Concrete Logic

Is the industry delusional when it comes to carbon-neutral concrete? In this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, Jon Belkowitz of Intelligent Concrete shares his concerns about what is happening to the concrete industry as we all chase carbon neutrality. Grab a coffee, sit down and listen to Jon as he challenges us with several questions: Will the industry's effort fall by the wayside like past...

According to 2021 research by The Center for Construction Research and Training, Hispanic construction workers make up 30% of the workforce but are 20% more likely to be fatally injured than non-Hispanic workers. How many of those fatalities could have been prevented if we communicated better with these folks that English is their second language on our job sites? In this episode of the Concrete L...

What the heck does carbon-neutral concrete even mean? How do we get there? Is it even attainable? In this episode of the Concrete Logic podcast, we ask Tyler Ley, the self-proclaimed concrete freak, to help us out with these hard questions. Tyler walks us through the steps we can take to reduce the carbon dioxide-producing aspects of concrete. But, does this truly get us to a point that we can cal...

Over the last couple of years, what decades-old technology did the concrete industry routinely turn to when wire mesh became unavailable and too expensive?  Synthetic Fibers. In this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, we sat down with Kristin Crawford, Bill Coursen, and Gerry Welch from Forta Concrete Fiber. Forta is a manufacturer of concrete synthetic fibers. Listen to this episode and...

It is believed that the Pantheon, built around 114 A.D., is one of the earliest examples of a structure that was built using concrete formwork. What is concrete formwork and how is it used today? In this episode of the Concrete Logic podcast, Mark Grace of Concrete Support Systems walks us through some of the different types of formwork commonly used. Also, Mark shares his best practices when it c...

What (or who) is preventing concrete from being more sustainable (i.e. environmentally friendly)? On this week's episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, I sat down with Rich Szecsy from Alamo Concrete Products Company and he shared what he believes are the roadblocks standing in concrete's way from being more green. Listen to Rich and learn how we as an industry can promote more sustainable concret...

Did you catch last week's episode? If not, listen to that one first! This is Part 2 of the two-part episode. What is the best method to build a concrete house? That was the quest Ron Macken took after a devastating wildfire destroyed his property in 2017. In this week's episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, I discuss with Ron the different types of concrete house construction he researched over t...

What is the best method to build a concrete house? That was the quest Ron Macken took after a devastating wildfire destroyed his property in 2017. In this week's episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, I discuss with Ron the different types of concrete house construction he researched over the last four years. You will learn about the five different types of concrete construction Ron considered, th...

In episode #017 of the Concrete Logic Podcast, I sit down with Pat Morrissey of ConcSpec Associates, Inc and Al Ericson, a technical consultant for AIT. We discuss glass fiber rebar and fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites macrofiber. These glass fiber products are an alternative to traditional steel rebar and reinforcement. If water infiltrates concrete through cracks and reaches the rebar,...

Can a recession be a good thing? What other dumb questions can I ask one of the country's leading economists? Find out in this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast! In this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, I ponder the current economic conditions with the one and only Dr. Anirban Basu, CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc. You may recognize the name as Dr. Basu as he is the Chief Economist for the...

In this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, I discuss pervious concrete with Bob Banka from Concrete Management Solutions. Bob has an extensive background in the ready-mix concrete industry and he focuses most of his time now on pervious concrete. Unlike traditional concrete, pervious is designed to let water pass through it. Pervious concrete is one of those things that I have run across that...

In this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, our guest is Jamie Grimmelsman of Metromont Precast. We discuss what is precast concrete, what projects are ideal for precast, and what trends he sees in the Florida construction market.  Episode References Guest: Jamie Grimmelsman, Metromont, jgrimmelsman@metromont.com Guest website:   https://www.metromont.com/ Host: Seth Tandett, seth@con...

In this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, I am a guest on the Add Ten Gallons Concrete Podcast. We talk about what it is like to have a concrete-focused podcast, what it's like to work for the largest concrete contractor in the nation and other concrete-related topics. After listening to this podcast, give the fellas over at Add Ten Gallons Concrete Podcast a follow. They are a great group of...

