Daracrete’s team have many years of expertise delivering quality and efficient solutions to its partners working on projects of a range of sizes and in a range of industries. We’ve created our resources to ensure you get the best possible solution for your unique needs.
Use our concrete calculators to help plan your project and establish the quantity of concrete required. Our concrete calculators are quick and easy to use.
To get started, you will need to know the dimensions of your project. Choose the calculator most relevant to your needs, whether that be concrete for pouring a footpath, driveway, wall or footing or laying a slab.
When planning your project, it helps to seek specialist advice on pouring your concrete, allowances for any waste and to ensure you choose the right quantity for your needs.
The concrete calculators are a great place to start, but if you have additional questions, please contact us.
We know navigating the many types of concrete can be complicated. As experts in the industry and having provided quality concrete solutions and services to our partners for many years, we’ve broken down some of the concrete terms you might need to know to help you plan your project.
If you have additional questions, please contact a member of our team.
| Term
|
Definition
|
| Admixture
|
A material other than water, aggregate and cement, used as an ingredient of concrete to alter its basic characteristic.
|
| Accelerator
|
A chemical which, when added to concrete shortens the time of set, or increases the rate of hardening or strength development.
|
| Aggregate
|
Granular material such as sand, gravel, stone and slag, which when bound together by portland cement paste forms concrete
|
| Aggregate – Heavyweight
|
A heavier than normal aggregate such as barite, magnetite, limonite, ilemenite, iron or steel used to produce extra heavy concrete.
|
| Aggregate – Lightweight
|
A lighter than normal expanded aggregate made from basic materials such as clay, slate, fly ash, vermiculite, pumice or scoria used to produce lightweight concrete.
|
| Air Entraining
Agent |
An admixture for concrete which causes air to be incorporated in the form of minute bubbles in the concrete during mixing, usually to increase its workability and frost resistance. Normally expressed as AEA.
|
| Amorphous Silica
|
A very fine pozzolanic material composed mostly of non-crystalline silica; commonly referred to as ‘silica fume’.
|
| Batch Plant
|
An installation of equipment including bins, batchers and/or mixers as required for batching or for batching and mixing concrete materials; also called mixing plant when equipment is included.
|
| Bonding Agent
|
A substance applied to an existing surface to create a bond between it and a succeeding layer as between a sub-surface and a terrazzo topping.
|
| Broom Finish
|
The surface texture obtained by stroking a broom over freshly placed concrete.
|
| Bush Hammer
Finish |
A finish on concrete obtained by chipping off the surface mortar
|
| Cement Content
|
Quantity of cement, fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag contained in a cubic metre of concrete.
|
| Cement –
Expansive |
A special cement, which when mixed with water, forms a paste that tends to increase in volume at an early age used to compensate for volume decreases due to drying shrinkage.
|
| Cement – High Early
Strength |
Cement characterised by producing earlier strength in concrete than regular cement.
|
| Cement – Hydraulic
|
A cement that is capable of setting and hardening under water, such as normal portland cement.
|
| Cement – Portland
|
Hydraulic cement obtained by combining and burning limestone and clay to form amounts of gypsum, is then ground to produce a powder.
|
| Central Mixed Concrete
|
Concrete that is completely mixed in a stationary mixer before it is transported to the job. It can be transported in mixer trucks, agitators or dump type trucks.
|
| Chute
|
A rounded trough or tube for sliding concrete from a higher to a lower point.
|
| Compressive
Strength |
The measured maximum resistance of a concrete specimen to compressive loading expressed in megapascals (MPa).
|
| Concrete
|
A composite material which consists mainly of aggregate, portland cement and water, normally weighing 2100-2300kg per cubic metre.
|
| Concrete – Foamed
|
Concrete made very light and cellular by the addition of prepared foam or by generation of gas within the unhardened mixture.
