Im in the middle of planning to build a deck I'm my backyard and was looking through materials and noticed that concrete and cement were listed differently and that concrete was twice as expensive as cement. I'd always thought they were the same so I was just wondering what the differences were and how they work differently.
Cement is the binder that you use with sand and aggregate to make concrete, or with sand (and sometimes lime) to make mortar. Most usual is Ordinary Portland Cement which has nothing to do with Portland Stone apart from a passing resemblence in colour. Cement is rarely used on its own as it crumbles very easily but when combined with other materials it becomes very strong. Many people make their mix too rich on the basis if a little is good, more is better. It isn't and is a common cause of failure so mix accurately and always use clean water. The set is a chemical (irreversible) one and generates heat. It is only any good in compression though, if you need it to span any distance you need to include steel or other reinforcement in it to give it tensile strength.
lets say cement goes between bricks, and concrete, is used to fill large holes in the ground
Cement has been used as a binder of materiel for millenia. No one knows for sure who first came up with the idea to use a cement substance to bind materials together to make concrete, bricks, and other building materials. Concrete is a mixture of cement, water, and aggregates. Aggregates make up approximately 60-75% of the mixture and cement and water make up the rest. Aggregates are usually inert course materials like gravel, crushed stone, sand, or recycled concrete. The type of aggregate selected depends on the application of the concrete.
Cement is the grey powder that you buy in a bag. You mix this cement with sand, gravel and water to make concrete.
