Wood Look
Strength of Concrete and The Look of Wood
No warp, no rot and no splinters. That's right, this is all created using Concrete Technology of Hawaii's modified concrete systems. Its all custom textured and colored by hand. The wood look is available indoors and out. It can be applied with a rough texture or a smooth high gloss finish. With all the durability of our custom concrete systems and available in countless color combinations, the wood look is an exciting new addition to our line of applications.
What better way to show the transformation of dull, boring, grey concrete into a functional work of art, than some before and after photos. So for this blog post, I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking.
For this particular project, we chose the wood look for the covered portion of the patio with varied board sizes and colors. We also added a wood look accent around the border of the pool. We thought it would be cool to make it look like a 4 x 12 plank was used for the coping. The rest of the deck was completed using the stone classics system with sandstone, desert beige and dark grey with a random stone pattern. You can find out more about the Stone Classics system in an earlier blog/update post here; https://www.concretetechnologyhawaii.com/stone-classics.
The roof over the patio and ohia posts were added, prior to our arrival. The concrete around the pillar anchors had to cure at minimum 3 weeks before we could apply our coatings. Once the roof renovation was completed, the slab was all ours.
As usual, our preparation is second to none. We fixed every crack we could find and added several saw control joints to alleviate tension in some of the larger sections of the slab. The cuts themselves are left exposed, but we were able to hide them along the grout lines for the most part. It is necessary to allow the individual slabs to move, expand and contract.
Standard strength concrete with an average 4 inch thickness should have a saw control joint every 10 feet maximum to minimize the occurrence of cracking. This of course is with the assumption that the site is properly compacted and reinforced with steel prior to pouring the concrete.
We usually recommend installing a vapor barrier on new concrete, even though its not required by code to do so on exterior concrete. This aids in preventing efflourescence due to hydrostatic pressure as well as providing a more consistent environment for the concrete to cure
Once the cracks are fixed and the slab is diced up, we can clean, mask and prepare the application. There were no coatings to grind off on this one, so we were able to simply acid wash and neutralize the surface prior to applying our coating. This preparation is sufficient enough to clean and open the pores of the concrete.
The coating itself is similar to the stone classics or acrylistain systems in that they are hand troweled, patterned and colored. More info about those systems can be found in the blog and updates as well as the picture galleries.
The total thickness is about that of a dime. So we don't change any elevations going into doorways or under the siding here. The surface also follows the contours of the original deck, allowing water to drain as intended.
The textures are created by hand. Each "board" is colored individually with typically 3 or more colors. We can create knots and life like grain. Like all of our products, the wood look is available in a vast array of colors. Custom colors are available along side our standard catalogue as well.
We offer several sealer options, ranging from smooth glass like finishes for interiors to textured, satin outdoor finishes. All of which are resistant to staining, chemicals and UV. Surface temperature can be reduced by 20% to
40% depending on color as well. Skid proof additive is also available on any of our sealer applications providing a non slip, almost shark skin like topping. I recommend checking out our FAQ section on this site for more technical information.
Termites won't take a bite out of this floor. The Concrete Technology Wood Look can be customized to fit any space indoor or out, commercial or residential. Like all of our products, the CTi Wood Look is beautiful, durable and will surely stand the test of time. Ask your Concrete Technology of Hawaii dealer about the Wood Look today.
Feel free to leave me questions in the comment section. We're also happy to share more pictures from other dealers around the country upon request. I've seen a lot of inspiring work from other creative dealers around the world and I can't wait to create some more of my own.
