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[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

I can see a dwarf using concrete.
The romans had concrete, after all, and made what was to be the largest dome in the world for well over a thousand years.
Volcanic ash, quicklime and water. Possibly some other junk.
Useful for repairing breaches from future wall-smashers, and you could flood sapper's tunnels with the stuff.
Lovely.

[DJ]

And let's not forget it could be used to make engraveable towers on maps without magma. Or stone for mechanisms on maps with aquifer.

[Tormy]

Yeah I don't see any problems with having concrete in DF.

"Many ancient civilizations used forms of concrete using dried mud, straw, and other materials.

During the Roman Empire, Roman concrete was made from quicklime, pozzolanic ash/pozzolana, and an aggregate of pumice; it was very similar to modern Portland cement concrete. The widespread use of concrete in many Roman structures has ensured that many survive almost intact to the present day. The Baths of Caracalla in Rome are just one example of the longevity of concrete, which allowed the Romans to build this and similar structures across the Roman Empire. Many Roman aqueducts have masonry cladding to a concrete core, a technique they used in structures such as the Pantheon, Rome, the interior dome of which is unclad concrete."

[Neonivek]

I always thought that Concrete at the time was called Motar (probably spelled incorrectly)

[i2amroy]

Mortar and concrete are things that are very close to one another, but not quite the same. The main differences are in the composition of the substance and what you use it for. Concrete is more for a base, or a strong filler in a structure. Mortar is used more for filling the spaces between tiles and sticking bricks together.

[unobtaniumman]

I always thought that Concrete at the time was called Motar (probably spelled incorrectly)

You are right 'bout that- it's "Mortar". "Motar" was a supervillan form the cartoon "Space Ghost".

Also, on topic, making plaster out of gypsum would be cool- at least to get that horrible neon yellow rock out of my fortress

[Yourself]

"Motar" was a supervillan form the cartoon "Space Ghost".

No, that's Moltar.

[Draco18s]

"Motar" was a supervillan form the cartoon "Space Ghost".

No, that's Moltar.

And a "moltan" is the light browning of the skin you get from being too close to lava (molten + tan).

[penguinofhonor]

And Montag is the last name of the main character from Fahrenheit 451.

Wait, is there a topic here somewhere? I could have sworn there was one, but I can't find it anymore.

[korora]

I was looking for a place to mention that concrete mechanisms (or anything else that puts concrete in tension) would be shitty... but I got lost along the way.

[Draco18s]

Actually...
Putting tension on concrete is helpful sometimes.  There's a building method (used in earthquake prone areas) where you embed cables through the foundation slab, after it hardens you tighten those cables up nice and taught.

Earthquake or mudslide can take away up to half of the house's supporting dirt and the house won't go anywhere (not even collapse).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prestressed_concrete

[jockmo42]

Am I the only one who's thinking of all the terrible traps one could make with this?

Keep the concrete pit under a room full of magma or use corkscrews to mix it. Wait until the elves come and open the hatches.

We could even add in extra-sexy options like telling your skilled miners to carve out your enemies and display them like statues in your great hall!

[GlyphGryph]

Sounds like shades of bioshock.

But yeah, concrete could be fun, and it would be interesting to see how it ended up worked. Would it be kept in barrels and used to fill in designated areas? Would it be a liquid that acts like other liquids, free flowing somehow and occuring whenever certain materials are combined?

Hmm...

[korora]

Would it be kept in barrels and used to fill in designated areas? Would it be a liquid that acts like other liquids, free flowing somehow and occuring whenever certain materials are combined?

Have ... have you seen concrete? It's pretty much always solid.

Keep the concrete pit under a room full of magma or use corkscrews to mix it. Wait until the elves come and open the hatches.

Concrete isn't like water, keeping it warm won't keep it liquid... it'll actually accelerate the curing process, so you'll just end up with a huge block of concrete sooner.

Now, that still makes a fine trap.  Just not how you pictured it.

Actually...
Putting tension on concrete is helpful sometimes.  There's a building method (used in earthquake prone areas) where you embed cables through the foundation slab, after it hardens you tighten those cables up nice and taught.

Prestressing tendons (generally of high tensile steel cable or rods) are used to provide a clamping load which produces a compressive stress that offsets the tensile stress that the concrete compression member would otherwise experience due to a bending load.

There are a few ways the article mentions, but they all end up putting the concrete in compression.

[Draco18s]

Actually...
Putting tension on concrete is helpful sometimes.  There's a building method (used in earthquake prone areas) where you embed cables through the foundation slab, after it hardens you tighten those cables up nice and taught.

Prestressing tendons (generally of high tensile steel cable or rods) are used to provide a clamping load which produces a compressive stress that offsets the tensile stress that the concrete compression member would otherwise experience due to a bending load.

There are a few ways the article mentions, but they all end up putting the concrete in compression.

I apologize for using the wrong engineering term.  I recognize that there are different kinds of stress, but not being an engineering student I haven't bothered to figure out what kind is which and what it does and doesn't do.

Honestly did you have to be that picky?