Why It’s Best to Use a Local Ready-Mix Concrete Supplier

Although it can be tempting to go with one of the ‘big names’ when it comes to buying your concrete – or to mix it yourself – there are a lot of advantages when it comes to buying from a local ready-mix company.

Here Madmix, a leading concrete supplier in Royston, as well as throughout Cambridgeshire and the surrounding counties, outline some of the key benefits of using a local concrete supplier for any concrete-related projects.

Local Benefits

One of the most immediate benefits of choosing a local concrete supplier is the fact that staying local benefits the local economy. When you buy from a local company, the money is recirculated within local businesses, creating a ripple effect and strengthening the economy of your local area.

There are also practical benefits as well – your concrete doesn’t have to travel as far to the project site, particularly if it’s a large-scale order. This in turn means you aren’t likely to hit any delays or overrun any budgets (at least as far as the concrete side of the project is concerned), and delivery is likely to not be as expensive.

If you buy from a local company, then the logistics of delivery won’t be an issue – they will know all the local roads (and any roadworks) so you shouldn’t lose any time there. As well as delivery journey times being shorter (and potentially more flexible) the cost of delivering the concrete should be cheaper as fuel costs will be lower.

There are green benefits too – ordering concrete from somewhere local should cut down on journey times and carbon emissions, helping reduce your environmental footprint.

Local knowledge can also extend to the climate – your supplier may be able to recommend a particular admixture depending on the soil type, micro-climate (how much rain, sun or shade there’s likely to be), and any other environmental factors which might affect the performance of the admixture.

Why Go Ready-Mix in the First Place?

If you buy your concrete ready-mix then you are leaving it in the hands of the professionals when it comes to ensuring your batch is of a consistently high quality. If you decide to mix it yourself there is a greater chance of not mixing enough – and any subsequent batches are unlikely to match the original.

This, in turn, could affect the properties of the admixture and mean there are some in-built weaknesses, for instance if some of the concrete is stronger than the rest. While this may not be an issue for a patio, it could be if it’s used on a load-bearing structure such as building foundations.

Aesthetically, your concrete may end up a slightly different colour throughout as well – and once you’ve noticed it, everyone else will probably do so as well.

There’s also the time factor – can you afford to spend that much time mixing it yourself, particularly if it’s not a small-scale domestic project? Although mixing it yourself might appear to be cheaper, you will probably have to factor in things like buying any equipment you need, along with storage for the concrete and the raw materials you need to mix the admixture.

And small, local companies can have just as high standards as larger ones – for instance at Madmix all our ready-mix concrete which we manufacture at our Cambridgeshire base is accredited, which means it complies with a series of British Standards

For more details of our accreditations, check out our previous blog post here.

Madmix – an Accredited Concrete Supplier in Royston

At Madmix we can supply many different types of admixtures for your project – including waterproof, pumpable, fibre-reinforced or a lean/kerb mix if strength isn’t the main priority.

Our online concrete calculator will help you work out how much you need for your job. And don’t worry if you over-order from us, as we will take away any excess at no extra cost.

For full details of our delivery arrangements, follow this link – we deliver to Cambridge, Royston, Newmarket and all the surrounding areas. If you would like to know more about any of our concrete mixes, follow this link and fill in the online form; you can also call us on 01954 212212.