Building Materials
Concrete Blocks
Concrete blocks or cement blocks are a reliable and affordable way to make a home building simple, used by numerous local contractors and DIY-ers in the construction and home building industry.
Here at Build it Plus Hermanus, we stock a wide range of cement blocks in differing sizes that are perfect for building sturdy structures like homes and outhouses. Some of our standard sizes include the Build it 140 Concrete Block (390 x 140 x 190mm) and Build it 190 Concrete Block (390 x 190 x 190mm).
A concrete block is primarily used as structure material in the construction of walls. It’s occasionally called a concrete masonry unit (CMU). A concrete block is one of several precast concrete products used in construction. The term precast refers to the fact that the blocks are formed and hardened before they’re brought to the job point.
Concrete blocks are made from cast concrete (e.g. cement and aggregate, usually sand and fine gravel, for high-density blocks). Lower density blocks may use industrial wastes, such as fly ash or bottom ash, as an aggregate. Recycled materials, such as post-consumer glass, slag cement, or recycled aggregate, are often used in the composition of the blocks. The use of recycled materials within blocks can create different appearances in the block, such as a terrazzo finish, and may help the finished structure earn Leed certification. Lightweight blocks can also be produced using autoclaved aerated concrete.
