The difference between concrete and cement?

What is the difference between concrete and cement? Many people confuse the two, or use the terms interchangeably.

A cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens as it dries. Cement, therefore, "cements" things together. Cement is only an ingredient - an important ingredient, in concrete.

The type of cement used in concrete (or grout, mortar or stucco) varies depending on what the resulting structure is to be used for. The cement used will be either hydraulic (meaning it will be able to set in water) or non-hydraulic (meaning it will be used on dry land).  ("Hydro" is the Greek for water, and any word that begins with "hydro" invariably has something to do with liquid. Hydraulic brakes, for example, are so called because they use brake fluid, as opposed to air brakes, that use air.)

Concrete can be poured into a variety of shapes, using "forms" that hold the concrete together in the required shape.  When you see a column of concrete, it has been achieved by pouring the concrete into a circular, card-board tube strong enough to hold the accumulated weight of the concrete until it sets.

Resource:
This article sponsored by Pac Rite Inc, purveyors of shipping tubes, storage tubes, and label cores.

About Business Bytes:
A collection of articles on various subjects, similar to document repositories like EzineArticles.com. You may re-use these articles in your own blogs or websites, as long as you also use the Resource box in full.

Nutritional Therapy: When did we discover "nutrition?"

Believe it or not, nutrition has been practiced since the time of the Greeks.

Connections between what we ate and how we felt were obvious even then.

For example, there's a stone tablet found in Babylon, dated to about 2500 BC, that advises people with stomach ache to not eat onions for three days.

The study of nutrition in earnest began during in China, where food was classified into "hot" (for example, meats, blood, ginger, and hot spices) and "cold" (green vegetables).

A lot of "old wives tales" are actually nutritionally sound.

Of course, up until the 20th century - from the 1950s onward when TV dinners and additive-laced foods were introduced to the western world, there wasn't much to worry about if people didn't over-indulge in what they ate or drank.

Today, even if people don't "over-indulge" they can still be unhealthy because of the hormones, additives, and other things found in the food we eat. Nutrients have been leached out of our food - and so have to be put back artificially!

Resource:
This article brought to you by Thrive Nutrition ancestry researchers.

About Business Bytes:
A collection of articles on various subjects, similar to document repositories like EzineArticles.com. You may re-use these articles in your own blogs or websites, as long as you also use the Resource box in full.

Geneaogical Research: Just what is geneaology?

Genealogy  comes from the Greek word (genea) for "generation"; and (logos) the Greek word for "knowledge".

It's very difficult to spell, although if you remember the root Greek word it makes it easier! bo most people just call it the study of their family history.

Genealogy is the study of a person's family - whether performed by that person, or by someone simply interested in the history of that family.

It's not just a question of looking at old newspapers, or checking online records such as passenger lists of steamships that came to the US during the 1800s or 1900s, or the entrance records at Ellis Island. it also delves into oral interviews of the people involved.

In the past (long past) only nobles tracked their family history - people who owned land and wanted to make sure it descended down the proper family line. But since the 1900s, practically everyone has been interested in their family history - where they came from, etc. because they feel it provides a stepping stone to where they are going.

Resource:
This article brought to you by Turtle Trove Ancestry, ancestry researchers.

About Business Bytes:
A collection of articles on various subjects, similar to document repositories like EzineArticles.com. You may re-use these articles in your own blogs or websites, as long as you also use the Resource box in full.

Home design and construction: Bathroom basics

Just what are the bathroom basics?

Various countries have different terminology dealing with the size of bathrooms and what those bathrooms contain. Usually these other countries have developed their bathrooms based on space restrictions, something that has never been a worry in the wide open spaces of the United States!

Here is the terminology for bathroom basics in the United States.

Master bathroom: will have a bathtub, shower, toilet and sink at a minimum, and of course adjoins the "master bedroom."

Full bathroom: contains a bathtub, shower, toilet, and sink, but can be located in a hallway anywhere in the home.

Three/fourths bath: This room will have a toilet, a sink and a shower.

Half bath: Has just a toilet and a sink.  This is also known as a powder room.

However, the way that these types of bathrooms are noted in real estate brochures can be confusing, so be sure that you really understand what you're looking at when you look at the brochures, to make sure you are getting the number and size of bathrooms that you expect!


Resource:
This article brought to you by Benton Development, Seattle custom home builders.

About Business Bytes:
A collection of articles on various subjects, similar to document repositories like EzineArticles.com. You may re-use these articles in your own blogs or websites, as long as you also use the Resource box in full.

Plumbing: What is Hydro-blasting?

Commercial buildings which have foundations of concrete will often require hydroblasting

Hydroblasting, also called hydro demolition (although there is no demolition involved, of course, waterblasting and water jetting, is a technique used for removing the surface area of concrete, or to give a really good cleaning to aluminum or vinyl siding, or even wooden siding.

Whenever it's necessary to remove part of a foundation in order to repair it, you'll often see men with jackhammers - but jackhammers produce vibrations that resonate throughout a structure and can damage it. That's not very safe for the long term health of the building (or for any structure - a bridge, perhaps).

Hydroblasting simply means that a stream of water under tremendously high-pressure is applied to the surface of the concrete, removing it quickly and easily.

That's for commercial uses, but hydroblasting can also be used on any surface (using a less-pressurized stream) to remove dirt and stains and mildew - as from the wooden walls or siding of a house, for example.

Resource:
This article brought to you by Budget Rooter, your source for plumbers in Mason County and plumbers in Pierce County

About Business Bytes:
A collection of articles on various subjects, similar to document repositories like EzineArticles.com. You may re-use these articles in your own blogs or websites, as long as you also use the Resource box in full.

Manifesto

A collection of articles, similar to what you'd find at Ezine.com.

You may use these articles in your own publications, AS LONG AS YOU PRINT THEM IN FULL, INCLUDING THE RESOURCE BOX.