[kamwene]

Hi All,

I've been reading around about making LR using cement and aragonite. On the GARF website, they mention that they use white cement, and I was wondering if anyone can tell me the difference between white cement, and regular portland cement. I went to Home Depot, and they had no idea what white cement was. They even called their distributor, and they didn't seem to know anything about it. I know various people are/have made LR using portland cement and then spent quite a bit of time getting it to leach out it's pH raising chemistry. Any ideas or thoughts?

Thanks,

Michael

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I asked lowes and they dont have a clue. Garf has 10 places you can e mail them from on there site.Maybe thats the best bet.

[glampka]

You're probably better off checking a masonary outlet rather than a Lowes or HD. Here's a page from 1 of the manufacturers: Lehigh White Cement Company - Welcome to Whitecement.com!

[1sleeper]

Ah, finally something I know about. LMAO
White Portland cement and Gray Portland cement are the same. As long as they are both the same type. Type 1, type 2, type 1/2, or type 3 (fast set). White is more expensive because they have to use less available resources to refine it. You will find white portland at your local contractor supply house or where they sell blocks, bricks and pavers.
Any more concrete questions, give me a shout.
Jim
elite concrete co.elite concrete co.

[kamwene]

Hello All,

Thank you all for the info. 1sleeper, just curious, what is the difference between the different types? Also, is there really any advantage to using white concrete over gray for LR if they are the same?

Thanks Again,

Michael

[1sleeper]

Type 1 is plain old Portland and general purpose fine for most projects.
Type 2 is sulfate resistant. Many manufacturers don't have high levels of tricalcium aluminate so they can call their Portland type 1/2 (or type I/II).
Type III is ground finer (called blain, finer blain). This gives it more surface area and makes it set up faster. We call this "high early" cement for higher strength early on. It peters out quicker though not making the same ultimate strength as if you let it set slower.
Type IV is the opposite of typeIII. It sets slower gaining higher ultimate strength and reducing the heat generated. Called heat of hydration, hydration is the reaction that makes concrete get hard.
TypeV is very high resistance to sulfates. Used in parking structures and runways.
Any TYPE with an "A" after it means it has air entrainment to enhance freeze thaw durability.

The use of white over gray is strictly asthetic. To me, white might be too bright by itself. You could use a color with it to give it a nice shade. The colors are mostly mineral based so I can't see them harming anything. You can get lighter shades with white versus gray, just like a canvas.

[kamwene]

1sleeper,

Thank you for the technical information regarding cement. This is helpful and appreciated. Now I can approach this with some intelligence.

Regards,

Michael

[1sleeper]

My pleasure. It's not often I get to talk about something I know a bit about, especially in this hobby.
Respectfully,
Jim

[darkwolf29a]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the information, 1sleeper.