|
| Concrete – Lightweight
|
Concrete made with lightweight aggregate; the unit weight of the resulting concrete is in the range of 800 to 2000kg per cubic metre.
|
| Concrete Pump
|
An apparatus that forces concrete to the placing position through a pipeline or hose.
|
| Concrete –
Reinforced |
Concrete construction that contains mesh or steel bars embedded in it.
|
| Construction Joint
|
A normally keyed joint formed by a bulkhead between successive placements of concrete.
|
| Contraction Joint (Control Joint)
|
A joint or deep groove separating concrete in a structure or pavement designed to prevent formation of cracks elsewhere in concrete.
|
| Conveyor
|
A device for moving materials; usually a continuous belt, system of buckets, a confined screw or pipe through which material is moved by air or water.
|
| Core Test
|
Compression test on a concrete sample cut from hardened concrete by means of a core drill.
|
| Corrosion
|
Disintegration or deterioration of concrete or reinforcement by electrolysis or by chemical attack.
|
| Craze Cracks
|
Fine, random cracks or fissures caused by shrinkage that may appear in a concrete surface within a few days of placement.
|
| Curing
|
Maintenance of moisture and temperature of freshly placed concrete during some definite period following placing, casting or finishing to provide enough moisture and the proper temperature level to promote continued hydration within the hardened concrete.
|
| Drum Speed (RPM)
|
The various rates of rotation of the drum of the mixer when used for charging, mixing, agitating or discharging. These various drum speeds are usually outlined on the mixer rating plate.
|
| Drying Shrinkage
|
Contraction caused by moisture loss from hardened concrete sometimes resulting in cracks in the concrete occurring days, weeks, or months after placement.
|
| Dusting
|
A defect in a slab surface; the powdering of the surface under foot or vehicle traffic. Usually caused by over trowelling wet concrete.
|
| Efflorescence
|
A deposit of salts, usually white, formed on a surface, the substance having emerged from below carried by water vapour.
|
| Entrained Air
|
Microscopic small air bubbles intentionally incorporated in concrete during mixing to improve durability and workability.
|
| Entrapped Air
|
Large air voids in concrete that are not purposely entrained; generally larger than 1mm and are usually due to incomplete consolidation.
|
| Expansion Joint
|
A separation in the concrete filled with compressible material to allow room for the expansion of the concrete in hot weather or movement due to other causes.
|
| False Set
|
Premature stiffening of freshly mixed portland cement concrete. Plasticity can usually be regained by further mixing with no additional water.
|
| Flash set
|
The rapid development of rigidity in freshly mixed portland cement concrete, usually building up considerable heat. Rigidity cannot be dispelled nor can the plasticity be regained by further mixing without addition of water.
|
| Flexural Strength
|
The ability of concrete to withstand bending measured by breaking a test beam.
|
| Float
|
A tool, usually of wood, aluminum or magnesium, used in finishing operations to impart a relative even (but not smooth) texture to a fresh concrete surface immediately after placement and strike off.
|
| Fly Ash
|
The fine ash resulting from the burning of powdered coal in electric utility plants, sometime used as a mineral admixture.
|
| Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS)
|
A glassy granular cementitious material resulting from the rapid chilling of molten iron blast-furnace slag.
|
| Grover (Jointing
Tool) |
A tool used to form grooves or weakened lane joints in a concrete slab before hardening to control crack location.
|
| Gross Vehicle Load
|
The weight of a vehicle plus the weight of a load thereon.
|
| Grout
|
A mixture of cement and water with perhaps some fine material used to fill cracks and voids in concrete or to prime concrete pumps.
|
| Hardener
|
A chemical applied to concrete floors to reduce wearing and dusting
|
| Hairline Cracking (Crazing)
|
Small cracks of random pattern in a concrete surface caused by too rapid surface drying.
|
| High Early Strength Concrete
|
Concrete that, through the use of high-early-strength cement or admixture, is capable of attaining specified strength at an earlier age than normal concrete.
