Concrete is used in various ways during residential and commercial construction. One of the variants of its application is reinforced concrete, which uses traditional cement concrete along with reinforcement usually steel bars. This method of concrete construction is designed to create a much stronger structure by combining the strength of concrete and steel at the same time.
Reinforced concrete has become a popular construction material. It is widely used in many buildings today due to its amazing qualities. Here are a few advantages:
Strength
The introduction of steel bars into concrete construction has greatly improved the strength of construction. Reinforced concrete has a very high compressive strength. This reinforcement also makes it withstand a lot of tensile strength. Buildings constructed using reinforced concrete are more suited to withstand conditions such as storms and earthquakes.
Fire and weather resistant
Concrete is a fire resistant material and reinforced concrete is not any different. The building system is more durable than any other building system and the concrete is weather resistant. No risk of moisture damage or any other weather related problems once the system is complete.
Economical and versatile
Reinforced concrete is created by spraying the fluid mix of water and cement on a metal frame. This makes it the best and economical way to create a variety of designs and shapes during construction. This makes it a great material for constructing structures such as piers, dams, and footings among others.
Less skill and labor required
The steel metal frame makes it extremely easy to construct using reinforced concrete. It takes fewer people to construct a structure and it does not require very skilled labor. As long as the steel structure has been formed and the cement mixed to proper specifications, the rest of the work is a breeze.
Low maintenance cost
Due to its strong and durable construction system, reinforced concrete requires little or no maintenance at all. Once the concrete mix sets in place, there is little need for any further maintenance. For affordable concrete services, check out our friends from Ocmulgee Concrete.
Molded into any shape
The metal frame within is designed in the shape of the desired structure and the concrete mix is sprayed over it to form the shape. This is why reinforced concrete is often used in creating precast components. It has minimum apparent deflection and can be molded into any shape required such as arches, curves, and other geometric shapes.