Pool Patios Makeovers

Pool Patios Makeovers- ENTER


Due to the wide array of patterns and colors available, and the cost of
stamped concrete in relation to the natural materials installation, the
choice of stamped concrete is becoming more popular and frequent.

Colors and patterns for stamped concrete are often chosen to blend
with other stone or tile elements at the residence. Complex designs
incorporating steps, courtyards, and fountains can be achieved.
Stamped concrete can also be blended with other decorative concrete
elements such as exposed aggregate finishes and acid-etch staining.
It wasn’t long ago when deciding on a driveway or patio material was
easy: asphalt or concrete. Today, the concrete choice has expanded to
include a multitude of decorative concrete options.

While plain gray concrete is still the most often installed, but We at
ConcreteForever.com believe that this ancient art compliments real
estate property and enhances the beauty...click on the link on the
previous page that says:" What is stamped concrete?" to read more
about this ancient art and painstaking step by step process:


Don’t feel left out if you already have a driveway or patio. The concrete
industry has rapidly developed many decorative products that can be
applied to existing plain gray driveways and transform them into
stunning show piece entry ways for your home. Please click on the
Estimate link for an in depth comprehensive review of your upcoming
project.
"Apparently we're having a nationwide material shortage" Says the Director of
the Stamped Concrete Institute, David Hunt, "All the sand, Gravel and Portland
Cement is being brought in from all over the country to quench Houston's thirst
for Concrete".

The top exporters of cement to the United States are Canada, Thailand and,
ironically, China, according to the Portland Cement Association, a trade
association based in Skokie, Ill. But because of its growing domestic demand,
China has sharply curtailed its cement exports, the association said.

Concrete is vital in Houston Texas because home builders and ten of the
nations Largest Concrete Contractors in the U.S. are voracious consumers of it,
using it for Streets, Overpasses, foundation slabs, driveways and sidewalks.
And Houston is particularly vulnerable to shortages because it imports about 40
percent of its cement compared with a nationwide average of 20 percent.


Many Concrete Plants are trying to lower their costs by "cutting" the concrete
with up to 20% fly ash, versus 100 % Pure Portland Cement.

Fly ash is a fine, glass-like powder recovered from gases created by coal-fired
electric power generation. U.S. power plants produce millions of tons of fly ash
annually, which is usually dumped in landfills. Fly ash is an inexpensive
replacement for portland cement used in concrete, while it actually improves
strength, segregation, and ease of pumping of the concrete. Fly ash is also
used as an ingredient in brick, block, paving, and structural fills.

There is an abundance of Radioactive Elements in Coal and Fly Ash says the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

"Assessment of the radiation exposure from coal burning is critically dependent
on the concentration of radioactive elements in coal and in the fly ash that
remains after combustion."

Data for uranium and thorium content in coal is available from the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS), which maintains the largest database of
infor-mation on the chemical composition of U.S. coal

For this reason, We at ConcreteForever.com buy our Concrete From Metro
Concrete in Houston because they do not use this radiocactive substance that
is being currently tested for long term effects.

A draft summary of the courthouse project released Oct. 12 by city officials
estimated rising concrete and steel prices added $10 million to $15 million to
the cost of the CourtHouse project. But no numbers have been released to
support those estimates, nor is there a breakdown of how much was originally
budgeted for concrete, steel and other construction materials.

To build the courthouse today, steel and concrete would cost $10.1 million, or
4.5 percent of the $232 million budget. But that $10.1 million does not come
close to explaining the additional $36 million that Mayor John Peyton told City
Council members last November would be needed to complete the courthouse
complex.

City officials now say concrete and steel were not the only construction
materials to rise in price.

"It's misspeaking to say it's just steel and concrete [driving costs up]. It's other
construction materials as well," said Rick Mullaney, general counsel for the city.

In the last year, costs for cement have increased 16.8 percent; asphalt, 6.2
percent; ductile iron pipe, 15.4 percent; corrugated steel pipe, 11.5 percent;
reinforced concrete pipe, 5.8 percent; PVC water pipe, 16.8 percent; lumber,
16.3 percent; reinforcing bar, 47.9 percent; aluminum sheet 6.7 percent and
stainless steel sheet, 19.4 percent, according to an Oct. 25 news release by
the Engineering News Record.

But the city has not provided any estimates of extra costs of materials needed
for the courthouse project, other than steel and concrete.

To build the new Duval County Courthouse, 5,700 tons of structural steel and
3,024 tons of reinforcing steel are needed. In addition to that, 47,000 cubic
yards of concrete are needed, said Brian Murray, vice president of Skanska
USA Building Inc. and project director for the courthouse complex.

Steel costs about $648 a ton, said Tom Cusick, a former administrator at
Bethlehem Steel Co. That equates to $3.7 million for the courthouse.
Reinforcing steel costs about $900 a ton, or $2.7 million, Murray said. And
concrete, according to the Oct. 25 release by the Engineering News Record,
costs, on average, $76.94 per cubic yard, or $3.6 million.