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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'>This is such a complex topic. Next to water concrete is the most used substance in the world. Did the romans use a recipe that produced less carbon dioxide. Possibly not as materials that require less temperature typically release carbon dioxide at some earlier point in a process (like magnesium oxide). Does the product bear any legitimate relationship to its thousands of years of history and use – probably not as it is now a political, economic and even criminal issue as the mob controlled concrete for decades as well as toxic waste dumping contracts and the garbage burning facilities. May sound like a conspiracy thing but both the economics and the mixture is pretty well documented. You are allowed 5% of unlisted contents for concrete...go figure out what got added. Is this any different than the history and contemporary use of other mainstream products. I get grumpy just thinking about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'>As you said the problem is we use too much. A footing for a 1 story building can be by most codes for most soil conditions be 4” thick by 12” wide with a 4” rise – not the typical 16x8x8 that everyone expects to see . Proper use of reinforcement properly placed can also reduce concrete usage. Good design can be piers and grade beams – not just dig an oversize hole and fill it with concrete. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> Greenbuilding [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Peter/Pam Martin<br><b>Sent:</b> November-21-15 12:38 PM<br><b>To:</b> greenbuilding@lists.bioenergylists.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [Greenbuilding] Unconscionable Concrete Use<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Learned in an article at <a href="http://www.ancient-origins.net/history/ten-things-ancients-did-better-us-004557">http://www.ancient-origins.net/history/ten-things-ancients-did-better-us-004557</a> that the Romans made concrete by mixing lime, volcanic rock, and seawater that contained the ideal crystalline structure of Tobermorite. Purportedly the Roman concrete had a greater strength and durability than modern concrete as well as only requiring baking the limestone at 900<span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>°</span>C. Any present attempts at duplicating this process?<br><br>Another concrete observation: I've been watching a series on public TV called Grand Designs where the builders use inordinate quantities of concrete, with some of the slab pours having the consistency of soup. Is this normal practice in the UK? It reminds me of the building methods of Mike "I don't use one stud when I can use five" Holmes.<br><br>Peter<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>