Concrete or Cement...same thing?

Question

I saw bags of concrete & bags of cement in Home Depot. What's the difference?

Answer 1

As a contractor I hate it when so called experts on TV don't know the difference.

Cement is an ingredient for making concrete. Portland Cement is mixed with aggregate (another word for rocks) and water to make Concrete. Different sized aggregate (rocks)can be mixed to make different different types of concrete.

I hate it when they say - oh look the cement truck is pulling up. Cement is also used to make the mix for Concrete blocks - notice they are not called Cement Blocks.

Cement is also used to make mortar mix & grout. Mortar is used to put between bricks and blocks to bond them together. Bricklayers/Blocklayer mix their mortar on the job, using Portland Cement and Masonry sand and water. They mix it up in a portable gas powered mixer.

Just remember Concrete is made from Cement,Rocks,Water. Cement by itself without rocks,sand,etc. is nothing.

Now it gets confusing because the guys/girls who place the concrete and finish it are not called concrete finishers - they are called

"Cement Finishers" - why? I don't know. They aren't finishing cement - they are finishing Concrete.

Answer 2

Cement is the element that binds sand and gravel (as determined by intended use) together.

Concrete is what you end up with when you mix cement - sand and water (with or without gravel also known as aggregate) together in correct proportions.

The bags of concrete you see are simply cement and sand together in one bag awaiting the addition of water.

Saying they are the same is like saying a bag of flour is the same as a bag of cake mix IMHO.

Answer 3

yes, they are pretty much the same

but, idk why didn't you ask when you were there

Answer 4

Cement is not concrete, but a lot of people mistakenly think it is. This causes them to buy bags of cement at Home Depot thinking they can use it as concrete, and ending up with a useless mess.

Dry concrete is a mix of rock aggregate, sand, and cement. The cement is there to hold the other ingredients together after the concrete dries and cures. Stores like HD sell cement separately because it's not unusual for contractors to mix concrete in different proportions for different jobs: instead of buying half a dozen ready-made mixes, they simply mix their own to suit the job.