Concrete and the Ages of Mythology Wenatchee and Chelan Home Inspection Services

We have two known universal truths when it comes to concrete. It gets hard and it will crack.

But this is a material that we all take for granted in our daily lives and is a key component in modern construction. Like any building material is not just how good the product is but also how well it is installed. All too often during a home inspection I see concrete poorly installed and failing much quicker than it should.

But there is now another truth; the ancients had done it better.

Out of the “Ages of Mythology” and with a bit of scientific sleuthing we may have a new concrete mixture coming that is not only more environmentally friendly but also much more durable.

The European and the United States have been studying concrete from ancient Roman and found that the Roman concrete has unique properties that alter its chemical composition in such a way that it is more durable and can be manufactured at much lower temperatures, hence less energy needed to create. The manufacturing of modern “Portland Cement” is estimated to produce 7% of the carbon dioxide that industry emits into the air.

Modern concrete needs to be cooked at 2,642 degrees Fahrenheit to mix the limestone and clays whereas “Roman Concrete” which used much less lime is only needed to be heated to 1,652˚ F. Quite a difference.

Modern concrete is made with “Portland Cement” which is a mixture of calcium, silicates, and hydrates, (C-S-H) whereas the Roman used a mixture of calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H). Their mix reduced the silicon used and added the metal aluminum. This slight difference resulted in a much more stable binding agent. Ah chemistry just a slight variation has such a grand effect.

The Roman secret was to mix lime with volcanic rock/ash. With Mt. Vesuvius around they had plenty of that. Emperor Augustus’s engineer Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder documented that volcanic ash from the area around the Gulf of Naples made the best maritime concrete. Then with this mix they used seawater to cause the chemical reaction which formed a more stable crystalline structure in the concrete known as aluminum tobermorite (Al-tobermorite).

With this new knowledge we may see the world of modern concrete change to a more eco-friendly and a better product.

Here is the press release link -To improve today’s concrete, do as the Romans did.

“The process of scientific discovery is, in effect, a continual flight from wonder.”

Albert Einstein

NCW Home Inspections, LLC  is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…  

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www.ncwhomeinspections.com                                               509-670-9572