What Are the Advantages of Concrete? Read to Find Out

For building structures, concrete is widely used for its properties. It’s a widely used construction material for its strength, durability, availability, versatility, and so on. The properties of the concrete don’t only provide a durable structure but also can help to build a sustainable structure.

Now you may ask, despite having multiple materials for constructing a structure, why concrete is widely used? Well, the reason is concrete can provide a lot of advantages whereas steel or wood can’t be able to provide.

In today’s article, we have shared the advantages of concrete. To learn about them, read this article till the end and enrich your knowledge about the construction site! So, without any further ado, let’s begin then!

Advantages of Using Concrete in Building Structures

Using concrete in constructing structure, it can provide you with many advantages. The other substitute of concrete also has advantages but has almost twice as many of them. Here we have provided the advantages of concrete –

1. Can Provide Higher Strength and Durability

In a structure, strength, and durability are two major concerns. Concrete is able to gain strength over time and the chances of getting weakened by moisture, mold, or pests are lesser than the other types of construction materials.

The strength allows the structure for withstanding natural disasters and due to this, the durability of the structure also enhance. 

2. Have Versatility

In every type of structure, you can use concrete to build them. Among the characteristics of concrete, moisture, and high-temperature resistance allow it to be fitted in every kind of environment. It can be used in buildings, bridges, dams, tunnels, sewerage systems pavements, runways, and even roads.

3. Have Low Maintenance

Concrete, being inert, compact, and non-porous, does not attract mould or lose its key properties over time. Compared to wood and steel, concrete needs low to zero maintenance. The initial cost is pretty much higher but in the long run, the cost is very low.

4. Totally Affordable

If you compared concrete with other construction materials such as steel, you will find concrete is less costly to produce and remains extremely affordable. You will just need to manage the materials of concrete and then you can prepare it on site. 

5. Have Fire Resistance

Another important advantage of concrete is fire resistance. Being naturally fire-resistant concrete forms a highly effective barrier to fire spread. Whereas, steel and wood are not able to resist fire. So, having a concrete made structure will keep you safe from the fire hazard.

6. Thermal Mass

Concrete is known as a good insulator. Concrete walls and floors slow the passage of heat moving through, reducing temperature swings. This reduces energy needs from heating or air-conditioning, offering year-round energy savings over the lifetime of the building.

And due to having great thermal mass properties, the energy bill can be reduced which will save you a good amount of money each month.

7. Locally Produced and Used

The relative expense of land transport usually limits cement and concrete sales to within 300km of a plant site. Very little cement and concrete is traded and transported internationally which saves significantly on transport emissions of CO2 that would otherwise occur.

8. Albedo Effect

The high “albedo” (reflective qualities) of concrete used in pavements and building walls means more light is reflected and less heat is absorbed, resulting in cooler temperatures. This reduces the “urban heat island” effect prevalent in cities today and hence reduces energy use such as air-conditioning.

Conclusion

Lastly, there are a lot advantages of to using concrete. They are affordable, can be maintained easily, have lesser construction prices, and so on. But if you are looking for building a more strong and stable structure then you should go for steel as the structure will be more durable compared to the concrete structure and can be built within less time!