Concrete Cube Testing | Ready Mix Concrete Delivery in London

What is concrete and why perform testS?

Concrete is a combination of aggregates, such as sand and gravel, and cement. When mixed with water, these core components basically simulate rock – making concrete an extremely versatile, durable and cost-effective construction material.

In order to perform properly as an engineering material, concrete needs to be able to withstand high levels of compressive force. To ensure the various ingredients in the concrete mix have achieved a target compressive strength, we can perform an investigation known as a concrete cube test. This is essentially a form of quality control.

Carrying out regular cube tests is essential if you want to ensure that your concrete is strong and safe to use. Building contractors are responsible for the integrity of the building work that they oversee, and cube testing is an effective and reliable way to assess the quality of the concrete that they use on both commercial and domestic projects.

Rapid Readymix frequently carry out cube testing, both on our own concrete and concrete supplied by others, for our clients throughout London, Surrey and the South East.

How does a cube test work?

Typically, concrete cube tests involve three main steps:

1. Cubes are collected from site

For the most accurate results, samples must be taken at the moment the concrete is poured, not after. A sample of the concrete that needs to be tested is taken when it is freshly mixed and is poured into 2 or 3 cube moulds. Each mould is filled, leveled, compacted and tampered to BSI requirements, before being transported to our temperature-controlled lab at our South London facilities.

2. Cubes are left to cure for a set amount of days

In our technical laboratory, the cubes are kept in their moulds for 24 hours, before being cracked open and put into water tanks to cure for 1-4 weeks. Each cube will be left for different lengths of time to check its strength at different stages.

3. Concrete cubes are crushed and tested

Once cured and ready to test, each cube is placed into our concrete crusher, which steadily exerts force on the cube until it breaks. The rate at which the cube crushes is measured, and this gives us its compressive strength.

Read our article to learn more about how cube testing works.

Our Concrete

At Rapid Readymix, we’re perfectly placed to test our own concrete, as we have all the required facilities at our state-of-the-art laboratory to efficiently and accurately carry out concrete cube tests.

Testing will incur an extra cost in addition to our concrete supplying service. Call our friendly team to find out more.

See the in-house laboratory section for more info.

Other Supplier’s Concrete

We can also arrange to test another supplier’s concrete for you. If your current concrete supplier is unable to provide you with a concrete cube test, then Rapid Readymix would be happy to help. Whether the concrete is poured directly, or placed with a concrete pump hire service. You can rest assured that our BSI Certified facilities and skilled team can provide impartial and secure concrete testing.

Get in touch with our expert team for a quote.

Testing other supplier’s concrete

We can also arrange to test another supplier’s concrete for you. If your current concrete supplier is unable to provide you with a concrete cube test, then Rapid Readymix would be happy to help. You can rest assured that our BSI Certified facilities and skilled team can provide impartial and secure concrete testing.

Get in touch with our expert team for a quote.

Our in-house laboratory

Rapid Readymix are proud to operate our own testing laboratory equipped with cutting-edge equipment, including water tanks, a concrete cube crusher and measuring scales, all housed within a temperature controlled environment to ensure accurate results, every time. We regularly use our in-house lab to test the compressive strength of our concrete and others.

Quality of all our facilities

The overall facilities at Rapid are a cut above the rest. Our South London yard is crucial to our operations in London, Surrey and the South East – it’s fully equipped with well-maintained pumps, mixers and vehicles, a stock of high-quality materials housed in weather-protected bays, and a large working area for our team to operate from.

Find out more about Rapid Readymix’s facilities.

BSI certified supplier

Did you know that Rapid Readymix is one of only a handful of volumetric concrete suppliers in the area to hold the prestigious British Standards Institution (BSI) Kitemark? This accreditation means that our concrete and working practices conform to the BSI’s stringent quality controls – one of which is the requirement for daily concrete testing, which we carry out in our in-house lab.

Learn more about Rapid Readymix’s BSI certification and why opting for a certified concrete supplier will save you money in the long run.

Related Case Studies

Concrete cube testing can be particularly useful when a specialist concrete mix is required.

Rapid Readymix used concrete cube testing as part of the process to develop a bespoke mix design of white concrete for leading construction and utility services company Blu-3. Rapid were able to conduct several tests and trials, testing the compressive strength at each stage, in order to perfect the final mix design that was used to great success in a stunning hard landscaping project in Central London.

Read more about our Blu-3 white concrete case study.

Contact us

Get in touch with our friendly team today to discuss your concrete testing requirements. Whether you’d like to arrange concrete cube testing for your Rapid Readymix concrete delivery, talk through testing the concrete from your current supplier, or you’re in need of technical advice and assistance, we’re happy to help.