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All The Cement & Concrete Terminology You Need To Know

Accelerator

•   A chemical substance added to a concrete mix that speeds up the setting time and thus the curing time.

Aggregates​

• Granular materials such as sand, gravel or crushed stone that account for up to 75% of the total content of a concrete mix

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Crazing

• Produce a network of fine cracks on a surface.

​Curing

• The process of maintaining correct temperature and moisture conditions in cement to achieve strength and durability through hydration.

Efflorescence

• A white powdery deposit that forms on the surfaces such as concrete or brick due to water evaporation, leaving behind dissolved salts.

Floating

• The act of finishing a concrete surface by making it smooth. In addition to removing surface imperfections, floating will compact the surface for a good high strength finish.

Ghosting

• Ghosting or shadowing lines can occur from the substrate when applying a cement-based coating. Any profile or porosity difference on the substrate can create shadow lines, this often happens when applying a coating over tiles. Proper preparation steps will prevent the ghosting from happening.

Gunite

• A concrete mixture sprayed through a high pressure hose, around a rebar framework, producing a dense, hard layer. It is a popular choice for swimming pools because it is highly durable and can create just about any shape of pool. Gunite is also used in construction for lining tunnels as well as for structural repairs.

Hairline Cracking

• Commonly observed in freshly placed concrete due to rapid loss of water from the surface, after placing and before hardening of the concrete.

Hydrophobic

•  A property of a substrate that repels water. Instead of absorbing water, the water forms a bead on the treated surface, and simply runs off. 

Marbelite

• A cement-based marble plaster, specifically formulated as an interior pool finish, designed for application to gunite or hand-packed concrete pool shells. 

Mechanical Key

• Refers to roughened surfaces or textures that enable proper adhesion of a new coating layer to an existing surface.
  

Microcement

•  A cement and polymer-based coating which is applied in thin coats to floors, walls or other surfaces to recreate a concrete look. 

Mohair Roller

•  Short-pile 100% mohair roller, suggested as the best tool to use when applying Cemcrete sealers onto smooth surfaces.

Moisture Meter

• A device used to measure the moisture in cement screed and plaster substrates to determine if the moisture content is low enough in order to apply a Cemcrete finish.

​Mortar

• Mortar is a workable paste used to bind building blocks such as stones, bricks, and concrete masonry units together, fill and seal the irregular gaps between them, and sometimes add decorative colours or patterns in masonry walls.

Mottling

• Smears or variation in colour made more prominent through trowelling. 

Overlay

• A thin coating that is applied to existing concrete and is therefore perfect for renovations. See CreteCote.

Pinhole

• A small hole formed in a coating as trapped air escapes from the substrate or the coating itself during application.
  

Retarder

• An admixture used to slow the rate of curing of concrete.

​Scarifying

• The process of using spinning metal blades on a machine to remove the top layer of a concrete surface, characterized by its more aggressive approach compared to grinding.

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Screed

• A simple cement mixture that is installed on a surface bed (substrate) of concrete; the same surface you install under traditional floor coverings –such as tiles, carpets or wooden floors – or thin layers of decorative cement, like CreteCote.

Self-levelling screed

• The same as a screed, but with a runnier consistency that is easily smoothed out

Skim-coating

• A fine mortar applied thinly (5 mm or less) to even out the surfaces of a wall, and prepare it for painting or finishing.

Stucco

• A decorative render consisting of aggregates, a binder and water, applied in coats or as a plaster, to create a beautiful natural cement finish. 

​Substrate

•  A solid, underlying layer onto which the Cemcrete decorative coating is applied. For example: screed, plaster bricks, etc

Trowell Lines

• Distinctive dark lines made by the application movement while applying a micro cement finish with a trowel. 

Trowell

•   A small handheld tool with a flat plate, used to apply and smoothly spread mortar or plaster.

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