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Glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) lets you explore many aspects of design that are not possible with the more traditional precast methods. While GFRC is often used for countertops, we’ll delve into how it can be used to construct a GFRC base for an outdoor patio table.
Concrete lounge chairs are one of the hottest applications of concrete furniture made with glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC).
Growing up in the mountains on a remote piece of property near Spokane, Washington, was just the setting needed to instill a limitless imagination, work ethic and determination into Roch (pronounced Rock) Fautch.
Most people don’t think of concrete as being bendable but it is, even in its hardened state. That said, bending and warping concrete is more manageable while it is still in its plastic state.
For many years, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) has held annual Sidney Freedman Craftsmanship Awards to recognize excellence in craftsmanship using glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC).
Glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) is a highly specialized form of concrete distinguished by a cement-rich mortar containing a very high load of alkali-resistant glass fibers. The fibers are the main ingredient responsible for producing high flexural (or bending) strengths in GFRC.
Glass-fiber reinforced concrete became a commercially viable material in the early 1970s. But it would take another decade or two before it became an economically attractive and faster alternative to the heavy and expensive materials traditionally used in commercial buildings.
How strong do concrete countertops have to be? The answer is not a simple one. It depends upon how you define strength, what your intended use is and your sealer choice.
The acceptance of glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) has inspired a current trend toward light, thin and delicate concrete furniture.
To illustrate what GFRC can do in furniture form, Jeffrey Girard of The Concrete Countertop Institute describes three projects — a table, a lounge chair and an S chair — that show off the strengths of the material.
Their still-in-progress project includes a number of concrete features inside the home, the centerpiece being a cast-in-place, carved, stamped GFRC staircase that resembles rock and leads into the basement-level man cave, graced by a sun-and-clouds water feature on the wall next to the staircase.
