Concrete Finishes. Recently I had someone come out to extend the patio. Clean the area around hairline cracks and small holes in precast concrete by sanding with coarse sandpaper. That is how I make the geodes You can add some colour to mixes as well. ... Itâs usually a slightly textured finish â not entirely smooth, but smoother than concrete, and not unpleasant to look at or walk on. High quality medium density overlay (MDO) â Resin impregnated paper faced Panels. Once you've selected concrete and have an idea of what you want your cement stepping stones to look like, you might think it's smooth sailing from there, but concrete can be tricky to work with. Cast-in-place smooth architectural concrete walls. It almost hurt to walk on it barefoot. The large Cast Form with Gold Leaf on a gallery page was made using galvanized sheet metal for the form. Cinderblock and concrete aren't considered attractive by everyone's standards, especially if the block or concrete wall has recently patched cracks or holes. For a Smooth-Form Finish, ACI 301-05 did not allow form-facing materials with raised grain, torn surfaces, worn edges, dents or other defects that would impair the texture of the concrete surface. Concrete pad cost for a 30 foot by 30 foot concrete pad that is 4 inches thick would be the cost for 11 cubic yards of concrete, or $825 to $1000. Visual cast insitu concrete requires greater care in specification and execution than most concrete ... - Smooth Shiny finish to the concrete. A float compacts the concrete surface, giving it a smooth look. A smooth concrete surface. Reply. These are basic mixes that I have used and developed over time and work well in terms of plasticity, compressive strength, density and finishing characteristics. Now that you know what hollow concrete spheres are let me show you how easy it is to make one and then you can develop your own distinctive style with paint, plants, or decorative accents. This mold for a bowl form was made from styrofoam, drywall cement to round corners, and a hand-raised copper bowl. To maintain most of the concrete colour on the surfaces I give it a dry-brush type scrubbing with matt medium. However, stone rubbing has to be done soon after the forms are removed--within a day or two at the latest, while enough moisture is still in the concrete to create a paste that will fill the bug holes. My house came with a very small concrete slab in our back patio. Thank God, then, that most people prefer concrete with texture and color, where minor imperfections either disappear or are perceived as bestowing character to the concrete. Don't be put off by having to work with a new material: Building the plywood forms and casting the concrete ⦠3. The resultant finish tends to have a smooth texture similar to that produced by either hand or power floating, but it usually exhibits slight ridges between each pass of the float. To mold concrete, you pour wet concrete mix into a form. Thanks for taking the time to write. Like everyone who has been to Tadao Ando's Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, one of our clients fell in love with the smooth architectural concrete walls. I embarked on my first attempt to make a hollow concrete sphere last summer. No previous experience is needed and very little tools can be used when you first up start which makes this an ideal home business which can easily be built up as you progress. You can build forms from wood, but we found that rigid foam insulation is perfect for a small project like this. Another easy solution for you to make concrete not slippery is to add rock salt to the cement before it cures. The bowl was removed after the concrete mix ⦠Step 1 - Clean and Prep the Area. Keep a bucket for all the cast off concrete. This method shows the natural beauty of concrete without trying to simulate any other building product. Making your own concrete stepping stones is a fun summertime activity that adds a personal touch to your garden. (hard wearing â multiple re-use). How to Smooth a Concrete Wall Finish. My assumption at this point is that the pro concrete guys probably lay down standard concrete, but then do the top 2 inches or so with something smoother, like a mortar or cement ⦠Vibrate concrete to eliminate lift lines and minimize air voids. A very clean definition of profile can be achieved with this surface. Putting a smooth, durable finish on concrete is a skill you can only master with the proper set of tools and practice. Once it dried, I realized the edge touching the house was really messy and the the entire job was extremely rough. IV. The final, critical, step for concrete is to apply a primer. A.: Cleveland concrete contractor Ron Simonetti says a smooth-rubbed finish (done with an abrasive stone) should look the same as a grout-cleaned (sacked) finish. This project is much more basic for those who may be interested in ⦠Displayed in the landscape the spheres can either be planted or filled with water. Iâm using some of my own cast concrete pieces like the Critter and the Hands. The use of steel plates cast into concrete elements to connect steel beams to is a common construction method where a steel frame surrounds a concrete core. It is possible to fix those surface voids to get a smooth concrete surface finish, but this is costly, and we think it is better to prevent this problem. Concrete won't stick to foam, so you can reuse the outer form parts to cast several fountains. Follow the process outlined below to repair a precast concrete wall. Concrete is very porous and will âsuck inâ any paint quite readily which will not allow you to control the amount of colour coverage. There are several sites on the net with good instruction and lots of details, including one here on Instructables. 3M's installation instructions say to paint on the primer over a clean concrete surface. That does not include labor costs, although pouring a pad can be a do it yourself project. Low-strength concrete (cement, sand and stone mixed by volume in the ratio 1:4:4) is suitable for most garden buildings, and it was this mixture that was used. A General Guide to Concrete Casting for Garden Moulds Concrete garden ornaments can be made from the comfort of your own garage, shed or workshop and made in your own time with very little start-up costs involved. Iâve used terms such as âHOW TO MAKE CONCRETE GARDEN ORNAMENTSâ, âHOW TO MAKE CEMENT GARDEN ORNAMENTSâ, âWHAT IS THE BEST MIX FOR CONCRETEâ, âMIXING CONCRETEâ, âCONCRETE MOULDSâ but I keep getting pages for the actual finished concrete products! The cost of concrete will be more for a thicker pad. Probably the most significant part of working out how to have a smooth, level concrete floor is figuring out how to sand down concrete the right way.. And while figuring out how to sand concrete flooring isnât the worldâs most complicated task, itâs also probably not something that you have done before. As a general rule, the larger the final piece the larger the aggregate. It doesn't need to be sheet-of-ice smooth, but smooth enough that it wouldn't, say, skin a knee if bumped. This particular slab was cast to support a timber stud structure and a 75 mm-thick slab was laid on well-compacted fill. This publication provides guidance on how to achieve good quality off-form concrete finishes. The RapidSet Cementall seems like a grout and does cure so smooth that it will shine if cast on a smooth surface.