Ready Mix vs. On-Site Mixed Concrete: Which is Right for Your Project?
The way of construction has widely changed over the past few years. Every day a new kind of construction material is introduced. However, when it comes to concrete selection, it’s understandable that one size may not fit all. Whether you are planning to build a large-scale building or handling a small DIY project your choice of concrete can be a decisive factor. The options that most commonly come up are on-site mixed and ready-mix concrete. While both have their unique set of perks the selection depends on the type of your project.
This blog post will explore both concrete types and help you to easily understand them to help you make an informed choice. Let’s help you make the right choice to make your project a success.
What is Concrete and Why is it Popular for Construction?
Earlier people were living in wooden and mud-made houses. But since concrete came into existence, its demand has risen along with its different variations. When talking about the formation of concrete, it is a fine blend of sand (30%), water (20%), cement (10%), gravel (40%), and air (20%). When these elements come together, they create a sturdy material known as concrete for domestic and commercial settings. Besides this, the beneficial properties such as durability, versatility, long-lasting life, and cost-effectiveness make it an ideal choice for construction. Furthermore, it has structural flexibility with compressive strength, fire resistance, and weather making it durable for long-term use.
What makes Ready Mix Concrete different from the On-Site Mixed Concrete?
Let’s explore which concrete is most suitable for your upcoming construction project:
Ready Mix Concrete
Ready Mix Concrete refers to the pre-mixed solution prepared off-site and transferred to the project location for use. It is made with a mixture of cement, water, aggregates, and additives in a controlled environment. Compared to other concrete types, it ensures consistency in quality, durability, and strength. Ready-mix concrete improves construction efficiency by reducing labour and material waste and allows for precise customization based on project requirements.
The following are key factors that make RMC the best choice for construction projects:
1. Time-saving
Ready-mix concrete saves time due to its pre-mixed properties. You just need to use it at your project site rather than consuming a lot of time to mix the concrete. This leads to the quick completion of your project by avoiding multiple steps to prepare concrete for use. Ready-mix concrete is ready to use as soon as it’s delivered.
2. More Consistent Quality
When concrete is mixed on the job site, consistency problems occur because human error is always possible and smaller volumes of concrete must be mixed. Large batches of ready-mix are made in a factory with stringent quality control measures. However, if you buy ready-mix concrete and pour some of it one day and the remaining portion a week later. This increases your chances of receiving the same quality and consistency.
3. Eliminates the need for Multiple Equipments
You do not need several pieces of equipment (weight batch mixer) and material (rock, aggregate & cement) that are required to get ready-mix concrete for construction. Because it is already mixed and you just need to use it. Besides this complex process, you just need a truck that pours ready-mix concrete at the construction site. This will indirectly save your expenditure cost.
4. Labour Cost Efficiency
Even though ready-mix concrete could initially cost a bit more, the labour component can result in cost savings. All you need experienced experts to do with ready-mix concrete is pour and finish it. However, because of the limited batch sizes, site-mixed concrete requires a lot more manual hours. This is because it must be measured, mixed, and monitored before it can be placed.
On-Site Mixed Concrete
As its name suggests on-site mixed concrete is simply prepared at the construction site. Here, you have to bring all the material (cement, water, aggregates, etc.), and weigh a batch mixer at the construction site. Then, you have to make small batches of mixed material following a volumetric mix proportion to prepare the concrete. Although, on-site mixed concrete is the oldest method still it has numerous plus points that do not avoid its use:
1. Follows Pay-per-use Approach
On-site concrete reduces concrete wastage as sufficient quantity is produced. Moreover, if there are changes in the concrete demand, they can be adjusted on the spot. Thus, you just need to pay for the final concrete you used for your construction process. Besides this, it uses volumetric mixers rather than drum mixers which have higher strength and are also accurate. It is a good choice whether you are constructing domestic or commercial buildings.
2. Offers Perfect consistency
You have greater control over your concrete’s consistency when concrete is mixed at the project site. Because the components of the concrete are kept apart until batching with volumetric mixers, you can choose the consistency of the finished product. You can quickly adjust the mix on site if the project specifications change or if a specific task needs a different consistency of concrete.
3. Fresh Concrete Production
As compared to the ready-mix concrete, the on-site mixed concrete is always fresh to pour. If you use on-site mixed concrete, it will not be impacted by unanticipated delays like high traffic. On the other hand, delays may affect traditional drum mixers since they move pre-mixed concrete in a drum from the yard to the location, where it may cure and go bad. With our mixed on-site services, our clients appreciate that they can easily modify or expand their orders at any time.
The Bottom Line
Hopefully, the information above about on-site-mixed concrete and ready-mix concrete will help you choose a suitable concrete for your construction project. When you need concrete for your next project, keep in touch with The Thames Concrete. Here, you will get premium quality concrete which makes your construction more robust and efficient for years.
