Title: Concrete Building Blocks

Author(s): S.B. Newberry

Publication: Journal Proceedings

Volume: 2

Issue: 1

Appears on pages(s): 65-92

Keywords: none

DOI: 10.14359/16396

Date: 1/1/1906

Abstract:
In the industrial progress of this country there is no feature more remarkable and striking than the development which has taken place in the applications of Portland cement. Fifteen years ago in the amount of Portland cement used for all purposes in the United States was about 2 1/2 million barrels, of which four-fifths was imported from Europe. In 1905 the consumption exceeded 30 million barrels, a twelve-fold increase, and practically the whole of this is of American manufacture. The first and greatest victory won by the new material was its substitution for block stone in masonry constructions, such as piers, abutments and foundations, and for flagstone in the laying of sidewalks. Then followed a multitude of lesser uses, such as sewer-pipe, tiles, fence-posts, curb and gutter, piles, and ornamental architectural work of every description. Reinforced with steel rods, cement concrete has come rapidly into use in the construction of complete buildings and bridges.