Simonds Homes

Simonds homes are one of Australia’s largest, and most trusted, home building companies. For seven decades they have building homes with self-professed “passion, determination and commitment to the idea of the Great Australian Dream”. The beginning of any quality home is a strong and stable foundation, and to achieve this the Simonds team rely on Hanson and Easycrete.

Peace of mind

Easycrete is Hanson’s easy to use slab mix that provides high workability without the need to add extra water. Available from 20 to 50 Mpa, in a variety of stone sizes, with a minimum 120mm slump. Easycrete is up to 20% stronger than comparable 120mm slump mixes, where slump is achieved through the addition of water.  Mark Darmanin, Simonds Metro West Regional Manager, explains that Simonds “are a supporter of the Easycrete product because it allows us to have confidence in the strength and integrity of our slabs.”

Hanson Territory Sales Manager Cameron Emerson sees the relationship between Hanson and Simonds Homes as “a long standing and mutually beneficial one”. Mark echoes these remarks confirming that “Hanson Concrete is a solid account, there is a quality workable relationship with Cameron; this is a partnership between the two companies.”

It is through this partnership that Hanson and Simonds together have been able to achieve a high quality of end product for the homeowners. Further to this the widespread use of Easycrete has greatly reduced instances of quality concerns such as dusting, shrinkage/settlement cracking, as well as on site issues associated with water addition.

A highly workable product

Adding water on site can have negative impacts on a concrete mix; if the water cement ratio is incorrect then desired strength may not be achieved. For Simonds using the Easycrete product has removed much of the risk involved in pouring slabs. The Simonds team can now specify to their contractors and concreters that no water is to be added once the concrete reaches site, and they can do this with the knowledge that there will still be a highly workable product.  Mark describes the introduction Easycrete to the Simonds business  as bringing “an initial learning curve for concreters, as there can be with the introduction of anything new, but they have come around and are now quite comfortable using Easycrete.”

Simonds are now “almost exclusively using Easycrete for jobs in the Western Metro region of Victoria. This equates to 30 or 40 slabs a month”. As the Hanson Technical team are able to make adjustments to the mix as needed, due to weather or site restrictions, Easycrete can be used all year round.  Simonds’ adoption of Easycrete is a testament to the two businesses’ drive to innovate and reduce operational risk.