Terra Cotta Facade Restoration & Reproduction with GFRC – SureCrete

Location: Richmond, Indiana

Project: Reproduction of Terra Cotta Architectural Facades with GFRC

Installation by: Artistic Illusions & Construction Resources

Material Supplier: SureCrete Design

Total Sq. In.: 7,140+

Products used: Xtreme Series GFRC Face Mix, Xtreme Series Backer Mix

The Pennsylvania Railroad station, built in 1902, is the focal point of the Railroad Depot Historic district in downtown Richmond, Indiana. The Terra Cotta architectural facade had out lived it purpose and lost its luster. Two companies were involved in the restoration and reproduction of the Terra Cotta facades: Artistic Illusions and Construction Resource.

Artistic Illusions was in charge of creating the molds replicating the Terra Cotta facade and using GFRC as the material of choice for the reproduction. The size of the molds ranged from 6 sq inches to 36 sq inches. This required casting over 300 pieces of GFRC replicas of the Terra Cotta architectural facades. The choice of which GFRC mix design to use was made easy by SureCrete. As the industries only preblended GFRC formula, Artistic Illusions had the advantage of minimizing errors and consistency issues seen when every batch of GFRC is measured and weighed in traditional formulations. The Xtreme Series GFRC system delivers high early strength to the lightweight GFRC mold system.

Once the 300+ pieces were reproduced from the Terra Cotta molds they were put in the hands of Construction Resources. The team at Concrete Resources properly installed the GFRC replicas of the Terra Cotta architectural facade. To learn more about the Xtreme GFRC system visit www.SureCreteDesign.com.

Cool Floor – Can Be Hot / Iowa Acid Stain, Hydronic Radiant Heat Floor

Location: Shellsburg, Iowa

Project: New frame construction residence

Installation by: Tim Johnson

Material Supplier: SureCrete Design

Total Sq. Ft.: 4,000+

Products used: SureStain, HS260, SureFinish

The client wanted an acid stained floor. But his home design called for frame construction, way off the ground. Hydronic radiant floor heat was on the client wish list as well. Traditional 2^nd floor concrete construction was too costly. The solution offered by experienced concrete artisan, Tim Johnson, of Earthworks in Shellsburg, Iowa was genius.

First, Earthworks in Iowa, had the frame floor engineered to accept an additional 4 lbs. per square foot of dead load above a gyp-crete floor. Next, he stapled a radiant barrier to the wood floor. Then radiant heat tubing was placed on the barrier, and was fastened to the floor in loops according to manufactures specs.

Then just like a regular concrete guy, Tim placed 1½” concrete over it all. His concrete design called for 6 sack mix with ¾” stone and micro-fibers. The concrete cures to a dead load of approximately 18 lbs. per square foot at 1½” depth.

Finishing was primarily done with a small 2’ edge machine. The small size trowel machine can maneuver in and out door openings. Early the next day, the floor was scored into 3 foot tiles. The first score line that established the pattern was placed directly over the main carry beam. Deflection was most likely at this point. Tim uses a small saw on “skates” set to a depth not to exceed ⅜”.  At this depth the ¾” heat tubes will never be damaged.

So, where does the genius come in? Can’t all of this be done with gyp-crete? So here’s the genius: the 1½” concrete can become the finish floor. No extra floor covering is required. Try that with gyp-crete.

Terra Cotta SureStain was used to color the floor into rich earth tones. The sealer selected was HS260 for an economical pick. SureFinish a high quality floor wax was used to complete the job. This was a great choice as it now became the sacrificial wear coat to protect the sealer beneath indefinitely, while providing a measure of slip resistance. The result is a “cool” floor that can be “hot.”

To see the latest in environmentally friendly interior, low maintenance floor coatings, go to the industry leaders at SureCrete. Earthworks is a certified installer of decorative concrete, concrete restoration, and concrete countertops.

Location: New Jersey

Project: Remodeling a Master bathroom with Spa

Installation by: J&M Lifestyles

Material Supplier: SureCrete Design

Total Sq Ft: 80 sq ft

Products Used: Xtreme GFRC Face Mix, Xtreme GFRC Backer, Xtreme Slurry, ARS 400, custom shower drain, blum drawer slides

So put yourself in this homeowner’s shoes. You have gutted your master bathroom with the intention of creating a European style oasis. Your search begins for the right look, color and design for your countertops, sinks and bath surround. As you exhaust yourself looking at  granite   and other natural stone you realize nothing is matching the look in your mind.

Six months have passed and well, tensions are rising over getting this project finished. And thats when they found the perfect medium to custom create the design in their minds. The solution was GFRC, glass fiber reinforced concrete. Immediately they fell in love with the diversity of designs, colors and could now create a functional master bath with clean lines and useful applications. Let’s t take a look at how this project unfolded.

The team at J&M Lifestyles, in New Jersey, had the task of integrating the stand-up shower, tub surround and match that with the countertop and other surfaces in the room. After templating each area, they realized that they were in need of material that could help in making this design come to life by reducing the amount of seams that would be visible. J&M Lifestyles choose the Xtreme Series GFRC mix design.

They began the process by creating their mold and casting surface. Incorporating a custom color blend from SureCrete with the Xtreme Series GFRC Face mix, they sprayed the cream coat on to all the surfaces. After letting that setup for about 10 minutes they followed behind the candy shell surface with the same custom color mixed in the Xtreme Series Backer mix. This material provides  the structural and flexural strength to the ultra smooth, pinhole free surface of the GFRC face coat.