In this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, Paul Ramsburg of Sika continues his lesson on the history of concrete. We pick up our discussion in the 1800s when the first concrete flooring contractor got started. We learn where the first reinforced concrete structure was built, why concrete arrows were an aviation necessity back in the day, and what concrete ships were used for during World War I...

In this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, Paul Ramsburg of Sika gives a history lesson on concrete. What's the origin of concrete? How long has it been around? Why is this Vitruvius dude from the 1st century B.C. still important today? Find out on this episode! This is only Part 1 of a two-part episode. Make sure you catch the 2nd half of this history lesson in EP #012!  Episode Referenc...

In this episode of the Concrete Logic podcast, Shawn O'Connor from Somero joins us. Somero is a manufacturer of concrete laser screed machines. Shawn and I discussed two of Somero's machines: the Sky Screed and the SkyStrip . These machines are helping relieve the labor-intensive tasks of placing concrete and stripping formwork from the concrete once it can support it's own weight.  Listen to...

In this episode of the Concrete Logic podcast, we brought on Brent Rollins and Scott DiLoreto from Spray-Lock to discuss colloidal silica. If you are like most folks, you probably never heard of colloidal silica (CS). It is a product that can be sprayed on concrete during concrete placement or long after the concrete is cured. It can even be used as an additive to ready-mix concrete. Once CS is ap...

In this episode of Concrete Logic, we welcome Bryant Wheeler of Polycrete USA. Bryant is an expert in insulated concrete forms (ICF). ICF resembles traditional concrete wall formwork, but it is made out of expanded polystyrene styrofoam. One of the advantages of ICF is that the styrofoam not only acts as the concrete formwork but stays in place for insulation! It's a really cool concrete technolog...

In this episode of Concrete Logic, we welcome Mark Chase of RPX Technologies to the show. Mark is an expert on concrete sensors. These sensors are used to monitor the strength and temperature of in-place concrete. Traditionally during construction, the strength of concrete placed in a structure is determined by breaking a 6" x 12" (or 4" x 8") concrete cylinder sample taken during the placement. M...

In this episode of the Concrete Logic podcast, our special guest is Grady Lonigan. Grady has an extensive background in concrete construction background and up until recently has been working with a well-known 3D printing company. I found his perspective on the potential of 3D printing in the concrete construction industry refreshing since he acknowledges the challenges that this technology has in...

Something different this week... In this episode, we did something a bit different. I was interviewed on the Engineer of Finance Podcast hosted by Ken Greene. I met Ken over a year ago after hearing him on another podcast. He was initially an engineer (that's probably why we get along) and then became a financial advisor.  Anyhow, check out the short intro I gave about Ken, and then head over...

In this episode of Concrete Logic Podcast, we welcome Jason Adams CEO of MEGASLAB. I found Jason and his company when researching jointless slab-on-grades for a project. If you Google "jointless concrete slabs," you'll find MEGASLAB on the first page of results so I figured this is what Jason and his company were all about. I was wrong. I would say Jason and his team take a "holistic" approach to...

On today's episode of Concrete Logic, we welcome Stephanie Hampton to the show. Stephanie is a Senior Technical Sales Engineer with Lehigh Hanson, one of the largest producers of cement in the world. Lehigh Hanson is pursuing carbon neutrality by 2050 and is a leading proponent of utilizing Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) to achieve this ambitious goal. If you don't know what Portland Limestone Ce...

In today’s episode of the Concrete Logic podcast, we are lucky to have Jessica Wilson and Doug Clark of CarbonCure. CarbonCure is a technology that injects carbon dioxide into ready-concrete. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas, which is released through human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels and natural processes such as respiration and vol...

On today’s episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, our guest is Garrett Braun, a structural engineer. Garrett is the founder of Blue Nest Structural. We discussed what it’s like to open a new firm in the last year, how far the design of projects is by the time his engineering group gets involved, why do engineers not consider changing materials in concrete mix designs, and why buildings are not des...