How to Make Concrete From Scratch

If you're going self-sustained, then making homemade concrete is one way to save a lot of money. Making concrete isn't rocket science, it's a basic survival skill if you want a civilized, sustainable lifestyle. The ingredients of concrete are available on every continent. If the Ancient Romans can create concrete, so can you.

Things You'll Need

• What is Quicklime?
• sand and pebbles
• water
• a metal or plastic trough

Instructions

1. Obtain limestone. That sounds silly but it's readily available in most areas and it's inexpensive. Try local rock quarries and hardware stores. It's sometimes used for landscaping.

2. Heat the limestone by roasting on an outdoor fire-pit. Cooking the limestone changes it chemically and physically. Allow the cooked stones to cool completely.

3. Dump a portion of cooled quicklime, quicklime is what you've created by cooking it, into a trough. Dump water on the quicklime. It will begin to hiss and a lot of heat will come off of the rocks. As the water is absorbed, the quicklime breaks down into a fine muddy mush (only it's white)

4. Add sand and pebbles to the new muddy mixture. You just made concrete, congratulations.

Tips & Warnings

• Adding natural fibers will help increase the strength of your concrete.

• Fiddle with the texture and measurement until your formula is perfect.

Resources

• How to Make Long Term Residual Income Writing for eHow