A construction material that once was innovative and modern and then fell somewhat into disrepute through some of the quite radical post-war architecture, concrete is today very popular with planners and builders due to its multifaceted nature. The material offers enormous potential through its extensive load-bearing capacities but also due to the diversity of its properties and surface characteristics. In addition to the technical possibilities customarily attributed to concrete construction, the construction material is on the ascendant not least due to the current debate regarding energy efficiency and sustainability, since it seems tailor-made for the realization of the relevant requirements. It is not just the design and construction of concrete load-bearing structures that are the focus of this publication, but also the materiality and thus the haptic and sensuous side of the material in particular. That's because visible concrete in "smooth gray flawless" quality is not everything that concrete has to offer. Even designers and interior decorators develop furniture and space innovations of unimagined sensuality. The Modern Concrete Construction Manual provides the planner with well-founded expert information regarding the construction material of concrete, ranging from manufacturing to materiality to the design of concrete load-bearing structures, including current options for digital design and production processes. As a standard reference volume, the publication offers comprehensive and detailed insights regarding topics including cost-effectiveness, energy and sustainability, renovation, design and interior decoration. An extensive index of works with successful real-life examples provides inspiration and invites the reader to make modern use of a classical construction material.

The Construction Manuals from Edition Detail are among the most important reference works in the specialist literature. The latest volume shows the potential of the material concrete and documents comprehensively the technical principles of using concrete in construction. Chapters cover the history of the material, the properties of concrete, reinforced concrete, and prestressed concrete, the treatment of its surface. Also covered are the basic principles of statics for large and small structures, and the building requirements with respect to heat, damp, sound-proofing and fire protection according to the most recent norms and standards. Finally a large number of built examples are presented from illustrations of the complete structure down to detailed plans, showing the broad spectrum of applications for concrete in contemporary building. All plans have been specially produced by the editorial department Detail for this book and for ease of comparison, they have been drawn to the same scale.

Concrete as a building material -- Concrete mix compounds -- Proportioning concrete mix -- Excavation -- Laying out the building -- Design of concrete forms -- Form materials and how to use them -- Construction of pier and footing forms -- Construction of foundation wall forms -- Formwork for openings in concrete walls -- Formwork for steps -- Formwork for floors and sidewalk slabs -- How to make beam and girder forms -- Forms for arched openings -- Handling and placing concrete -- Finishing concrete -- Curing and patching concrete -- Effects of temperature -- Reinforced concrete construction -- Precast concrete -- Cleaning concrete and masonry methods -- Appendix A : Method of making slump test for consistency of Portland cement concrete -- Appendix B : Estimating quantities and labor hours for concrete, forms and reinforcing.

This comprehensive concrete manual has the information you need, both the tried-and-tested methods and materials, and recent innovations. It covers styrofoam forming systems, fiber reinforcing adjuncts, and architectural innovations. Forming, one of the most important elements of concrete work, gets special attention. Every chapter provides detailed, step-by-step instructions for each task, with hundreds of photographs and drawings that show exactly how the work is done.