DIY Builds
DIY Builds
Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko
Acrete: lighter, stronger, and more environmentally friendly than concrete - MaterialDistrict.
For the best defense against moisture and mold, shed floors should be made of pressure-treated plywood, not strand or particle board, which will...
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It won't be easy since a swimming pool can actually make your home harder to sell. Many buyers consider it a liability rather than a luxury. Under...
Read More »In recent years, people have become more and more aware of the polluting consequences of making concrete. However, finding a good alternative isn’t all that easy. Here at Materia, we have discussed cement and concrete made from CO2. Now, there is a new, more environmentally friendly alternative to concrete, called Acrete. Developed by Jinhong Zhang, associate professor of mining and geological engineering at the University of Arizona, the substitute building material uses three times more fly ash, a pollutant, than concrete, while being lighter and stronger than the traditional building material. Fly ash serves as an additive in the production of Portland cement-based concrete products, but it only tends to make up only about 30 per cent of the solid material. In Acrete – a name that derives from a contraction of the words Arizona, home of the university, and concrete – uses nearly 100 per cent fly ash as solids in the end product, without the addition of cement, the real culprit of pollution. According to the press release, Acrete can have as much as three times the compressive strength of cement and twice the flexural strength. It also repels water, and the workability of the material can be controlled by tweaking the recipe. Coal-fired plants in the United States alone produce about 130 million US tons (118 million tonnes) fly ash. While fly ash is already being used in the fabrication of fly ash bricks, much of it is still disposed of in mounds where wind and erosion can disperse it. Moreover, these heaps lead to high monetary, environmental and ecological costs. Using more fly ash in the fabrication of concrete will have a lot of advantages. Not only for the environment, although that is a huge plus, but as the fly ash is readily available, it also makes the production of Acrete cheaper than ordinary concrete.
White - White White - White is the traditional color of funeral flowers, as well as sympathy flowers. The color white evokes feelings of peace,...
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A prehung door is a door that's sold by the manufacturer “ready-to-go.” These slab doors already come with hinges attached to a three-sided frame...
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Gravel is a material made up of naturally occurring loose stone chunks with rounded edges. You can find it occurring naturally, perhaps in a gravel pit or river. Crushed stone, on the other hand, is man-made. Large rocks (often limestone) are processed in a stone crusher to make smaller pieces.
It's common to have a number of GFCI protected outlets on their own circuit if the circuit is protected by a GFCI breaker in the main panel....
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While rats and mice are attracted to food odors, they aren't interested in the smell or taste of coffee grounds. In fact, both used and fresh...
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So what constitutes a good garage base? Lets look at the factors that will make up a good concrete base for garage: The base itself should be 4″...
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These are! They guide you every step of the way to complete your dream shed.
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What is the cheapest way to build a garage? One of the simplest and most cost-effective solutions for building a garage is to erect a pole-style...
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