Specialty cement is a class of products that differ from the standard portland cement that's commonly available in hardware stores and from concrete companies around the world. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the uses for specialty products end up involving industrial and commercial buildings, civil engineering products, and even soil stabilization.

You would be forgiven for not knowing there's also a market for residential specialty concrete. Let's look at what residential specialty cement is and why you might need it for your next project.

What Makes Concrete Special?

The industry usage of the term specialty cement applies to virtually all non-standard products (or in other words, pretty much everything that isn't portland cement). That is particularly the case if you need a contractor to calculate and mix the necessary combination of sand, aggregate, and water to produce the kind of cement your project requires.

Notably, even small alterations in the composition can change its behavior. It will pour differently, cure faster or slower, and set up into a product that can bear more or less weight.

Strength

One of the most understandable reasons for employing residential specialty concrete is to create a material with greater strength. Suppose you want to build a house that uses heavy steel beams for an exposed industrial look. A large steel structure like that could weigh significantly more than standard concrete is rated to bear. Consequently, you might have to hire a residential specialty concrete contractor to create an appropriate cement mixture for the job. They will have to work with architects and engineers to determine the right combination to provide decades of support to the structure.

Weight

You also might want to go the opposite direction, trying to employ a lightweight form of concrete. Perhaps you want to install concrete walls in a home. This can be tricky if you don't have a background in specialty cement because you'll still want the walls to be structurally sound. Consulting with a residential specialty cement company, you can find the right balance to make the wall sturdy and lightweight enough for the job.

Additives and Pouring

Sometimes you can use residential specialty concrete to solve pouring problems. For example, you might have to get the concrete through a narrow alley where the ground simply won't support a cement truck. The mixture will need to be viscous enough to travel the distance while still remaining able to cure to the appropriate level of hardness. Using mixtures and additives, a contractor can usually coax the wet cement into being pourable.

Reach out to a company such as Decorative Concrete Designs.