has some verity, but not much. To conduct electricity, the ions in the elements of the cement have to be free to move.

 

That happens when the concrete is wet. The resistance of the concrete is conducive to the movement of these ions. Thus, on wet days, the ions move about with their electrical current in tow. The same is true of any wet material including wood.

 

How Can Concrete Become More Conducive?

 

To facilitate the movement of the ions more freely, something must be added to the concrete to make it more conducive. Since metal carries electrical current very well, adding steel and/or carbon fibers to the mix makes the concrete electrifying.

 

Would Concrete Electricity Be Attractive To Homeowners?

 

An overlay of conducive concrete is lighter than conventional concrete. Its electromagnetic properties protects smart homes’ connections as well as computers against hackers. Its warming properties use existing lines and is compatible with AC current in a 120 volt plug. It protects homes against lightning strikes.

 

Additionally, what homeowner doesn’t grumble when faced with shoveling the walkways and driveway in a snowy winter? Electrically charged concrete eliminates this chore. It removes the threat of deicing and salt products to the environment and wildlife. Walking across an electrically charged surface, though, won’t harm the walker.

 

There could be some benefit in conducive concrete due to its stability and bonding properties. In other words, storms won’t knock out the computers or other electronics. There will be no need for surge protection.

 

Final Thoughts

 

When people think of conducting electricity, they think of copper wires, aluminum buildings, and not swimming in a storm. Concrete never even crosses their consciousness.

 

However, it’s a great answer for homeowners seeking stable and conductive building materials. Its benefits to homeowners especially could save money and provide protection from Nature’s fury as well as from those with nefarious intent.