Title dalen\
Concrete, more and more expensive In recent months, the construction industry has seen the price of materials explode , due to the increase in demand. Concrete is no exception. Concrete prepared in 2021 costs about $250 per m 3 , compared to $215 two years ago. For Emmanuel Cosgrove, director of Écohabitation, “the rise in concrete costs will not slow down. This may be an opportunity to really limit its use, to build better, with wood, or to turn to recycled concrete, as Zurich has done”. récupération de béton At the moment, this also translates into supply problems. According to a study carried out by the APCHQ with the firm Léger in January 2021*: "since March 2020, slightly more than four out of five entrepreneurs have faced supply problems such as delivery times, transport times on construction sites, out of stock at the supplier's or a low level of local inventory. » And the most affected? Small construction sites. So promoters and builders, jump at the chance to reduce your construction costs, as well as your ecological costs: reduce your use of concrete, opt for wood and a slab on the ground, and for the remaining concrete, try to raise the recycled concrete challenge. How to use recycled concrete in your construction projects in Quebec For now, if you want to use ecological concrete in your projects, it is not easy. You will need to contact concrete producers, representatives of cement manufacturers or other construction companies in your area in advance, as well as your contractor, who should be able to advise you based on your project: what types of concrete to use ? What proportions of cementitious additions to consider? What additives to use? But not everyone is familiar with these intricacies, and the low availability means that the chances of setting up a project containing a large part of recycled concrete will be a Herculean task. According to the Quebec Residual Materials Management Policy, the province recycles or revalorizes no less than 80% of concrete residues . This could be a great opportunity to facilitate the installation of concrete with recycled content! Because once crushed, the concrete can be used for the construction of new infrastructures, but it remains difficult to recover it entirely at the moment, the donors being reluctant to use recycled concrete. In the absence of regulations, they still prefer to use virgin raw material. The preservation of natural resources is a real topical issue that concerns all areas of the economy, of which the circular economy now also plays an important role in the construction sector. Good news: like many materials, concrete can also be treated and recycled while preserving its primary properties (durability, stability). However, although the use of recycled concrete saves resources and this building material can be used in the same way as traditional ready-mixed concretes, recycled concrete is not yet widely used. in construction projects. Learn more about the manufacture, properties and potential of recyclable concrete!