Garage floor troweling

For a garage floor, the trowel versus air-entrained concrete issue is a tough balancing act.

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Garage floor troweling
For a garage floor, the trowel versus air-entrained concrete issue is a tough balancing act.
Climb As You Build Formwork
A self-climbing core system used on the most luxurious building in South Florida.
Precast Foundation Panels
The most popular precast foundation walls come as nearly finished panels, incorporating insulation and interior studs ready to accept drywall.

How to Build an Affordable Concrete Home
Custom-built homes are commonly gracing glossy magazine covers. That's because people in the U.S. have been in love with the idea of owning a large elegant home. For architects and designers, there is more opportunity to present interesting ideas and work with unusual concepts. But with the decline...
10 Tips for Foundation Drainage
Keeping water drained away from home foundations is important for three reasons.
Removing Urine Odor from Concrete
Our cat frequently urinated on our basement concrete floor, which now has a strong urine smell. I’m in the process of getting the house ready for sale and have tried everything I can think of to remov

Concrete Furniture

The world of decorative concrete keeps expanding, even into the realm of furniture. On first blush it doesn't seem that using concrete to...
Promoting Concrete Homes

Building homes with abovegrade concrete walls is one of the fastest-growing methods of residential construction in the United States...
How to Build an Affordable Concrete Home

Custom-built homes are commonly gracing glossy magazine covers. That's because people in the U.S. have been in love with the idea of owning...

Climb As You Build Formwork

A self-climbing core system used on the most luxurious building in South Florida.
Restoring Royal Mills

A comprehensive waterproofing system revived this 100-year-old abandoned cotton mill.
The New American Home 2009

There is nothing else like it in Las Vegas, but if Tyler Johns, president of Blue Heron Builders, Las Vegas, has his way, this house will be the first of many concrete homes that blur the line between indoor and outdoor living.

Grace Construction Products Bituthene Waterproofing Membranes

Bithuthene waterproofing membranes are designed for a wide variety of surfaces.
Super Products LLC Mud Dog 650 Hydro Excavator

Designed for easy maneuverability, the Mud Dog 650 hydro excavator features a 6 1/2-cu.-yd. debris dump body and is ideal for digging in...
Fitzgerald Formliners Graylastic Formliners

Graylastic formliners provide maximum design latitude for precast or cast-in-place applications.

Preventing Moisture Problems

More people are choosing insulated concrete walls than wood frame walls in residential construction. Concrete homes can be constructed with...

NAHB's Concrete Technology Tour Offers Results
Although most of the recent media coverage is focused on the negative trends in the housing market, there is one residential industry segment that the long-term economic outlook favors: concrete.
Mark Your Calendar
As the final days of 2007 wind down and you begin to plan your 2008 calendar, make sure your New Year's resolutions include becoming more involved with the Concrete Home Building Council (CHBC).
Residential Concrete Trends
Until recently, concrete was either taken for granted or largely ignored for many residential uses.Many people had the incorrect perception that a concrete home would look like a rectangular, gray bomb shelter.

Backfilling
Recommendations and code requirements regarding backfill of newly poured basements are one of the most ignored aspects of foundation construction. The International Residential Code, ACI 332 Standard, and the CFA Standard all state that foundation walls must be supported at the top and bottom...
Below the Grade: Mix Design for Foundation Walls
Mix design is based on knowledge of the materials, experience, and testing. If job conditions are different from lab conditions, the trials should extend to the field to replicate job conditions.
Insulating Basements—Truths and Myths
Today's concrete foundation contractors are well equipped to offer a variety of insulation options to suit the builder, homeowner, site conditions, or any other variable that may place limits on the construction of the home.

Hardscapes in the Landscape
Landscaping is no longer the traditional focus on plantings, turf, and irrigation. Clients are now demanding sophisticated hardscapes that encompass many factions of the concrete industry. This can range from water features constructed with either shotcrete or concrete, concrete pavers, cast...
Engraving Concrete—Unlimited Color and Design
A simple concept such as cutting a line into concrete with diamond blades and reciprocating impactors produces attractive geometric and complex curvilinear forms.
Computer Dispensed Integral Color
With computer-dispensed color accuracy can be gained across doses, a large array of colors now is available, and a streamlined process helps ready-mix producers and supply houses offer a quality product.

Brick Ledges for ICF Homes
When brick veneer is used as an exterior finish for an insulating concrete form (ICF) home, a cavity wall is recommended to manage moisture penetration.
Cast-In-Place Retaining Walls
Removable concrete forms can create a vertical concrete retaining wall with almost any shape desired. Large walls and special situations require design by a professional engineer. The typical installation procedure for a simple retaining wall less than 4 feet tall on good soil is described in this...
Face-mounted windows in cast concrete walls
The most common window installation combines a window buck for the rough opening and a face-mounted flanged window.

Concrete Basements
Basements are a valuable part of any new home, with benefits far outweighing the costs. About half of all new homes in North America are built with basements, and the rest could be. Concrete is the material of choice for basement construction, with 98% of North American basements built of one of...
Federal Energy Tax Provisions
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005 H.R.6) created tax incentives for energy-efficiency measures in buildings or systems placed in service from Jan. 1, 2006 through Dec. 31, 2008.
Qualities Homeowners Want Most
Concrete masonry provides a home with superior comfort, solidity, durability, resistance to natural disasters, quietness, and energy efficiency.

Concrete Foundations Association

The CFA provides promotional materials, educational seminars, networking, newsletters, and technical meetings to its members.
Insulating Concrete Form Association

ICFA provides resources on ICFs, including technology briefs, FAQs, education and training, and more in its technical library.
National Association of Home Builders

NAHB helps promote the policies that make housing a national priority. Learn more by joining NAHB’s Concrete Home Building Council.
PCA Concrete Homes Plus

The PCA offers resources for concrete contractors building concrete homes, including technology briefs, home plans, show homes, and more.