How-To Zone
CC will be sponsoring the very first How-To Zone at the 2012 World of Concrete. This special tent in the Silver Lot will feature Concrete Construction Live, our special live-action seminars. We’ll start Monday, Jan. 23 with two seminars: one on using templates for decorative concrete and a second on how to lay out and build the formwork for concrete stairs. On Thursday, you can learn how to test concrete for flatness and levelness, moisture, and defects using nondestructive evaluation techniques. You’ve visited with us throughout the year online and in print; the How-To Zone will be where CC comes to you live and in person.
Sealing joints
An organization that has sprung up recently is the Seal/No Seal Group (S/NSG). This affiliation of cutting and sealing contractors and manufacturers is funding research to show the value of sealing concrete pavement joints and the long-term effectiveness of the sealants. The S/NSG has just released five technical briefs that are available for free. One I found particularly interesting concerns the impact of backer rod selection on joint deterioration. Others look at joint movement, silane sealers, joint slap, and joint seal design. The S/NSG will be hosting a seminar during World of Concrete 2012 on Concrete Pavement Joint and Crack Sealing—Market Trends, Current Research, and Best Practices. Go to www.sealnoseal.org for more information.
Sustainability and concrete
If you are interested in sustainability, you should know about the Concrete Joint Sustainability Initiative (www.sustainableconcrete.org). This consortium of all the major concrete-related groups in North America puts out a monthly e-newsletter and provides a tool kit to help make concrete’s sustainability case. For example, did you know that efficiency improvements since 1972 have reduced the energy needed to produce portland cement by 37% (from 7.38 to 4.65 million BTUs per ton)?
There’s always a lot going on in our business. Although we hear about most of it, let me know if there’s something I should be following.