Decorative concrete in landscape design...

Decorative concrete in landscape design: spectacular"make-up"for dull dampnessIt's hard to imagine how beautiful the relief covers of walls, paths and fences are, they are all made of the usual material - concrete. However, modern coatings, as a reward through their own"ancestor", known for its unattractive, gloomy, greyish appearance, have an extraordinary aesthetics. Due to its representative properties imaginary concrete has found a wide distribution not only in construction, but also in landscape design.
For the first time imaginary concrete was first used in the sixties of the last century by the Yankees to be a construction of runways for military airfields. Before them was the task of making building materials, who successfully combines within themselves like good operational properties, causeless and decorative properties. Matter, who consisted of cement, water, aggregate, paint and additive, all met these requirements and therefore received extensive distribution in almost all industries. Now imaginary concrete is allowed to see for car parks, roads and sidewalks, metro stations. It is used to be the restoration of monuments of architecture
Thanks to the efforts of the developers, the imaginary concrete now has close irrefutable advantages, the main ones between which are:
Resistance to oil products, chemicals and brutal compounds
Giving to refrain the load (2-3 times more than pressed paving slab)
Stability in Ultraviolet radiation and the gift of abstaining before 300 cycles of cold;
Giving no temperature changes in the spectrum through -40 ° C before + 40 ° C;
Resistance to abrasion and mechanical stress.
Using compacted concrete it is allowed to do only fine and at the same time long-term coatings. Special additives, included in the amount of material, help prevent delamination and cracking of the surface.
For the design of the surface use different stamps and other special tools. Stencils, molds for the sake of sandblasting and chemical compounds for etching allow you to make complex ornaments, and thin strips made by saws with diamond canvases can add clarity and clarity to the drawing.
Like to apply this magic in the design of the site
Using modern technologies for the production of concrete surfaces, the producers release the matter, who is able to do the action not only of natural stone, but also of wood, bricks, decorative tiles and other relief coatings. In landscape design, imaginary concrete is used in the arrangement of recreational areas, the design of garden paths and the construction of parts of the landscape landscape
Such concrete is suitable not only for the arrangement of sites and paths. It is used to be the development of fencing and manufacturing.
Decorative concrete fences can possess any kind, starting with ordinary brick and stone, and ending with imitation of the Parthenon bas-reliefs. Scenic balusters, resembling low columns on the outside, and magnificent rails, according to the beauty, are not inferior to the refined marble and alabaster figures
Balusters made of concrete look beautiful as fences of arbors and verandas, supports for the sake of handrails. Dressed up in the garden can be lined with climbing plants lonely columns, concrete floor vases and flower gardens. And the fountain crowned with stucco is made of concrete and quite quite in the center of attention.
Cast from concrete - one of the most convenient structures of the garden. Depending on the style of execution, they are freely allowed to fit into the landscape design, making it a dressed up addition to the site. Such a garden bench from decorative concrete combines beauty and practicality inside - for it always likes to sit down and calm down
Variety of finishing materials
Depending on the variants of the constituent material and the effect created by it, three main types of decorative concrete are distinguished.
Colored concrete
The color spectrum of pigment pigments used to make decorative concrete is more than 20 colors. Due to a wide range of colors, colored concrete is able to successfully supplement the architectural and vegetable composition of the suburban area, performing a worthy decoration of the access road, parking space and garden paths.
For the sake of obtaining colored concrete, manufacturers use special coloring pigments which, thanks to a special hardener, are able to conserve stubbornness of color even in conditions of negative environmental impact. In most cases, these pigments are oxides and salts of different metals. For example, chromium oxide, red - iron oxide, and purple oxide - manganese oxide are added for the sake of giving a green color to the concrete.
Imitation of natural stone
By applying innovative technologies of diamond processing, manufacturers can exclude concrete, who makes the action of full conformity with surfaces made of natural materials laid out hundreds of years ago. In the experienced hands of the master the concrete is able to accept the appearance of any kind of natural material, whether it be paving stones, bricks, slate, stone and even marble
Simulation comes out so believable, which even to be a painstaking inspection is not always out to find out if it's a natural rock or it's its skillfully executed reproduction.
Coatings with a relief structure
Imaginary concrete with an expressive structure is created through insertion into the amount of a large aggregate. The desired effect is obtained due to the exposure of the granules, which appear for the form of removal with tools or special mixtures of the upper layer. Such imaginary concrete is able to transform an ordinary road into an ancient pavement, and a patio to an extravagant Spanish patio
Be filled with crushed marble, granite, anthracite, limestone and basalt are used for the development of concrete with a relief structure. Effective surfaces are obtained with the use of fillers of grayish, reddish and pink flowers.
Self-acting action of decorative concrete
Imaginary concrete is perfectly suited for the arrangement of tracks and the design of the homestead. It has a special aesthetic quality to be good high-quality properties. In addition, the concrete cover is comfortable for cleaning, and it has stability and fat and oil. Areas and alleys with such a coating do not need a curb, so it is not enough to save for construction. Areas and alleys with such a coating do not need a curb, so it is not enough to save for construction
To be imaginary, concrete is allowed to execute itself. A dry mash and a form for its manufacture can be purchased at any construction store.
The variation of design depends on your preferences. On sale it is allowed to meet plastic or silicone forms, including compositions of rhombuses and squares, pictures"fan","excek","animal skin","basket weaving".
The development of the creation of a relief surface includes fairly steps:
Preparation of the foundation. To make a garden path for the marked terrain, remove the earth's discharge 10 cm deep, put the formwork and pour a bit of rubble.
Pouring concrete. For a lined view, spread the cement slurry and smooth it.
Applying a color hardener. For the sake of giving the surface of the desired color, the solution is sprinkled with dry free-flowing dyes or treated with a colored hardener, in the amount of which, in addition to the coloring pigments, there is a filling of granite or quartz sand
Pressing forms. For grasped, but not all frozen form spread shapes, tightly clinging their well-wisher to a friend. In order to obtain the exact sign of the picture, the laid forms are tamped a little. It is allowed to find a desire for stamping a concrete consistency by touching it with a finger. The mash is ready, if it does not stretch out because of it.
Cleaning the cover. After 2 to 3 days, wash the concrete with a brush dipped in a solution of hydrochloric acid. Then a complete drying out of the upper layer is applied a protective amount, preventing the evaporation of water from the surface of the freshest concrete.
In the places of possible fracture, it is necessary to anticipate the deformation seams, having performed them for a distance of 6 meters, the well-wisher through a friend and filling the voids with a dull sealant.
In order to extend the period of the concrete building and much better aesthetic characteristics of the material, the kind of desire to process a special impregnating composition forming a protective film.

A path from decorative concrete is allowed to use quite well after 10-15 days. In the standard, the concrete type of desire to cultivate once a year hydrophobizing mixtures.