With each piece finally casted and made, it was allowed to sit and cure. The Xtreme Series GFRC is the ideal mix design for Glass fiber reinforced concrete users, as it allows for a faster cure and demold time, as little as 6 hours. And delivers the ability to begin the next stage of design, secondary coloring or sealing within 8-10 hours after pouring. Additional positive attributes of Xtreme GFRC is it’s ability to save time and labor on each project by allowing you to maximize the tables you cast on and increasing the down time between the next station or stage.

The next important step was to apply the appropriate sealer. With many quality choices out there, the team at J&M Lifestyles chose ARS 400. A break through in nano-technology sealers, ARS 400 is an excellent GFRC sealer, and has the ability to penetrate and bond to the almost 11,000 PSI surface of the Xtreme GFRC.

The installation of the precast GFRC panels and GFRC countertop vanity was down with  multiple products. The vanity was installed with standard wall mount bracket. The GFRC wall panels for the tub surround were installed with an acrylic mastic.

Location: Air National Guard Base –  Obetz, Ohio

Project: Improving the aesthetic look of the concrete floor

Installation by: Artistic Scapes, LLC

Material Supplier: SureCrete products from Buckeye Ready Mix and W.R. Meadows

Total Sq Ft: 11,000 sq ft

Products Used: SCR , Eco-Stain , Dura-Kote Water based Urethane , Sure Finish

The 121st ARW Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Obetz, Ohio was looking to create an  industrial look to their concrete floor. The project had two phases of design: 4,000 sq ft of concrete surface was going to be cleaned and sealed and the remaining 7,000 sq ft was a stained concrete floor.

The reason behind the two applications was to create a concrete floor surface that was easier to keep clean and maintain. In addition to minimizing the maintenance on the concrete floors, the products used delivered an improvement to the aesthetic look of the facility. An obstacle on this project was that the floors were poured in the winter and the central heating was not fully operational. The crew at Artistic Scapes utilized space heaters to help. The temperature was uneven and altered cure rates of the staining and sealing process.

The beginning phase was to clean 4,000 sq ft with SCR (Super Concrete Renovator) an Eco-friendly concrete surface cleaner. Once the surface was clean and profiled they began the application of sealer which was W.R. Meadows VOC OMP-25.

Next they began the final 7,000 sq ft by preping the walls to protect them from the staining process. After using SCR (Super Concrete Renovator) an Eco-friendly concrete surface cleaner they used SureCrete’s Eco-Stain. An Eco-friendly concrete stain that penetrates the floor and uses porosity as is way to create a natural looking variegated and modeled design. The color chosen was Walnut and it was sprayed down with a pump up sprayer. After allowing the stain to completely dry overnight the crew began the first coat of sealer. To keep with the Eco-friendly concrete floor application, they choose SureCrete’s Dura-Kote WB Urethane.  This sealer is 56% solid and has zero smell, it is also has a VOC of 72 gms./L.

To finish the project they applied a few coats of Sure Finish. A sacrificial wax coat for sealed concrete floors.

]]> http://www.theconcretewhisperer.com/archives/268/feed 0 http://www.theconcretewhisperer.com/archives/261 http://www.theconcretewhisperer.com/archives/261#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:18:53 +0000 admin http://www.theconcretewhisperer.com/?p=261

Location: Houston Raceway Park, Texas

Project: Eco-friendly concrete stain and sealer

Installation by: Stamped Artistry

Material Supplier: Stamped Concrete Products of Houston

Total Sq Ft: 8,500

Products Used: Eco-Stain, Dura-Kote Water based Urethane

The VIP room at the Houston Raceway Park in Texas receives high traffic volumes due to its use with NHRA Competitions and  as a banquet hall. Therefore the owners were looking for a floor that would wow its patrons while being a smart maintenance option. There choice was a Eco-friendly concrete stain and a durable sealer coat for wear and abrasion protection.

The team at Stamped Artistry of Houston began by properly prepping the 8,500 sq ft concrete floor. They used a product called SCR (Super Concrete Renovator) by SureCrete. This product cleans, degrease’s and profiles the concrete in one step. Once this product was sprayed on the concrete floor, they scrubbed it mechanically with a floor scrubber with black pads. They followed that step up with water and wet-vacced the remaining off the floor. The disposal of this product is also a benefit, as it is an Eco-friendly concrete cleaner.

Now that the concrete is clean and profiled, they began the coloring process with a penetrating water based concrete stain called Eco-Stain.

This product is UV-stable and comes in 29 colors. The choice for this floor was Autumn Gold. This concrete stain was applied with a pump up sprayer. Besides the color choices and UV-stability of Eco-Stain, its speed of application makes it and ideal choice over reactive acids. Once this concrete stain dried, which in most cases is 30-60 minutes, it is ready to be sealed. No need to neutralize, rinse or clean up.

The final stage was to choose and apply a concrete sealer that could hold up to the traffic pattern of the raceways patrons. There choice was the Dura-Kote Water Based Polyurethane. This product is a 2-part concrete sealer that is 57% solids with a VOC of 72 gms/L, making it an excellent Eco-Friendly concrete sealer. Another benefit is that it has NO aroma that will cause issues for the buildings tenants.  The concrete sealer was applied with a 3/8″ nap non shedding roller, like a mohair.

The end result was a beautiful concrete floor and addition to the Houston Raceway Park!