Hard-Cem®

Admixtures & Additives

Hard-Cem®

Integral abrasion and erosion resistance that improves the durability, lifespan, and sustainability of concrete structures.

How It Works

Hard-Cem uses a unique metal-mineral microstructure that is mixed integrally into concrete, reducing project costs associated with additional floor treatments or special finishing on the construction site.

It fortifies existing cement paste in the mix to increase the concrete’s resistance to abrasive and erosive forces and eliminates the risks associated with conventional hardeners or densifiers.

Hard-Cem significantly reduces replacement and repair requirements and more than doubles the wear life, lowering the lifetime cost — and the lifetime carbon footprint — of the concrete.

Product benefits

  • Extends concrete wear life up to 2 times under harsh conditions
  • Lowers installed cost*
  • Expedites construction schedules*
  • Reduces maintenance costs and improves concrete sustainability
  • Improved work site safety and conditions (dust free)*
  • Improved quality control*
  • Only hardener that can be used on air-entrained concrete*
  • No side effects on concrete water demand, workability, set time, strength development or shrinkage
  • Full depth concrete hardening*
  • Can be used in horizontal, vertical or inclined concrete
  • Easy to use; added to the concrete

* compared to surface applied (dry shake) hardeners

World of applications

Hard-Cem can be used in any Ready Mix, Shotcrete or Precast concrete to improve abrasion and erosion resistance, and extend the wear life of the concrete. It is typically used:

  • INDUSTRIAL
    • Manufacturing and Distribution Warehouse Floors
    • Service and Repair Bays
  • INFRASTRUCTURE & COMMUNITY
    • Highway Pavements and Intersections
    • Bridge Decks
    • Runways
    • Parking Structures, Ramps and Aprons
    • Skateboard Parks
  • MINING, OIL & GAS
    • Tunnels and Shafts
    • Ramps
    • Process Buildings
    • Utility and Maintenance Buildings
    • Warehouse Floors
  • AGRICULTURE
    • Livestock Housing
    • Storage Sheds and Tractor Garages
  • HYDRO
    • Dams
    • Sluiceways, Spillways and Drainage Conduits
    • Stilling Basins
    • Culverts, Tunnels and Precast Pipes
    • Canals
  • MANUFACTURING
    • Blocks and Pavers

Why Hard-Cem?

High Performance

Hard-Cem delivers unmatched durability, particularly abrasion and erosion resistance. It lasts decades longer than regular concrete and is highly suited to high-traffic areas, heavy loads, and industrial use cases.

Cost effective

Unlike traditional dry shake and liquid densifiers, Hard-Cem is mixed into concrete at the batching plant, simplifying the application process, reducing costs associated with additional floor treatments or special finishing on the construction site, and eliminating the risk of delamination over time.

Low Risk

Hard-Cem’s warranty ensures concrete remains abrasion resistant for at least 20 years. It has no negative effects on concrete water demand, workability, set time, strength development or shrinkage, and doesn’t affect concrete admixtures, SCMs, or other ingredients.

Versatile

Hard-Cem is effective with cast-in-place, precast, and shotcrete in horizontal, vertical, or inclined placements.

Safe

No toxic chemicals (e.g., silica dust) are handled on the construction site, so health and safety risks are mitigated.

Sustainable

Hard-Cem enables producers to significantly lower carbon emissions by using less cement, reducing the need for carbon-intensive repairs, and postponing demolition and the associated release of carbon by decades.

Resources

Technical resources

Technical Data Sheets

Technical Data Sheet – Hard-Cem

Safety Data Sheets

Safety Data Sheet – Hard-Cem

Application Instructions

Application Instruction 8.11 – Hard-Cem

Specification

CSI Masterformat Specifications

Hard-Cem – Abrasion, Erosion Control – CSI (03 30 00)

Marketing materials

Brochures

Hard-Cem®

Hard-Cem is an admixture for increasing the abrasion and erosion resistance of concrete.

Hard-Cem® 

Shotcrete can receive added abrasion and erosion resistance from Hard-Cem without any negative impact on performance.

Videos

Brochures