We like the aesthetical
concept, but how to accomplish it? It took some heavy
thinking, a little inspiration, encouragement, discussion,
and of course, sample mock-ups to pave the way (no
pun intended) to our goals. We began by testing seeding
combinations of seashells, aquarium sand, and beach?worn
glass on fresh concrete; we tried blending acid stains
with various colors; we sprayed liquid retardant,
and we even dropped a turkey baster on the fresh
concrete surface to mimic the crater like effects
seen on seashore rocks. The cratering, however, would
appear only in certain areas of the floor in the
house. Overall, there would be a series of artifacts
placed in the concrete and blended amid a rocklike
finish.
SIMULATED CRACKING
As another interesting step in the design, we decided
to first set wrinkled plastic and hard foam through
the flooring to eventually simulate the random
cracking or fissuring in rock. Later, after the
flooring was cast, we pulled the foam and filled
the remaining fissures with an agglomeration
of seashells, glass, and aquarium sand that we had
acid stained with a dark brown color. In some locations,
fabricators fastened stainless steel gridwork to
the subfloors to eventually provide a more structured
appearance on completion of the floors. Select portions
of the gridded concrete formed were sandblasted with
custom?designed motifs to further enhance the floor's
appearance. |
