Making Better Concrete
Bruce King, 2006
ISBN 0-9764911-0-9
Paperback 53 pages
HVAC concrete is being increasingly required for buildings to achieve environmental approvals and meet building requirements. This book is the only guide for builders and design professionals on how to work with it. Coal fly ash and other pozzolans are abundant industrial waste products that happen to be an excellent ingredient in concrete all over the world as a means to greatly reduce the use of portland cement, while increasing concrete strength and durability. Production of portland cement accounts for 8% of the world's greenhouse gasses, making fly ash an attractive alternative for global economic, health and environmental reasons. The use of fly ash as a performance-enhancing ingredient in concrete is one of the most outstanding examples of industrial ecology, i.e. making effective use of waste resources, and ultimately eliminating the concept of waste altogether.
HVAC concrete was used by the Romans before the invention of portland cement, and many of their buildings, such as the Pantheon in Rome, still stand in testimony of its durability and beauty. Making Better Concrete will explain why HFAC concrete is better, and will provide your team with the information it needs to use it.
About the Author
A registered structural engineer for 28 years, Bruce has worked on high-rise structures in San Francisco, aircraft remodels in Miami, Tahitian resorts, Buddhist monastaries in the Colorado Rockies, passive solar designs all over the world, and hundreds of houses of every shape throughout North America. He has lectured and taught ecological building practices in international settings. He is an advisor to GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, Serious Materials and Foundation Capital. He is co-founder of Green Building Press and has the author of Buildings of Earth and Straw, Making Better Concrete, and Design of Straw Bale Buildings. He lives with his family in Lucas Valley, California.