Fun Facts about Hydraulic Concrete

 Concrete is the most widely used construction material on the planet, and certainly one of the main ingredients for a majority of in ground swimming pools.  Most people tend to think that Portland cement has something to do with a city in Oregon.
Actually, a bricklayer named Joseph Aspdin invented the material in 1824 and named it after the tiny isle of Portland in the English Channel, which was famous for its limestone.  This invention would become the world’s first “hydraulic cement” and would change construction forever.
In 1850, as part of a campaign to promote the use of his invention, Aspdin started work on an all-concrete mansion named Portland Hall in Kent.  In an early display of the material’s versatility, a barge carrying barrels of cement headed for Aspdin’s project ran aground on the Isle of Sheppey.  When the locals recovered the barrels they were initially disappointed to discover they weren’t filled with whiskey, but hardened cement instead.  Ever the inventive folk, they decided to build a pub out of the rock-like barrels.  Known as “the ship on Shore,” it still stands in the village of Sheerness.
Archaeologists have determined that concrete was first used in ancient Egypt as fill material for the pyramids.  Concrete is used more than twice as much as any other common building material, including wood, stone or steel.  The Roman Pantheon, built in 120 A.D., remains the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.  Although since it contains no reinforced steel, it does not comply with the current Roman safety standards.
So next time you go swimming, you can float around and contemplate the history behind your concrete pool.
For more information, call 661-263-7503 or visit www.poolsbyben.com.