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To accommodate the manufacturing robots that do the bulk of the work, the floors of Solyndra’s two plants must be very flat, level and durable, says Jonathan Williams, president of Diacon Inc., in Manteca, Calif. “We couldn’t have any ridges or valleys that would cause them to offshoot.” The task at hand was to produce functional factory floors that were also pleasing to the human eye.
A checkerboard-patterned floor was a natural choice for sprucing up the private garage of a racing enthusiast.
Whether you use self-leveling material as your primary pour or over existing concrete, it’s an efficient way to get going on a job.
Self-leveling products vary widely in their makeup, so which one you choose may largely depend on what you plan to do with it.
Three of the nation’s most beloved sports franchises – the New York Yankees, Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys – embraced decorative concrete when they built their new homes.
With its distinctive Rice Krispies look, pervious concrete was designed to let liquids pass through it. The material poses some clear challenges for decorative concrete contractors.
Pouring concrete into fabric instead of the usual rigid formwork represents, for some, the shape of things to come.
In two weeks’ time, Julio A. Hallack and his crew of four transformed what he calls a "mail lobby" – a ho-hum, run-of-the-mill 1,500-square-foot space – into a warm and inviting receiving area that everyone who sees it can’t help but admire.
High-performance fibers made of PVA, which is short for polyvinyl alcohol, were developed some 20 years ago. When added to concrete or mortar, the fibers develop a molecular and chemical bond with the cement during hydration and curing. The result: concrete with high tensile strength and amazing ductility.
Thanks to its incorporation of glass fibers into mix design, GFRC is thinner, lighter, stronger and offers more design flexibility.
