The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
The Streets at SouthGlenn, a sprawling new shopping destination in south Denver, boasts a block-long urban park with a brick fireplace, tall "legacy trees," gardens and cafes, and a centerpiece: a grand, European-style fountain, more than 16 feet tall with four falls.
Hong Kong is home to what is billed as the largest quarter-inch stamping job in the world — 600,000 square feet of lines, arrows, and numbers that help condo dwellers park in style.
When evaluating the carbon footprint of concrete, we consider the greenhouse gases released during cement manufacturing, aggregate mining, admixture production, and transportation of all the materials to the cement plant and the ready-mix plant and then to the job site. Although there are other sources contributing to the carbon footprint of concrete, cement is the bad actor, despite the fact that we couldn’t make concrete without it.
If a contractor is intimidated by the leap from slabs and tops to entire decorative concrete houses, he or she might try Steve Kornher’s techniques on architectural details such as railings or doors.
Besides being used to make thin yet durable countertops that don’t easily chip or break, a mix of PVA fibers and ductile concrete does an excellent job of fixing cracks in concrete.
Nick Carosi III of Arban & Carosi Inc. brings up an intriguing point when talking about exposed aggregate on vertical surfaces — what if you’re pouring an L-shaped wall piece? Since gravity’s effect on the settling aggregate is essential to the process, how does a contractor make that work?
