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HISTORY OF CONCRETE
AND OTHER INTERESTING FACTS

On this page I'll talk about the history of concrete and have some links to some very interesting facts about concrete you might not know about. Scroll down for the links to the other facts.

THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE

Concrete is a man made material combining cement with aggregate and water to produce a material that looks like stone. Evidence of a concrete like material was used by Egyptians about 3000 BC. They used gypsum mortars an mortars of lime as well as mud mixed with straw to bind bricks when building the pyramids.

More evidence can be found that Romans used a primal form of concrete about 2000 years ago to build the Coliseum and the Pantheon in Rome. It consisted of small gravel and coarse sand mixed with hot lime and water, and sometimes even animal blood. To help prevent the concrete from shrinkage the Romans added horse hair to the mix.

history of concrete

In 1756, John Smeaton, a british engineer, made the first modern day concrete (hydrolic cement) by adding pebbles as a coarse aggregate and mixing powdered brick into the cement. In 1793 He built the Eddystone lighthouse in Cornwall, England with the use of hydrolic cement.

In 1824 an english inventor, Joseph Aspdin, invented Portland Cement. He made concrete by burning grounded chalk and finely crushed clay in a lime kiln until the carbon dioxide evaporated, producing a strong cement. Portland cement has remained the dominant cement used in concrete production today.

The other major ingredient of concrete besides cement is the aggregate. Aggregates include sand, crushed stone, slag, fly ash, burned shale, and burned clay.

Reinforced concrete was invented in 1849 by Joseph Monier. He was a Parisian gardener who made garden pots and tubs of concrete reinforced with an iron mesh. Reinforced concrete combines the tensile (bendable) strength of metal with the compressive strength of concrete to withstand heavy loads.

In 1886, the first rotary kiln was introduced in England that made constant production of cement.

In 1891, George Bartholomew, placed the first concrete street in the U.S.A. in Bellefontaine OH it still exists today.

In 1903, the first concrete high rise was built in Cincinnati, OH.

In 1930, air entraining agents were introduced to concrete to improve resistance to freeze/thaw damage.

In 1936, the first major concrete dams, Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam were built.

In the 1970's, fiber reinforcement was introduced to concrete.

In the 1980's superplasticizers were introduced as admixtures and the "highest strength" concrete was used to build Union Plaza in Seattle WA.

In 1992 the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world was built in Chicago, Illinois (946 ft.).

In 1999, Polished concrete was first introduced by HTC, a swedish company, in the U.S.A. The installation of a 40,000 square foot warehouse floor for the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas.

The history of concrete is an important part of our culture. Concrete is widely used today for constructing high rises, bridges, roads, homes, and many other things we use on a daily basis.

The introduction of colored concrete, stamped concrete and concrete stain has changed the way we view concrete and opened the doors for many more uses of this highly durable material.