How Concrete Blocks Are Made

The basic knowledge of how concrete blocks are created is beneficial for architects, engineers, and anyone who regularly uses Orlando concrete products. For an architect, this knowledge can help them acquire an understanding of the shape and face designs that can be produced; it can help engineers select the correct, volumetric and structurally stable blocks, and it can help the public gain a general understanding of what organizations such as ours does.

The process from start to finish includes:

1. Storing Raw Material: Truck or railways first deliver cement, sand and aggregate to blocking plants. The sand and aggregate are stockpiled, and then transferred into storage bins, usually using a front-end loader. Because cement is moisture sensitive, it is directly transferred from the truck (or rail) into a storage silo using a compressed air pipeline that operate similarly to a vacuum cleaner.
2. Batching and Mixing: Gravity is used to transfer materials from silos and storage bins to weigh batchers. Planetary and horizontal drum mixers are used to dry-mix the materials before adding water. A computer controlled electronic meter monitors the amount of water added to the mixture to ensure the appropriate consistency is created. Water repellants and coloring agents are now added to the mixture based on the Orlando concrete client’s and/or producer’s specifications.
3. Molding: Once the batch is thoroughly mixed it is transferred into a hopper at the top of a block machine where it is fed into a mold box with replaceable liners. Once the concrete is poured into the mold it is compressed and solidified using pressure and vibration. The molds allow for the blocks to be created as one piece. Once the molding process is complete the blocks are sent to a curing environment.
4. Curing: A curing rack is filled with newly molded blocks (also known as “green” blocks) and they are transported to either a low-pressure or high-pressure steam-curing kiln. Both kilns involve the manipulation of pressure and temperature to fully solidify and finish the blocks. Blocks placed in a low-pressure kiln generally obtain 90% of their strength when only 2 to 4 days old. The high-pressure kiln (aka Autoclave) blocks have high-early strength, are less prone to shrinkage and achieve permanent strength after only one day. Autoclave kilns take significantly less time to create sound, sturdy blocks but are expensive and require considerably more energy to produce.
5. Cubing and Storing: Once blocks are cured, they are removed from the curing environment, cubed and placed in a storage facility.

Now that you know how to create your own concrete blocks, you can do it yourself…but we recommend that you turn to the experts for all your Orlando concrete block needs. Bedrock Industries provides a variety of concrete and masonry products in Orlando. The Quality Assurance Department at Bedrock Industries will design mixes to your specifications and needs. For more information, call us at (407) 859-1300 today.