How To Tips
Color
Combinations
Water
Quantity
Cast-In-Place
Reinforcement
Pour and Vibrate Method
Maintenance
Cold Weather Tips
Tools and Materials
COLOR
COMBINATIONS
Often we get requests for popular and successful color combinations to use with the pressed technique. The first color in each of the following suggestions is the color of the concrete matrix. The color(s) following are for the added paste. Tone on tone combinations were the most popular, especially these:
- • Universe/Universe
- • Moss/Moss
- • Coal/Coal
The colors listed below are popular and the tones have proven to work well
for us here at the studio.
- • Bone concrete color with Bone paste infill.
- • Bone concrete color with Sand/Bone paste infill.
- • Sand Concrete Color with Bone paste infill.
- • Sand concrete color with Sand paste infill.
- • Moss concrete color with Moss paste infill
- • Moss concrete color with Sand/Mushroom and Ash paste infill.
- • Wheat concrete color with Sand/Mushroom and dark Wheat paste infill
- • Universe concrete color with Universe paste infill.
- • Ash concrete color with Bone/Coal paste infill.
- • Ash concrete color with Coal paste infill.
- • Ash concrete color with Ash paste infill.
- • Slate concrete color with Sky/Slate paste infill.
- • Chocolate concrete color with Chocolate paste infill.
- • Straw concrete color with Sand/mushroom and Chocolate paste infill.
- • Straw concrete color with Straw paste infill.
WATER
QUANTITY
Your
altitude and humidity affect
the amount of water needed
in Buddy Rhodes Concrete
Products mix. The less water
you can get away with the
better. Buddy has been using
4.5 quarts water for pressed
and 5 quarts or less for
trowelled
in San Francisco. Buddy Rhodes
Concrete
Products Concrete Mix is
a drier dough-like material
when wet. Too much water
can produce a concrete mix
that is too wet and cracking
is a possible result. Minimizing
the water reduces the possibility
of shrinkage and ensures
the very best slab. LESS WATER
IS BETTER!
CAST-IN-PLACE
REINFORCEMENT
15-20 lbs (2 shovels) of 3/8” pea gravel and 1/4 lb. fibers
per bag of concrete mix
produces 9,000 psi after
56 days and lessens the
shrinkage and warping
to which concrete is naturally
susceptible. Adjust wire
reinforcement when using
pea gravel: 4x4 welded
wire or Durowall ladder
wire will work. PLACE
ANY REINFORCEMENT TOWARDS
THE LOWER HALF OF THE
SLAB FOR OPTIMAL WARP
RESISTANCE.
Do
not use pea gravel when making
the upside-down pressed finish
or when working up a vertical
wall.
POUR AND VIBRATE
Material List
Buddy Rhodes Concrete Mix
Buddy Rhodes Color
Buddy Rhodes Acrylic Additive
Fibers
Pea Gravel
FritzPak Supercizer 1 www.fritzpak.com
2x Vibco Vibrators with mounting plates and variable speed controller www.vibco.com
Model US-450T Vibrator, UMC-1 mounting plate, SPC control box
4” Welded wire remesh, 8 gauge or 6”x6” wire mesh doubled up.
Black GE Silicone II caulk and caulk gun
Bucket and mixer
Mold Making
Prepare your mold as normal but silicone the edges as the mix will liquefy when vibrated. Suspend your welded wire mesh within the mold. If 4” welded wire mesh is not available, use 6” remesh overlapped to create 3” squares.
Mix and Mix Consistency
Sample mix using 2 bags of BRCM
2 Bags BRCM
1 bottle BR Color mix
30lbs pea gravel
10 quarts liquid, either 50/50 water/acrylic, add more water to get desired consistency, up to 11 quarts.
60 grams Fritzpak Supercizer 1 plasticizer per two bags of BR concrete mix.
2 oz fibers
Combine the BRCM mix, Supercizer and fibers dry. Start by pouring 10 quarts of 50/50 water/acrylic liquid in the mix. Continue to add liquid until you achieve a ‘Malt 0 Meal’ consistency. Do not go over 12 quarts.
