Coloring the Wall-Patio Ideas

When I write my blogs I get carried away thinking that you have been reading my earlier posts. Well in most circumstances I do not think that is the case. Silly me for thinking that way.

So let me start out by explaning to you what we are illustrating. The sitting wall you see is 100% concrete. We begin by excavating below the frost line. Then,  the wall is formed up with plywood.  A bunch of re- bar is installed,  then the wall gets poured. The bench top is poured along with the wall using a color that the owner has chosen. How do you like the chipped stone edge? The edge is created with a form liner.  A molded piece is installed along the forms before pouring the concrete to create this. Let me mention an important step here and it may be the most important thing you do if you decide to attempt this yourself. Stripping the forms. The bench top is cantilevered over the wall. This is a very weak point in the concrete when the concrete is fresh. By fresh, I mean the concrete is not at full strength yet. It takes approx. 30 days for concrete to reach its full strength. Also when stripping the forms you want to make sure the forms actually “fall” or drop to the ground below. You do not want to apply any upward pressure on the cantilever while stripping the forms. It can create a crack. If it happens you don’t have to worry about the cantilever falling off, it will just be a visual thing.

The next step after stripping the forms is to install the rocks. My rocks are concrete and I apply them with a trowel. The concrete is mixed in a five gallon bucket and is plastic enough to apply at approx. 3/4 to  inch thick. After it hardens to a certain point I then carve the rocks to there shape. Now the fun begins! Transforming the gray concrete into colored stones.