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Ready-mix is being used increasingly in most domestic and commercial projects as compared to traditional concrete due to the several advantages ready-mix has over conventional concrete. Equify is ready to support your construction needs using the ready-mix concrete.
Ready-mix blends cement, water, and aggregates. The powdered cement is combined with water and turned into a paste. The paste then covers and binds the different aggregates. The chemical response to hydration occursover 24-48 hours and causes the material to harden and form strong and durable concrete. To get a lasting product with the proper level of workability, the proportions of materials utilized need to be exact.
After mixing, the combination becomes concrete, which is then transported to the job site by a truck mixture that retains the flexibility of the concrete until it arrives. There are mainly three types of ready mixed concrete. They include;
Transit mixed concrete
Shrink mixed concrete
Central mixed concrete
The mixing of the different proportions used is done in the truck while on transit and it is therefore known as truck mixed concrete. The completion of the mixing is done on the site. The aggregate and cement mix is not mixed with water to avoid loss of slum and to maintain the plasticity. Water is added and the mix is completed before the concrete is used at the site.
Shrink mixed concrete
This option is used to increase the quantity being transported. All the materials are partially mixed to reduce the volume. The remaining admixtures are transported to the construction site. The complete mixing is done during transit or on site.
Central mixed concrete
This option is usually referred to as ready-mix concrete. The concrete mixing is completely done in controlled environments and is loaded into the truck ready for transportation and use.
Mix design
Ready-mix concrete is manufactured in a technical way for the engineering mix.
The ready mixing concrete is mostly weight batching, where all the material quantities are placed in a weight-based mixing bin.
Additions can be introduced in accordance with a supplier's indicated volume.
To ensure that the particular compound has an objective strength for this mix design, test blends are performed before starting concreting from ready mixing concrete in a project.
Commixture
The ready mixing concrete at the batching plant contains different varieties of admixtures.
The way admixtures are added is depending on the requirements of the suppliers. Compatibility should be evaluated before the addition if different types of admixtures are added to the concrete.
A technique known as redosing is used to add the additive to the ready-to-use concrete in the truck blend. Redosing controls slump loss. When redosed, it shall be done very carefully and the engineer shall obtain his permission.
In addition, the addition of any admixtures to the concrete has restrictions. In any event, it shall not exceed the limit stated by the supplier.
Time
In standard concrete, the duration of setting is around one hour. In regular operations, however, this is not enough.
The concrete will be purified in plaques, walls, columns or a matt base for more than an hour. In addition, travel time must also be taken into account, since the total duration is after mixing.
Before the initial setting period, concrete must be porous and compact. Otherwise, concrete durability will be a problem. It might also witness the genesis of cold joints.
Additional admixtures are therefore used to increase the concrete setting time.
Slump at mixture plant and at destination
The truck from which it is removed to assess the slump is loaded after mixing the concrete. In the delivery letter to the engineer at the site, the deposition at the facility is documented. This record shows the slump of the mixture.
A slump test is carried out to verify the slump on the site after the ready mixed concrete is delivered to the site. The slump is equivalent to the slump design indicated in the blend design. Concrete can be used if other conditions are acceptable and they are within the limitations
Temperature of concrete
Several actions are undertaken in order to control the temperature of the ready-mix concrete to maintain a low heat of hydration. They include;
Use cold water for mixing concrete
Use of ice to replace water
Reduce the temperature using cold water
Cool the mixtures
Aggregate
Once a blend is designed and trial blends are manufactured, no modifications will be made to the aggregate
Altering the material sources will affect the mix design (not only the aggregate but additional additives), and the test mix findings will no longer be accurate.
High-quality concrete
The mixed propositions are done as per technical requirements therefore very few errors is made.
Large quantity production
The amount of concrete to be produced depends on the requirements of the projects since it is made offsite, thus there is no limit to the quantity to be produced.
Low-inventory cost
The mix is made away from the construction site and is ready for use there no need for material storage on site. This reduces the cost of holding inventory that would otherwise be incurred if the mixing had been done on-site.
Consistency of the mix
The specific amount of proportions are used in making the ready-mix concrete, this ensures consistency in the quality of the concrete.
Environmental impact
Making of the ready-mix concrete has a very minimal negative impact on the environment since the process is done in a controlled environment and therefore wastes such as gases are disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.
Disadvantages of ready-mix concrete
Loss of slump
This is caused by the distance the concrete has to travel before it used
It May take long before actual use
This may be due to traffic or the distance between the construction and the mixing plant.
If you are looking for creative, non-bank solutions to finance your new or used burning or cement equipment, we will work with you to build a competitive financial solution. We provide the following solutions at Equify for both Ready-mix contractors and companies. The solutions include; financing ready-mix contractors, loans, leasing and sale-leaseback solutions.
Direct financial assistance is issued to the companies and contractors. The financing structure depends on how the ready-mix contractors or companies can comfortably payback, therefore an agreement of a payment plan is set in place on how the money will payment will be done. Whether the payment will be done on a monthly basis and the rate at which payment will be done will all be agreed to suit both parties. The finance obtained can be used to buy the equipment and machinery required for the batch plant processes. Raw materials including cement, sand, water and chemicals necessary for the process are also acquired by using these funds.
Another source of concrete company financing that can be offered is leasing. There are two types of leases that can be pursued by construction companies in order to meet financial obligation.
The first one is the Operating lease which allows you to lease a property for a certain period of time. This lease can be classified as a business expense rather than a debt meaning your balance sheet will not have liabilities from the lease. The second type of lease is known as a finance lease. This type of lease allows you to claim the equipment as an asset.
The type of lease to choose depends on the length of the construction project being carried out and therefore how long will the equipment be needed. If the project is a short-term project which includes projects to be completed under two years you should consider operating leases since it’s less costly. Another advantage of equipment leasing is that once the project is over the leasing company can make arrangements to buy the equipment now at a cheaper price, this suitable if an unexpected extension of the project happens and therefore it’s costly to continue leasing. Otherwise, if the project is more than two years it is financially effective to take a financial lease and pay monthly until the lease is over.
This is a type of arrangement that allows a company to sell their asset and lease it back to continue using it but the owner no longer belongs to the company. This arrangement allows the company to raise capital using their asset while still using the asset. The leaseback is not considered as equity nor as debt. The capital freed from selling the asset may be used to finance other construction needs by the company. The company has also an option of repurchasing if specific demands are met and an agreement is reached with the purchaser, thus this option very suitable for equipment financing ready-mix concrete. The downside to this method is that seller will lose all future growth value of the asset in case the property increases in value. Another downside is the difficulty in defining the extent to which the selling company has liability over the asset.
Ready-mix is being used increasingly in most domestic and commercial projects as compared to traditional concrete due to the several advantages ready-mix has over conventional concrete. Equify is ready to support your construction needs using the ready-mix concrete.
Let's talk about how we can work as an extension of your business.