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Concrete Basics: Cement vs. Concrete

The Difference Between Cement and Concrete

Most people don't know the difference between cement and concrete and if asked they are likely to say something like, "I've never really thought about it but, aren't they the same thing?" While cement and concrete are related they are nowhere near the same thing! Cement, which is the abbreviation of the correct name, "portland cement" is a fine grey powder that looks very much like gray flour. Most people have never seen cement. Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand, rock, water and small amounts of additives. Concrete is the material we encounter in our everyday lives.

The relationship between cement and concrete is similar to the relationship between flour and cake. While neither cake nor concrete can be made without the "flour" they are definitely not flour and like a cake, when the concrete has finished "cooking" the flour is nowhere to be seen.

Another way to think about it is that; cement is the glue in the concrete holding the sand and stone together. It should also be noted that like many glues, cement doesn't dry, it hardens through a process called hydration.

The Right Mix

Just as different occasions call for different types of cakes (one would never take Christmas cake to a 2-year-old's birthday party) different applications call for different types of concrete. While basic concrete can be made at home, most concrete today can only be made by your local ready-mixed concrete manufacturer and delivered ready to use in a ready mixed-concrete truck.

There are as many different concrete mixes as there are applications for concrete, and the design mixture used for a parking ramp will differ radically from the mix used for a basement floor. Furthermore, the material and procedures used to construct a concrete driveway in a warm climate, like Southern California, are completely different from the requirements necessary to construct a durable driveway, pool deck, walkway or basement floor in a more severe climate, such as the Lower Mainland. Freeze and thaw cycles, coupled with exposure to chemical de-icers can cause the wrong mix of concrete to crack, shrink or scale.

Mayco makes different kinds of concrete products using different quantities of aggregates like gravel or crushed stone plus cement, water, air and sand. Mayco buys most of its aggregate and other raw materials from local suppliers and has strong partnerships with many leading construction supply firms on the Island.