Concrete masonry comprises two basic types - cinder block and concrete block. Concrete blocks are pure concrete, whereas cinder blocks are made from coal cinders and concrete - forming a lighter, cheaper building material.
Concrete masonry is a very common building material for the load-bearing walls of buildings. Suburban houses with a basement typically employ a concrete foundation and slab with a concrete block wall on the perimeter. Large buildings typically use copious amounts of cinder block; for even larger buildings, cinder block supplements steel I-beams. Exposed surfaces of block are generally given a decorative finish of stucco, brick, paint or siding. In the United States, concrete masonry standards are maintained by the National Concrete Masonry Association.
US Concrete manufactures various shapes and sizes of concrete masonry units for use in residential, commercial and public works applications, and produced approximately 3.2 million units of concrete masonry during 2007 at its two concrete block plants in Michigan and New Jersey.
