Tag: building materials

Business

Report: Heavy building materials sector lagging behind in digital transformation

According to Command Alkon and Adelante SCM, the heavy building materials sector is among the least digitized of industries. Get the details on Equipment World.

December 19, 2018

Roadbuilding

Concrete made from industrial waste rather than cement could be more durable

Researchers work on making concrete with industrial waste instead of cement. Not only will this reduce the carbon footprint but the durability as well.

November 23, 2018

Roadbuilding

Fungus-powered, self-healing concrete could eliminate cracks in existing roads, bridges

Binghamton University researchers are working on perfecting a fungus that will heal the cracks that naturally form in concrete, pressconnects.com reports. To make the self-healing concrete, fungal spores and a nutrient-based medium would be added to the concrete during the mixing process or sprayed onto concrete structures already built. The fungus would naturally secrete minerals […]

April 19, 2018

Roadbuilding

The story of America’s first concrete street and the man who built it

The Columbus Neighborhoods video below tells the story of the first concrete street in America, which was built in Bellefontaine, Ohio, by George Wells Bartholomew Jr. in 1891. Susan B. Manecke, Bartholomew’s great-granddaughter, says, “I think that he had a big vision in terms of commerce in the United States, in the whole country, and if […]

February 28, 2018

Home

Conco turns to Terex’s TR70 for hauling needs

Conco Companies, which was founded in Missouri in 1947 as a ready-mix concrete company, acquired two quarries when it purchased Garrett Construction Co. in 1958. This created Conco Quarries, which is now a subsidiary of Ash Grove Cement. “Over the last seven decades Conco has grown from a small operation with just seven employees and […]

July 31, 2017

Business

Home starts up, builder confidence down with mounting concerns over lumber costs

The start of construction on new homes in the U.S. rose 8.3 percent during the month of June on solid gains from both the single-family and multi-family markets. And though demand for new homes is still strong, builders say the rising cost of materials has them concerned. Home starts rose to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate […]

July 21, 2017

Roadbuilding

How robot designed for Disney could extend lives of bridges

A new robot dubbed C2D2 developed by a team of Swiss researchers is able to move atop, underneath and across any surface, checking structural integrity as it roves, and could greatly extend the lives of bridges. Both de-icing salt and CO2 in the atmosphere corrode the reinforced concrete that most bridges are made of […]

September 4, 2014

Construction Equipment

Sand, pee and acid make a pretty strong brick

For a while now, scientists and engineers have been working to replace concrete and bricks. Though these materials have over the past few centuries been engineered and reengineered to be very good at their jobs, their creation accounts for a lot of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. So far, scientists are pretty much open […]

March 11, 2014

Construction Equipment

Contractor invents plastic wall forms for concrete, says they make buildings stronger against quakes and bomb blasts

After seeing the destruction of Hurricane Andrew in his home state of Florida in 1992, Sarasota-based general contractor Joe Lanc set out to invent a system that would make buildings less vulnerable to the devastation of natural disasters and more. Lanc, 77, invented a clear PVC wall form he calls the Concrete Plastic Unit (CPU), according […]

November 14, 2013

Construction Equipment

Fungus could be the ultimate sustainable form of home insulation

“We see a future where Mushroom Materials are found in the bumper of your car, the walls of your home and inside your desk.” That quote comes from Sam Harrington who works for a company called Ecovative out of upstate New York. DesignBuildSource recently did an article on the company and its ambition to use […]

June 26, 2013

Construction Equipment

Re-recycling: Biofuel waste used to make stronger concrete

Researchers at Kansas State University have discovered that by replacing a portion of the cement found in concrete with agricultural waste products, the concrete became stronger. Just think of the process as recycling the byproducts of recycling. To make the stronger concrete, the researchers are use the ash produced when corn stalks and leaves, wheat straw, […]

April 22, 2013

Construction Equipment

Longer-lasting metals, building materials on the way?

One of the properties of metal that makes it such an attractive building material turns out to also be a cause for its tendency to weaken over time. According to ScienceDaily, two researchers have discovered that the mechanism that allows for a metal’s pliability, or ability to be shaped or molded, attracts hydrogen atoms, an […]

December 10, 2012