Concrete is a fascinating product. Correctly used and manipulated, it can create the most beautiful structures, which can be admired for many generations to come. Incorrectly handled, however, it can become an eyesore and a very expensive mistake for contractors, architects and engineers.

The current trend in South Africa is to purchase the cheapest on the market for maximum profit yield. Purchasing officers make decisions for sites without hands-on knowledge of the impact their price savvy has on the result.

Because A.Shak Construction Chemicals manufactures release agents and are still considered experts in this field, the company is often contacted for advice when castings go wrong. Admittedly, there are many factors as to why concrete fails, but let us focus on release agents.

The first thing to consider when purchasing a release agent is to know what finish is required, regardless of whether it is precast or in-situ concrete. Does the specification call for an off-shutter finish or not? Will the concrete be exposed, or will there be another finish or rendering over the raw concrete? What will the conditions on site be? What type of mould or shutter will be used? Has the engineer specified a curing compound?

All these questions should give direction as to what type of release agent is required. If the correct release agent is used for the correct application and it is purchased from a reputable manufacturer with sufficient knowledge and expertise to advise on the correct product for the application, the savings in other areas will fall into place. Spending budgets on overtime or additional labour and materials is way more costly than the savings you made on a cheap and incorrect release agent.