10 Reasons Concrete is a Great Building Material

Concrete is a remarkable building material for many reasons. Here are just 10 of them!

  1. Reusable: Concrete can be reused over and over again: it’s basically a human-made rock, and doesn’t leach any chemicals into the environment. If a structure needs to be taken down, it can just be broken up and added back into the mix.

  2. Element resistant: Concrete will withstand the elements for decades: it doesn’t erode, and it’s fire and earthquake-resistant, and puts up with high wind speeds.

  3. (Almost) wind proof: Concrete is a great building choice for those who live in tornado and hurriane-prone areas. It can withstand winds of over 200 mph.

  4. Durable: You can build mega-durable structures out of concrete with ICF blocks - from residential homes to low-rise commercial complexes. 

  5. Strong: Concrete has a ridiculously high compression strength of 2,500 to 5,000 psi per square inch.

  6. Sustainable: Concrete’s environmental cost of production is extremely low compared to other building materials: it can be sourced locally which reduces transportation costs (both energetically and monetarily)

  7. Energy efficient: Building with concrete means excellent energy efficiency over a building’s lifespan (highly insulated and airtight; air leakage is a huge factor in a building’s overall energy consumption).

  8. Creative: Concrete can be used to build both geometric and curvilinear buildings, making it an architect’s dream material in the creative design process.

  9. Affordable: Concrete buildings last 2 to 3 times as long as wood buildings, giving you more bang for your buck. They’re also more affordable up front, as we continue to watch the price of lumber skyrocket.

  10. Retains strength: Steel is less resistant to fire than concrete, because concrete has far lower heat-transferring capabilities. Steel doesn’t burn in a fire, but it will lose all of its structural integrity. Concrete keeps its strength.

Ready to build something sustainable, awe-inspiring, and long-lasting? Give us a call at Mathews ReadyMix to get the conversation started.

Aaron Bacon