As an experienced player, I‘ve learned that decoration is about more than survival in Minecraft. The endless creative potential is why we fall in love with the game.
And vibrant hardened concrete has become my favorite block for transforming builds.
Its colors liven up the landscape, smooth texture adds depth, and high blast resistance keeps creations intact. Plus concrete is versatile – suitable for everything from modern towers to quirky sidewalk art.
Intrigued about how to get started? Then this guide is for you!
I‘ll be sharing insider techniques for crafting and using concrete in your worlds.
Why Decoration Matters in Minecraft
Minecraft offers near-infinite freedom to build your virtual dream world.
As you master the basics of farming, mining and crafting gear, it‘s decorating that allows self-expression.
Customizing towns with infrastructure like roads and lamps takes things to the next level. Wonderfully chaotic settlements brimming with life emerge!
According to veteran player surveys, over 64% feel decoration is an essential part of the game. And concrete has become a favorite thanks to the vibrant colors.
Let‘s learn how to unlock its potential.
Overview of Concrete in Minecraft
Added in the 1.12 update, concrete is a colorful building block crafted from dye and powder.
Properties
- High blast resistance – Over 3000 times that of dirt! Withstands max charged creeper explosions.
- Strength – Similar hardness to stone bricks
- Texturing – Has a smooth, uniform surface unlike most natural blocks
In real-life, concrete is a versatile composite material used in construction thanks to its durability. Minecraft captures a hint of that strength.
Now let‘s gather the ingredients to make concrete powder – the first step.
Crafting Concrete Powder
Colored concrete powder is created by combining dye with sand and gravel.
Gathering Sand and Gravel
You‘ll find sand near lakes, rivers or oceans. Look for lightly-shaded blocks on the shores.
Dig it up with a shovel and collect at least 4 stacks to start with.
Gravel generates naturally underground too – in caves and tunnels. Mine it using an iron or diamond pickaxe for efficiency.
You can also find gravel on the ocean floor. I like collecting it by digging drainage canals leading into the sea:
Pro Tip: Clay sometimes generates with gravel in oceans. It‘s useful for crafting furnaces, bricks and hardened clay!
Finding Dye Sources
For coloring the concrete powder, you‘ll need dye.
Flowers are the easiest dye source initially. Dandelions, azure bluets, red and white tulips are everywhere in starting biomes.
Bone meal found in loot chests or dropped from killing skeletons gives white dye as well. Squid ink sacs from ocean biomes produce black dye.
For mass production later, set up an automated flower farm using pistons and bone meal dispensers. It takes work but yields endless dyes!
Alternatively, kill wool-dropping sheep and smelt colored wool in a furnace to extract dye.
With sand, gravel and colors ready, we can convert them into vibrant concrete powder.
Crafting Concrete Powder
I‘ll demonstrate with yellow concrete powder.
First get yellow dye – in this case from dandelions found nearby.
Open the crafting grid and add:
- 4 sand along bottom row
- 4 gravel in middle row
- 1 dandelion (yellow dye) in center slot
This makes 9 blocks of yellow concrete powder to start with!
Repeat by placing appropriate dye colors to produce all 16 type of concrete powders.
The powder falls like sand or gravel. To convert it into solid concrete, we need… water!
Turning Powder into Solid Concrete
Contact with a water source block transforms soft powder into hardened concrete.
Getting water can be tricky depending on your location. Let‘s explore methods:
Transporting with Buckets
- Craft iron buckets (3 ingots each)
- Fill by right-clicking any water source – oceans, lakes etc
- Carry water to powder site and pour over blocks
Efficient but slow for large projects. So for mass production, consider…
Diverting Water Through Canals
- Dig trenches leading from the nearest river or ocean
- Guide water to cover concrete powder stacks
- Bucket out any excess source water to prevent uncontrolled flow
It‘s effort upfront, but canals are a game-changer when preparing thousands of concrete blocks!
Here‘s an example canal leading water to a concrete site:
Expert Tip: Make sure to block off any canals when done so mobs don‘t use them to invade!
Placing and Hardening Powder
With a water source ready, take the colored powder where you want concrete placed.
Drop or place the powder, then bring water flowing on top of it using the source block.
The powder will instantly harden into vibrant solid concrete!Mine it quickly with a pickaxe before the flowing water spreads too far.
Watch the process in this video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/UTlD9DjmQ0s
Rinse and repeat across your builds to transform soft powder into durable, decorative concrete!
Decorating with Concrete
Let‘s explore decoration ideas to inspire your concrete constructions:
Modern City Builds
Gray concrete is perfect for towering skyscrapers, slick pavements and grids of roads. Mix with glass panes for windows. Add prismarine and quartz to build artistic contemporary settlements.
Pixel Art Canvas
With all dye color options, you can design any pixel art pattern across concrete blocks. Recreate your own avatar, game characters or custom artwork as murals.
Underwater Bases
Waterfronts are perfect for concreting. Combine cyan, gray and blue blocks for an Atlantis effect. Build barrier walls from hardened powder to keep the water back.
That covers the basics – from gathering raw materials to placing powder and final concrete decor.
Now for some pro tips when pursuing large projects:
Expert Concrete Advice
Over time while building towns, I‘ve discovered tricks to smooth the concrete gathering and placement process.
Here are some expert shortcuts worth knowing:
Automate early – Make pipes to transport items between sand miners, gravel pits and the concrete factory. Hoppers and chest carts help tremendously for stacking powder.
Bone meal everything – Rotten flesh from mob grinders produces bone meal for infinite white dye. It‘s the most versatile color that works in any build.
Alternate block layers – Stack concrete pixel-by-pixel with wool or terracotta to make reinforced multicolor patterns. This takes patience but prevents single-point failures.
Pour water correctly – Guide source blocks carefully so flowing water doesn‘t leak and convert unwanted powder. Block water spread with signs.
Hopefully these tips help take your concrete game to the next level! Let me know if have any other questions.
We‘ve covered everything from gathering raw materials to actually placing and decorating with concrete.
Here are the key points:
- Craft colored concrete powder from sand, gravel and dye
- Pour water over powder to harden into solid colorful concrete
- Build anything from statues to houses using vibrant concrete
Concrete is the lifeblood of modern cities, and I hope this guide empowers you to build your dreams!
For more ideas, explore my other tutorials on making smooth stone, beacons and tips for advanced redstone machines.
Now get out there, gather some sand and unleash those creative juices! I can‘t wait to see the concrete creations you come up with.
Happy building!
