Choose your battles
For 19 years I had an orange tabby, known formally as Fridtjof den dristige*, who defended our territory as only an orange tabby can. Orange tabbies have a reputation as […]
Specifications
Concrete acceptance testing
Concrete acceptance testing refers to the testing of concrete sampled directly from the ready mixed concrete truck. Its purpose is to verify the compressive strength of the material as delivered […]
Managing the water footprint in construction
We’ve discussed the carbon footprint of concrete previously. However, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases aren’t the only environmental effects of construction. Making the best use of scarce resources is […]
How many cylinders: a pot roast story
Acceptance testing reflects the compressive strength of the concrete as delivered to the jobsite. We make the cylinders and keep them at the site for 24 hours under—we hope!—controlled conditions, […]