The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
As sustainable as it is durable, concrete offers an endless array of cost-effective possibilities and versatile results for residential and commercial buildings
As you can see from these "before" photos, the house is a unique concrete dome home with a lot of potential. It’s normally covered with earth, and for most of its history, it served as a residence for ministers who served the church across the street.
High-performance building products maker Ardex Americas (the North American wing of Germany-based Ardex Group) is slowly transforming each of its six North American locations into showcases of the manufacturer’s products.
According to Jeffrey Girard, P.E., founder of The Concrete Countertop Institute, concrete with calcium sulphoaluminate (CSA) is the way to go for countertops.
"When I first used CSA instead of portland cement, I recognized that it offers a technological advantage," he says.
Perhaps it was a throwback to his old “smoking in the boy’s room” days but a homeowner in Zurich, Switzerland, yearned to have his own private smoking pavilion in his backyard. Instead of a crowded room filled with rule-breaking teenagers, he wanted a quiet, relaxing place where he could sit back and smoke.
Most of the requirements in the IGCC that could apply to decorative concrete are not really that new, and often they are things you already do.
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?
A 16-foot-tall concrete wave? Concrete artists created this and more at a 15,000-square-foot skate park.
Concrete fireplaces and their architectural elements are quickly becoming one of the hottest trends in decorative concrete.
For the first time since 1994, concrete provided the vast majority of the structural elements for The New American Home (TNAH), the official show home of the National Association of Home Builders that debuted during the 2004 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas.
Just like there’s more than one way to make chocolate chip cookies, there are plenty of ways to build concrete homes with satisfying results. Here’s a synopsis of the main options on the market.
