Concrete Arches

Concrete arches are categorizing within two classes viz., pre-cast concrete block arches and monolithic concrete arches.

Pre-cast Concrete Block Arches

For little openings in a building, arches are made from pre-cast concrete blocks, every block being cast in the mould to the exact shape and size of voussoirs. Special moulds are prepared for voussoirs, key block and skewbacks. Because of exact shape and size of blocks, good appearance of the arch is achieved. In additional, joints, made of cement mortar, are quite thin. Therefore, casting of blocks is costly, and such work is economical only while the number of arches is quite huge. Cement concrete of 1 : 2 : 4 mix is commonly used.