Concrete is the universal material in construction. Commercial and residential contractors utilize it to create roads, walls, and other surfaces.
It plays a vital role in each of the construction jobs. However, some activities on paved cement may have an impact on their weight, leaving people wondering, does cement get heavier when it dries?
In general, cement is heavier when wet and lighter than when it dries.
This is because when the cement is mixed with water, it gains weight due to the presence of other materials such as aggregate, sand, and gravel. When it’s dry, these materials remain but no longer have any additional moisture added to them.
Both dry and wet concrete have similar weights at the end of the curing procedure. The beginning of the process is pretty different. If you take enough dry concrete for pouring one yard, add water for the reaction and measure its weight.
It will weigh more than the concrete bag you started with. However, the difference will become insignificant when the curing process is completed. Different factors affect the weight of both.
Why Is Wet Concrete Heavier Than Dry Concrete?
Despite their differences in weight, wet and dry concrete are both made of the same ingredients.
Although different, there’s no significant difference, and this is mainly because of the water content during the curing process. While the concrete is still wet, water becomes a part of the entire weight.
The concrete bucket includes the necessary amount of water to start the reaction, which will be substantial. With that being said, it’s more than the overall weight than compared to the initial bag that you purchased and used for the job.
When the cement dries, the water evaporates and becomes part of the air once again. This reduces the total weight of the concrete block because it no longer contains wet material. All other materials remain, but they aren’t heavy enough to change the overall weight.
Determining the concrete formation process is the primary step for understanding the product weight in various stages. However, the key is that most of the water will become valuable during the curing procedure. Or it will evaporate eventually.
Water usage in the curing procedure leaves dry concrete to weigh slightly less than wet concrete.
We’ve established by now that concrete is water, aggregate, sand, and cement combined. Hence, water brings all the items in the concrete together through a specific chemical reaction.
Water helps the concrete to get hard by combining compounds present in concrete and forming chemical bonds via a process known as hydration. In short, the reason why wet concrete is slightly heavier than dry one is the water portion.
How Much Wet And Dry Concrete Weigh Per Cubic Yard?
On average, concrete may weigh around 3.9k lbs for every cubic yard, but in some instances, it can also go down to 3.5k lbs once it has dried.
If you have an idea of the exact proportion of sand, gravel, and water that’s used for the mix, it becomes easier to calculate the total weight per cubic yard.
The actual concrete weight will also depend on other factors like how much is mixed in each bag, as well as the size and shape of the stones used.
Additionally, the overall weight is also based on its origins, where it was sold, etc. Hence, the weight per cubic yard can vary significantly.
Does Location Affect The Weight Of Concrete?
Concrete never completely dries technically; it is the result of chemical reactions. As concrete is a mixture of various substances, it can cause cured concrete to become porous.
It will raise or lower the moisture amount in the finished product based on air humidity. We see the hard surface while walking on the concrete, but still, there is 95% of the moisture in the concrete that you initially began with.
Concrete may weigh more according to the region of the country, the aggregates that you put in it, and the place of its mining. Some densest concrete is in the Northwestern regions of the US.
Different Types Of Concrete – Different Weight Measurements
As concrete comes in various materials, not all types of concrete weigh the same.
You can say basic concrete has an average weight of about 116 pounds per cubic foot. But lightweight concrete is also available and it weighs less than 100 pounds. Apart from these, specialty concrete weighs over 300 pounds for the same amount.
What Is The Weight Of Reinforced Concrete?
Reinforced concrete is the type of concrete that is commonly useful for large-scale construction. It is created using a steel frame within the concrete to increase strength.
Here, the weight of dry concrete will go higher than wet concrete because of the steel or similar support present inside. Though it’ll weigh a little bit more, it is not going to go more than 5 to 15 pounds every yard.
What Is The Weight Of Lightweight Concrete?
Lightweight concrete is famous for being a lighter option than traditional concrete. This type of concrete is easy to use, more flexible and is a great absorber of shock and sound.
Such concrete contains more porous materials. The highly absorbent formula can take a longer time in drying, weighing about 115 lbs for each cubic foot.
When using lightweight concrete, make sure to follow the instructions properly. The concrete can become soft and more prone to damage if not cured correctly.
What Is The Difference Between Dry And Wet Concrete Volume?
Sometimes, wet and dry volume terms can get mixed up, especially when you are dealing with large projects such as construction.
Dry volume is the volume of concrete ingredients such as sand, cement, and aggregate in a dry mix before adding water. Wet volume is the volume of concrete components in a wet mix after adding water.
The volume of dry concrete has about 54% fine pores and air voids available between particles of different ingredients. The wet concrete volume has negligible fine pores or air voids between the ingredients’ particles.
The volume of dry concrete is helpful for the estimation and evaluation of concrete ingredients when it is ready to mix at the construction site manually. The wet concrete volume helps evaluate and assess components whenever we purchase or order mixed concrete for work.
Does Cement Get Heavier When it Dries: Final Thoughts
No – cement does not get any heavier when it dries. In fact, the moisture content of cement affects its weight only minimally.
When cement is wet, it can weigh up to five percent more than dry cement. This means that a cubic foot of dry cement might weigh in at about 94 pounds, while a cubic foot of wet cement could weigh up to 99 pounds.
However, the weight of cement can be affected by other factors, such as the type and amount of aggregate used in the mix, and where it is sourced from.
