ForConstructionPros.com

Article

  

Features

Updated: July 8th, 2008 05:26 PM GMT-05:00

Beyond the Plain Smooth Wall

Concrete Product Trends

faux stone wall
Increte Systems
The addition of color to a faux stone wall can offer a unique look for your clients.
Fitzgerald Formliners
Fitzgerald Formliners
A formliner and a little color can turn a gray wall into an appealing roadside structure, like this wall along Interstate-10 near Tucson, Ariz.
Rim Snaps
Scott Systems
Rim Snaps allow a contractor to integrally cast brick into a vertical concrete wall.

By Jean Feingold
Contributing Writer

The high reuse urethane rubber forms are good for 100 or more pours and weigh 90 lbs. in the 2-ft. by 6-ft. size. The same size high reuse urethane foam forms weigh only 24 lbs. and will last at least 50 pours. The foam forms are becoming more popular because they are both lighter and easier to cut, Mike Lowe Jr. of Increte Systems notes.

"With most systems, typically you get seams where the forms butt up together where they adjoin," explains Lowe. "We have a patented removable keystone that bridges the gap on each seam. It makes our walls more realistic because you can't really spot the seams. Every set of liners comes with keystones.

"Every pattern we have here was a custom pattern at one time," says Lowe. "The Sedona pattern, which is the most popular, was created for a project in Arizona's Sedona Valley. They sent us some boulders and some stones and we duplicated the texture and shape. It's very realistic looking."

Brick-embedded concrete walls
For clients desiring real brick exteriors with tilt-up or precast concrete wall prices and efficiency, Scott System, Inc. offers a brick inlay system. The company makes three types of formliners used for integrally casting brick into concrete. Workers need no special training to insert 1⁄2-in. thick bricks into these liners. "Casting brick into concrete is fast, economical and beautiful," explains Dana Scott of Scott System. "When the wall goes up, the brick is already in place. Scaffolding, flashing, lintels and weep cavities are eliminated also."

Made of urethane elastomer, the Brick Gasket Liner comes in a 4-ft. by 8-ft. standard size and custom sizes. Thin bricks are placed into the liner pockets and concrete is poured over the back of the assembly, integrally casting the brick tiles into the concrete. The BGL is guaranteed for 100 uses and lasts longer with proper care. "This is a good alternative for repetitive precast spandrels," says Scott.

E-mail This StoryE-mail Article Print This StoryPrinter Friendly