Cement is one of the oldest building materials. The cement is generally packed in jute sacking bags, multi wall paper sacks and other packaging, marked with batch/control unit numbers in terms of Week, Month and year of packing 46 W 11M 2016.
Cement shall be stored at the work site in a building or a shed which is dry, leak-proof and as moisture-proof as possible.
The building or shed for storage should have minimum number of openings (windows) and close fitting doors and these should be kept shut as far as possible.
Cement shall be stored and stacked in bags and shall be kept free from the likelihood of any wetness or moisture coming in contact with them. Cement bags shall be stacked off the floor on wooden planks in such a way as to keep about 6” to 8” mm clear above the ground.
The floor may be of lean plain cement concrete or two layers of bone dry bricks laid on well consolidated ground. A space of 2’ minimum shall be left all-round between the external walls and the stacks.
In the stacks the cement bags shall be kept close together to reduce circulation of air as much as possible. Lumped bags, if any should be removed and disposed off.
The height of stack shall not be more than 10 bags to prevent the possibility of lumping up under pressure. The width of the stack shall be not more than four bags length or 9’.
In stacks more than 8 bags high, the cement bags shall be arranged alternately length-wise and cross-wise so as to minimize the danger of toppling over.
Cement bags shall be stacked in a manner to facilitate their removal as “First in First Out”, a label showing date of receipt of cement shall be put on each stack to know the age of cement.
Need to be extra careful during the monsoon, or when it is expected to store for a long period, the stack shall be completely enclosed by a waterproofing membrane such as polyethylene, which shall close on the top of the stack. Take all care to see that the waterproofing membrane is never damaged any time during use.
