Concrete additives are used before or during mixing, improving quality, acceleration, manageability, and retardation of setting time. These are some of the properties NexGen Ready Mix alters to customize your batch of ready mix concrete. We leverage top-quality additives to guarantee clients a smooth concrete pouring, reducing cost while increasing productivity. The cost of concrete additives usually depends on the type and quality used, hence the need to consult a professional concrete contractor to ensure you get it right the first time. Here are common additives used to make concrete set faster.
Set-Retarding
After the concrete pouring process, a chemical process usually occurs as the setting starts. Set retarding additives are used to delay this chemical process, reducing the effect of high temperature, which leads to a faster setting of concrete. We recommend these additives for pavement construction, giving you more time to place a new batch and eliminate cold joints in concrete. Retarders can resist deterioration like cracks and function as water reducers to guarantee a lasting concrete finishing.
Air-Entrainment
Air-entrained additives increase the freeze-thaw durability of your concrete. This additive makes concrete more workable, reducing the segregation of fresh concrete and bleeding. If you live in areas experiencing extreme cold, air-entrained additives enhance frost resistance. Other benefits include high durability, workability, and resistance to wet and dry cycles.
Water-Reducing Concrete Additives
Water-reducing additives are chemical products that create the desired slump at a lower water-cement ratio than the norm. Depending on your project’s concrete strength specifications, we can incorporate water-reducing admixtures to ensure they are achieved. These additives reduce the cement contents without compromising the concrete pouring and lower carbon emissions. Water-reducing additives improve the quality of ready mix concrete, ensuring it withstands difficult conditions.
Accelerating Additives
Accelerating admixtures increase the ready mix concrete strength development rate and reduces setting time. The most common component is calcium chloride, which increases the risk of corrosion on metal reinforcement. Nonetheless, proper concrete pouring, consolidation, and adequate cover mitigate deterioration. We recommend accelerating additives to modify ready mix concrete properties in cold weather.
Shrinkage Reducing
These concrete additives are used during mixing to reduce premature and long-term drying decline. When the risk of cracking leads to durability issues, shrinkage additives can be used to ensure your concrete surface goes the distance. However, it is advisable to consult a professional concrete contractor to determine if it is a suitable additive for your project. If misused, shrinkage-reducing additives can deter strength development at early and later stages.
Corrosion-Inhibiting
Corrosion-inhibiting additives mitigate corrosive damage on steel reinforcement. When applied by a professional concrete contractor, they can significantly reduce maintenance costs and increase durability. While these chemicals have little impact on strength in later stages, they accelerate early strength development.
If you have a concrete job lined up, contact us at NexGen Ready Mix, and schedule an appointment with our contractors. We provide top-quality ready mix concrete at competitive rates without compromising the results.
