Working With Pressure-Applied Concrete
Using a broad palette of colors, textures and patterns, concrete artisans have simulated many types of building materials. Now, by using pressure-applied, those same skills are being applied to 3D structures such as walls and ceilings.
by Jack Innis
using a broad palette of colors, textures and patterns have produced a dizzying array of flatwork designs. Wood floors, brick pavers, and tiles made of stone, terra cotta and marble have all been successfully simulated.
It is no wonder then, that the next logical step would be upward — to bring concrete artistry to walls, arches, three-dimensional structures, ceilings and other vertical structures. While the average homeowner or business owner may have trouble envisioning massive tree trunks, gigantic boulders and stone walls created out of concrete, pigment and dye, a growing segment of decorative concrete masters have expanded their palettes onto vertical surfaces.
One method to bring concrete to vertical surfaces — as opposed to gluing premanufactured decorative items to existing substrates — is to spray concrete onto the surface with specialized concrete pumps.
While most within the concrete trade are familiar with gunite or shotcrete pumps for applications such as swimming pools, roadways and mine-shaft reinforcements, some are not aware that the pump has roots in decorative concrete.
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