Construction Material - Cement

Cement is one of the oldest building materials. The word “cement” is based on the Latin word “caementum”. It is a fine, soft, powdery-type substance. The powder is so fine it can pass through a sieve capable of holding water.

It is made from a mixture of elements that are found in natural materials such as limestone, clay, sand and/or shale.


When cement is mixed with water, it can bind sand and gravel individually or together and get harden even in water.


Cement mixed with water, sand and gravel/stone chips – Concrete.


Cement mixed with water and sand – Mortar/Plaster.


Cement mixed with water – Paste/Grout


Cement can be purchased from most building supply stores in 50 kilograms bags.


Cement is usually gray also white cement can also be found.

How Is Cement Made?

Cement is manufactured through a closely controlled chemical combination of calcium, silicon, aluminum, iron and other ingredients present in natural materials such as limestone, clay, sand and/or shale.

Natural raw materials used to manufacture cement include limestone, shells, and chalk or marble combined with shale, soil, slate, blast furnace slag, silica sand and iron ore, in different proportion and percentage combination as per their individual properties. These ingredients, when heated at high temperatures (1400 °C – 1500 °C) form Portland cement clinker, a dark grey nodular material. These nodules are ground up to a fine powder to produce cement, a small amount of gypsum added to control its setting properties.

Cement plant laboratories check each step in the manufacture of Portland cement by regular chemical and physical tests. The labs also examine and test the finished product to ensure that it complies with all industry specifications.

How Cement Is Batched?

The cement is generally packed in jute sacking bags, multi wall paper sacks and other packaging, marked with batch/control unit numbers in terms of Week, Month and year of packing 46 W 11M 2016

The average of the net quantity of cement packed in bags (sample size of a batch size of 100-150 bags is 20 bags) shall be equal or more than 50 kg.

5% of sample can weigh 2% less = 50 – 50*0.02 = 49 kgs.

None of the bag should weigh 4% less i.e. 50 – 50*0.04 = 48 kgs.

Note: The mass of jute sacking bag to hold 50 kg is 531 gms.

An individual bag of cement shall ideally weigh 50 + 0.531 = 50.531 kgs.

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