Cement Or Concrete: What Is Better for Driveway
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Should I Use Cement Or Concrete For My Driveway?
You must always use concrete, and not just cement, for your driveway. The choice of Cement or Concrete is not even meaningful. Cement is an important ingredient in concrete but is not an alternative to concrete.
Cement by itself has very poor strength, unlike Concrete.
Concrete gets its strength from the aggregates that are encapsulated in a web-like crystalline structure formed when water reacts with cement by a process called hydration. This process is also known as the setting or curing of concrete.
Even concrete needs to be reinforced with galvanized steel rebars, welded wire mesh or fiber mesh. Concrete has high compressive strength but poor tensile strength. Reinforced concrete is a composite building material that has both high compressive & tensile strength.
Cement, apart from being the critical component of concrete, does have its place in the construction industry. Cement is the key ingredient in mortar and finishing products such as skim coat or plaster. Mixed with other chemicals it is used for repairing & filling cracks as well as for waterproofing.
What Is Cement Used For?
Most of the cement produced is used as an ingredient in concrete mix. Cement in its raw form is a powder. When water is added to cement, the paste sets and becomes a binder for the aggregates in the concrete mix.
Besides concrete, cement is the main ingredient of mortar and plaster, both of which are used in wall construction.
Mortar is a mix of cement, fine sand and lime. Water is added to the powder mix to form a paste, known as mortar, to bind together bricks, blocks or stones.
Plaster can be gypsum plaster or cement plaster. Gypsum plaster gives a much smoother finish and is generally applied on interior walls and ceilings. Cement plaster is a bit rougher but has better weathering resistance. Naturally it is preferred for exterior walls.
Cement is also used to make specialty construction materials such as grout, crack fillers, waterproofing compounds, etc.
Does More Cement Make Concrete Stronger?
Concrete strength increases as the ratio of cement in the concrete mix is increased. However, there is an optimal point. Adding more cement beyond the optimal point does not increase the strength of the concrete. On the contrary, it reduces the strength.
If the increase in cement %age in concrete made it stronger, then the strongest concrete would have 100% cement content. Clearly that is not the case!
When it comes to a good quality concrete mix, the 1-2-3-0.5 rule is a good rule to follow. The rule states that for maximizing concrete strength use 1 part of cement, 2 parts of sand, 3 parts of gravel and 0.5 parts of water.
In fact a water cement ratio of 0.5 is possibly the most important factor in determining the ultimate concrete strength.
The role of cement is to bind the sand & aggregates together. The crystalline structure formed by the reaction between water and cement is what binds the sand & aggregates. The concrete strength mainly comes from the aggregates and not so much from the binder.
Too little cement means not enough binder and the aggregates will fall apart. Too much cement means too much binder. Binder is inherently not very strong and will disintegrate under stress.
Which Cement Is Best for Concrete Driveway?
Type II Portland Cement is the best cement to use in concrete driveways. Portland cement is manufactured by heating limestone and other silicates to over 2700°F in a rotary kiln. The result is clinker, which is cooled, mixed with gypsum and ground to a fine powder.
Typical constituents of Portland cement (showing cement chemist notation) is as under:
| Cement | CCN | Mass |
| Calcium oxide, CaO | C | 61–67% |
| Silicon dioxide, SiO2 | S | 19–23% |
| Aluminum oxide, Al2O3 | A | 2.5–6% |
| Ferric oxide, Fe2O3 | F | 0–6% |
| Sulfur (VI) oxide, SO3 | S̅ | 1.5–4.5% |
Source: Wikipedia
There are 5 types of Portland Cement of which Type I and Type II are the most common.
Type I Portland Cement: is widely used in construction and is recommended for concrete structures that are not in contact with soil.
Type II Portland Cement: is used in construction of slab-on-grade, such as floors, driveways and roads. Type II Portland Cement has moderate sulfate resistance, and gives off less heat during hydration.
Type I and Type II Portland Cement cost the same.
Type III (High Early Strength) Portland Cement: is the same as Type I except that it is ground finer. Due to this the hydration process and the concrete setting time is speeded up.
Type IV Portland Cement: has low heat of hydration. It is not available in retail and is manufactured to order, only for mega infrastructure projects such as dams.
Type V Portland Cement: has high sulfate resistance. It is no longer very popular as it has been replaced by Type I/II Portland Cement.
RECOMMENDED PRODUCT
The Best Portland Cement for DIY Projects
The best Portland Cement for small or even slightly larger jobs around your home is QUIKRETE® Portland Cement (No. 1124). You can mix it with aggregate and other ingredients to make concrete mix, mortar mix, and base coat stucco as per your requirement.
Quikrete Portland Cement Type 1
To make Concrete Mix:
- 3 parts All-Purpose Gravel (No. 1151)
- 2 parts All-Purpose Sand (No. 1152)
- 1 part Portland Cement (by volume)
Thank you very much for reading this post. I do hope you found it informative and helpful.
