Project: retaining wall…

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Nathan

This week has had many things going on from get art ready, planning the show to more home improvement projects. I’ll leave the art stuff for when we are closer to July so I’ll give some updates on whats been happening around the fort.

Shed is still getting a few hours here and there, but waiting on my door for it so I can’t get the siding on until that freakin door is in. Roof is done at least..so I chucked my shit in there. I’ll do a final post on that bitch once the siding is all done.

If you look to the right, the shed has a roof and tim...just needs siding and a door.

If you look to the right, the shed has a roof and trim...just needs siding and a door.

Second ongoing project was getting rid of the retaining wall of old concrete after the winter shifted it around. Retaining walls with old concrete can end up being a great way build a little retaining wall if your pieces are constant and are in roughly 10×4 inch pieces. I tried using what I had from the back patio and worked for the most part but ended up getting to free load of granite which will end up looking much better.

Some tips if you plan on reusing your old broken up concrete,

If your knocking out an old patio, driveway, or sidewalk try and break the pieces in a rectangle. This is tough to do with a sledge hammer but if your using an electric breaker or air hammer this is a do able task.

Second tip is to use your biggest pieces and work you way up, with the second layer staggered from the bottom. Treat it like jagga. (sp?)

Using old concrete is a great way to save cost. Its a good way to use, used materials around your job site or home. Save hauling away the broken pieces as well as saving you the cost of building or buying more materials.

Used concrete retaining wall

If I didn’t get the loads of granite rock I would have stuck it out with the concrete retaining wall . I would have needed to level it out again after the crazy winter we had, which you might have to do every few years just to keep it up to snuff.

The piles of granite

What it looks like after the blocks are removed

Concrete styles 101

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Nathan

Been a busy week since the weather has been nice, so that means it time to make some money. We’ve been busy taking out and replacing residential concrete driveways, we have done 4 just in the last week and a half. While some have been a normal broom-finish type driveway, others, have a bit more complexity. We do all type of driveways from smooth, broom finish, stained, and stamped. You can also add more dimensions to your concrete by adding colors, boarders, inserts, and murals. Prices usually range from 1.50 a square foot to a 90 dollars a square foot for the highest level of complexity.

At my house we have done many types of concrete inside as well as outside, from colored fake wood stamp pattern in my kitchen to rock pattern in my bathroom. My kitchen (from previos post) has a smooth finish with black coloring mixed in with the concrete. Outside I have a similar rock pattern (from the bathroom)around my padio as well as walk way. In my studio I have a smooth finished floor with 4 colors stained on it to give it a rustic feel.

Stamp Kitchen Floor with a wood pattern.

Above are shots of my kitchen floors with a brown concrete. We don’t normally do interior stamp mostly due to the mess, but if your willing to put up with it-its very modern way to fancy up your house.

Bathroom Shot--Stamp rock pattern

Here is a shoot of my bathroom floor. Stamp concrete with a rock tile in set. A lot of work but the end result is well worth it. Probably my favorite room of the house, mostly because of the floor.

Black Counters in my Kitchen.

Smooth Finish counter tops with black coloring. Lightly sanded, and then a high gloss sealer apply to the surface.

Stained Floors in my old Appartment

Here is a smooth finish floor with a four color stained pattern. I also used with style in the basement of my current house. It is easy to clean, and easy to up keep. I gives a cool rustic feel to all the rooms. It also goes with so many styles of room, homes, and designs.

I love the use of concrete for many designs. Its strong, but can be used in so many different ways. Different colors, patterns and styles make this material fun to use. I remind many people that it can a great alternative but should be done by professionals. It is a tricky material and be very costly if not done correctly.

Changing the kitchen from old to new on a budget…

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Nathan

I have many pictures of the kitchen, process and final images. I think we had the most fun trying to figure out how this kitchen would end up. Well, the most fun was ripping the old one out but of course designing and figure out layout is good too.

old kitchen

We originally started with cabinets. We found a good deal at the Home depot. I believe it was under 3 for all the cabinets. Another 50 bucks for handles. I framed up the counter tops with about 30-40 bucks of lumber. The material for the counter tops was a sacking mix (concrete) for about 15 bucks a bag. (used about 5). Another 40bucks for black colour and 30 for fiber that gets chucked in the concrete when mixin. Tile was about 500, and then add about 120 for the faucet, 150 for the sink, 100 for the hood, then boom.

Before we started drywall patching

Just finished the rough drywallin

Counter Tops framed

Counter tops freshly placed

Tile, with out the black grout

faucet

Final product, Different angle

Final Product

House Updates…bathroom

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Nathan

Bathroom has been done for awhile but since everything is all clean up i’ll go through the whole house. I think I had the most fun thinking about what to do in the bathroom. Since its a 1950′s house the bathroom is pretty small and also the only one on the main floor.

We gutted the bathroom just like the rest of the house. We maximize the room by adding a stacking unit in behind the shower wall. It Taps into the showers plumbing. I added a deeper tub with two different colors of tile. Bronzed faucets and taps with my favorite, stamped concrete floors with a pebble flooring accent.

The floors were done in multiple steps with the pebble accent getting set into place with a sacking mix and then grouting the gabs a day later. The next day we pored and stamped the pattern in concrete with the pebble accent covered up to prevent it from getting messed up from the concrete. After a day we cleaned off the powder that is placed on the concrete so we can peel off the stamp pads. Then a week later a sealer is applied to gloss it up.