Originally posted by RTflorida
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Chris has it right about concrete and cement. Portland cement (the binder) and sand and gravel (the aggregate) go through a chemical reaction when you add water to become concrete. The Romans even came up with Pozzolan, a cement that sets under water. Home Depot carries Portland cement (the pure binder), and various types of premixed concrete -- ranging from post hole concrete (low cement content and large, cheap aggregate), to standard ready-mix concrete (that you would use for the Pompeii Oven) to crack resistant concrete (concrete with glass fibers) and fast setting concrete (concrete with chemical hardeners).
One interesting note is that refractory mortar, such as RefMix and good refractory precast pizza ovens (not the clay ones) use binders and aggregates that are refractory. They don't just use calcium aluminate as the binder mixed with sand and gravel -- they have probably put more R&D into the aggregate side than the binder side. Just a side note.
James
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