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jimius t1_ix1jp1l wrote

Reply to comment by NimusNix in The road to low-carbon concrete: Humanity's love affair with cement and concrete results in massive CO2 emissions. by filosoful

We use concrete because it is cheap and easy to use. There are better materials out there for a long time, centuries even. But the problem is always price or labour. So without a carbon tax, cement will be able to externalize it's true costs towards the environment.

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NimusNix t1_ix1k4xt wrote

>We use concrete because it is cheap and easy to use.

Right.

>There are better materials out there for a long time, centuries even. But the problem is always price or labour.

Which is why it is less a love affair and more akin to an abusive relationship.

>So without a carbon tax, cement will be able to externalize it's true costs towards the environment.

This will help, but there is a hopeful new process on the horizon that injects the CO2 right back into the concrete to trap it while building it. Hopefully that pans out, also.

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jimius t1_ix1pal3 wrote

Or, like you mentioned, we just leave this abusive relationship...
Concrete will always be useful for certain things, like foundations, elevator shafts. But it should not be the ubiquitous building material that it is.

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Positive_Housing_290 t1_ix2fak6 wrote

We use concrete because it is the most used material in the world besides water. Why? Bc it IS the BEST building material ever invented.

There isn’t a better building material than concrete.

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Words_Are_Hrad t1_ix2poak wrote

A strong, weather resistant material that can be used as a liquid until put into place and left to cure. If it had been invented recently it would be considered a technological miracle with just how useful it is.

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Select_Repair_2820 t1_ix3q3tj wrote

Then why don't they build concrete houses in hurricane prone areas? Whenever I see a news report, there's always just ripped apart wooden houses

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Positive_Housing_290 t1_ix41n30 wrote

The price for concrete housing is much more than a stick frame house. They do have concrete homes. They are called ICF homes (insulated concrete form) homes

They are a monolithic concrete envelop. The benefits: there will never be any bug infestations (ie termites), the reduce the amount of A/C or heat needed to cool& heat the house, they can reduce outside noise by 80%, & they withstand hurricane winds.

The cons of an ICF house? The initial price. It is higher to construct. The benefits far outweigh the cost in my opinion.

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