|
| Mineral Admixture (Pozzolan)
|
A fine powdered material such as fly ash that may be used to improve workability or strength characteristics of concrete.
|
| Mixer capacity
|
The volume of concrete permitted to be mixed or carried in a particular mixer or agitator.
|
| Mortar
|
Usually consisting of cement, water and sand; no coarse aggregate.
|
| Plastic Shrinkage Cracks
|
Cracks that appear in fresh concrete during or just after finishing. They are often at an angle to side forms but parallel to each other.
|
| Pile
|
A long slender timber, concrete or steel structural element driven, jetted or otherwise embedded on end in the ground for the purpose of supporting a load or of compacting the soil.
|
| Retarder
|
An admixture which delays the time of set of concrete.
|
| Rubber Finish
|
A finish obtained by using an abrasive to remove surface irregularities from concrete walls or columns.
|
| Schmidt Hammer
|
(Trade Name), Swiss Hammer, or Rebound Hammer – a device used to estimate the compressive strength of hardened concrete by measuring surface hardness.
|
| Screed
|
A tool for striking off the concrete surface.
|
| Segregation
|
Separation of the coarse aggregate from the mortar portion of the concrete, or improper balance of the aggregate sizes from stockpiles or bins resulting in stony or sandy mix.
|
| Self-Compacting Concrete
|
Concrete that is able to consolidate under its own weight, without the need of vibration.
|
| Slump
|
A measure of consistency or wetness of freshly mixed concrete.
|
| Slurry
|
A wet mixture of water and portland cement (and pozzolans); usually containing no aggregate.
|
| Spalling
|
A chipping or peeling off of concrete surface or corners.
|
| Superplasticizer
|
A high range water-reducing admixture used to achieve very high slumps / spread of plastic concrete.
|
| Swirl Finish
|
A non-skid curving texture imparted to a concrete surface during final finishing.
|
| Topping
|
a) a layer of high-quality concrete placed to form a floor surface on a concrete base, or
|
|
|
b) a dry shake application of a special material to produce particular surface characteristics.
|
| Truck-mixed
Concrete |
Concrete, achieved by mixing in a truck mixer.
|
| Vibrated Concrete
|
Concrete compacted by vibration during and after placing.
|
| Water Reducing Admixture
|
A material that either increases workability of freshly mixed concrete without increasing water content or maintains slump with a reduced amount of water.
|
| Wet-mixed
Concrete |
Concrete partially mixed in a plant mixer to intermingle the materials and to attain consistency; it is then discharged into a truck mixer where mixing is completed.
|
The following concrete buying guides provide expert advice to ensure you get the best result when placing your concrete. Whether this is your first project or you are an industry veteran, the advice in these guides will help you get the best outcome from your project.
Seeking specialist advice on the unique requirements of your project will help you get the most out of your concrete
Daracrete has three well-placed concrete batching plants located in Cameron Park, Mt Thorley and Heatherbrae, allowing us to supply efficiently to a broad area across Newcastle, Port Stephens, the Hunter Valley and Central Coast.
We understand the pressures that come with managing all aspects of a project. We make sourcing quality and reliable concrete supply easy by offering a range of readymix solutions, concrete agitators and services, with experts available to help ensure you get the most from your project.
Our three concrete plants allow us to deliver your concrete efficiently and effectively to meet your project timelines and requirements.
We make planning your project simple by providing Daracrete’s standard concrete price list and product list . Beyond our standard mixes, we can create a customised mix to suit your unique project needs and provide a costing for your project.
Contact us for our price and product list
For major or bespoke orders, please contact us directly.
20 Kullara Close, Beresfield NSW 2322
PO Box 401 Beresfield NSW 2322
P: 02 4974 9200
F: 02 4951 1070
94-104 Stenhouse Drive, Cameron Park NSW 2285
P: 02 4953 1010
F: 02 4953 1008
