| |
Right: The contractor
placed bands of plain concrete In panels of dark Integral
colored walkway. Large aggregate (4 to 5 Inches) was broadcast
and finished Into the surface. Workers used terrazzo grinders
to expose aggregate and provide a traction wear surface. |
 |
 |
| Above: This 8-foot-wide
walkway extends around the circumference of a park In
the Kierland Commons retail town center in Scottsdale,
Ariz. As the designer, EDAW wanted the pattern to look
like the markings on a diamondback rattlesnake. Dana Boyer,
owner of "the concretist" In Apache Junction,
Ariz., first acid-etched and stained all the pavement,
used aniline dyes to enhance coloring In certain areas,
and then made a steel template and stencil-sandblasted
the pattern. She used solvent sealers to finish the process. |
Several years ago, decorative
concrete specifications were found primarily on high-end projects
where more dollars were available for amenities. But today
that's all changed. Building projects of all sizes and budgets
get decorative concrete treatments. Andrea Cochran, who owns
her own landscape architecture firm in San Francisco, says,
"People often view concrete as plain and horrible. But
when you add color or texture or special scoring details,
they get excited. Regardless of money constraints, I first
design artistic appeal into my plans; then I specify decorative
finishes the client can afford."
 |
| Above: There are many ways
to decorate concrete. Here finishers are placing paper
stencil patterns on fresh concrete. Color hardeners will
be broadcast and finished Into the concrete. When the
concrete Is just hard enough to walk on, the stencils
are removed to provide a pattern and a joint that looks
like mortar. |
Integrally colored concrete is
still the largest segment
of the decorative industry. Stamped concrete patterns and
extures are next in market
size. After that comes a wide variety of popular finishes,
including chemical stains, overlay
cement products, spray overlays, stenciled patterned finishes,
sandblasted stencil patterning, diamond cut patterns, and
decorative sealers/coatings, to name a few.
| Dennis
Britton, a designer in Carmel, Calif., likes rehabbing
older homes --especially " cottage houses,"
which he describes as homes built with the floor at
the same elevation as the ground's home. In the old
days, these homes often had dirt floors. Later the floors
were covered with paving stones or concrete. Britton
is a vacation home of this type very close to the ocean
in the Santa Cruz, Calif. area. He wanted the floor
in the living room to look as if the sea regularly washed
over it, eroding the concrete. During the concept stage,
he met Tom Ralston of Tom Ralston Concrete, Santa Cruz.,
Calif., who was willing to try "off-the-wall stuff."
Ralston made samples first and then
cast the floor. His team broadcast different kinds of
aggregates sporadically, randomly embedded seashells,
intentionally created cracks that drain water toward
the ocean, and then randomly applied a retarding
agent with turkey basters to give the concrete an eroded
appearance. Sandblasting exposed the special aggregates
and seashells.
Britton
says that people who see the work "are blown away
by the result and are fascinated!" |
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