Start pouring onto your mold without vibrating, once you have a thin layer covering the surface of your mold start your vibrating at a low frequency. Once you’ve filled the surface adjust your vibrating speed high and low to move the bubbles to the top,
Turn off the vibrator, cut off the suspension wire close to the mesh and fill the void and finish off by trowelling the surface.
Tip You can check if it’s the right consistency by making a large mound in the bucket and tapping/lightly kicking the side of the bucket, the mix should lay down. Or have a blank piece of melamine on your vibrating table and place a pile of concrete on the blank and vibrate. If it flows down, you’ve achieved the right mix consistency.
MAINTENANCE
Buddy
recommends that concrete
countertops be sealed with
our penetrating
sealer,
then our satin
sealer and
finally with our beeswax.
Following these three steps
will provide the highest
level of protection against
stains and will keep the
concrete surface looking
great. It is best to rewax
once a month or every two
months to maintain a protective
finish.
Cleaning
agents should be restricted
to soap and water, and non-abrasive
cleaners, such as diluted
Simple Green.
When
using knives for food preparation,
please cut on a cutting board
rather than on the concrete
countertop. Knives cut into
the sealed surfaces and cause
scratched areas that later
can attract stains.
Refrain
from placing hot pans on
the sealed concrete surfaces
as they may cause scorch
marks.
Avoid
keeping items such as wet
sponges, terracotta pots
or dish drainers directly
on the counter as they may
darken or stain the finish.
For
best results, clean up spills,
such as oils and acidic liquids,
quickly. Allowing them to
linger may cause them to
soak into the surface and
etch the concrete countertop.
Time
and daily usage produces
a unique surface patina that
enhances the character of
the concrete. Hairline cracks
sometimes occur but this
does not affect the structural
integrity of the concrete.
COLD WEATHER TIPS:
Those of you mixing concrete in cold winters should know that the concrete reaction is temperature sensitive. Temperatures below 55 degrees will retard or completely stifle the curing process. That means special care should be taken to maintain a room temperature of approximately 60 degrees and to use room temperature or warmed mix water. Conversely, cool water can be used in the summer to slow the curing process and increase the time that the concrete is workable. Temperature affects the sealing process too so take heed to the following tips.
Mixing:
1. Mix the cement with warm water (above 60 degrees).
Cold water will retard the setting of the cement. In the summer, mix the cement with cold water to extend the workability of the mix so it doesn't set up too fast.
Sealing:
2. The Satin Sealer will not set or become hard if applied to a cold and
damp surface. If need be, place a electric blanket over the projects pieces
to warm them up (60-70 degrees) before sealing. The sealer will dust off if
applied to a cold surface.
TOOLS AND MATERIALS:
People often ask me what they will need for their pre-casting shops, and where to get supplies. Here is a list of tools and materials we use, and a few web sites to help you find products.
Web Sites
-
http:concretecountertopspecialties.com is another good website for finding concrete countertop tools.
Hand-held Concrete Tools in Bon Masonry Tool catalog- http://www.bontool.com Here are tools we use for troweling concrete:
-
Square End Laminated Canvas-Resin Float - #22-468-B10 14”, #12-688-B10 18”
-
Wood Darby #82-106-B10
-
Stainless Steel Swimming Pool Trowel #12-310-B8
-
Midget Trowel #12-194-B9
You should be able to find the following supplies at your Buddy Rhodes distributor or at your local contractor supply outlet:
- Release agent - WR Meadows Durogard II Luan
- Red Vinyl Tape
- Melamine sheets 4'x8'
- Styrofoam 1 ½" thick
- Diamond tools,
- Brick stone,
- Mix bucket,
- Rubber gloves,
- Scotch brite pads
- Basic shop tools we use include:
- Drill press, counter sink bit,
- Chop saw,
- Table saw,
- Level,
- Wire cutters
- Screw gun, screws,
- Hot glue,
- Band saw,
- Table sander,
- Putty knife,
- Tape measure,
- Vibrator
Following
these suggestions will provide
a beautiful concrete surface
for years to come.
