Most Unique Retaining Walls

Retaining walls have gained considerable attention in recent times. As such, if your home has uneven ground, you might just be considering it. They help you maintain your soil position. In turn, you enjoy a lower ground level on the adjoining part of your wall. We bet that this sounds functional and great. As such, you are wondering what your options are.

Well, concrete is the main option for retaining walls. However, they did not exactly provide the best aesthetic purpose. As such, in recent times, various designs have emerged to give retaining walls some aesthetic appeal. Are you looking to get in on this? Here are some of the unique retaining walls ideas that you can also try out. 

1. Patchwork Stone

Our first unique option is a patchwork stone that combines patterns, color, and precision to get the best effect. Precisely, this design uses a few colors that get alternated to produce an eye-catching design. The great thing is that there is no pattern in the color placement. They stand irregularly, which provides a more natural, comfortable, and relaxed feel. This design maximizes slightly rounded bricks to achieve this warm and cozy feel. 

2. Irregular Flagstone Wall

This is both a unique and beautiful design. It involves the irregular arrangement of irregular shaped and sized pieces of flagstone. This option comes off as more of a dominant design than a functional retaining wall.

It provides a rugged and irregular look that makes it look more rustic, earthy, and natural. Regardless, it maintains a stylish and modern look. However, note that you will need a specialist builder to design this option. 

3. Concrete Cylinders

This design involves the use of concrete palisades that are cylindrical to provide shape to your home. It works best with minimalist homes. This is because it contributes to their look. It is quite simple, and you can apply it to a wide variety of purposes. 

4. Decorative Block Work

This option enjoys a more meticulous design than you can imagine. This is due to its focus on precise measurements and patterns. In turn, this ensures that you get an option that looks both futuristic and classic. It is a beauty to behold. Even more, thanks to its repetitive design, it is a great option for your landscape’s background. 

However, note that you will need to make this design on a grand scale for the best effect. Although, that does not mean it would not work with a smaller design. 

5. Gabion Walls

This design has its history in military bases and engineering explorations. Regardless, today, it is now a unique design for retaining walls. This design involves wired cages that get filled with stones or bricks. Typically, you can use different types and sizes of brick and stone. However, keep in mind that this will depend on your wire cages. 

Precisely, less tightly woven wire cages cannot hold smaller pebbles. They are best suited for tightly woven wires. However, regardless of your pick, it brings an industrial style to your landscape.

Concrete Coating Tips

There are tons of materials that can be used for flooring, but concrete stands out for many good reasons. One of them is its durability. This durability has made concrete the choice of flooring material for garages, commercial buildings, manufacturing plants, warehouse facilities, etc. The durability makes it capable of withstanding all kinds of pressure in terms of heavy machinery, foot traffic, exposure to chemicals, and environmental elements, among many others. 

However, the durability of concrete doesn’t mean it is indestructible. In fact, with all its qualities, concrete is a naturally porous material that will succumb to moisture, deicing salts, harsh chemicals, and heavy traffic if not treated. One way to treat concrete is by coating. The coating has a multifunctional purpose because it protects the concrete wear and tear and decorates it and makes it skid-free. This is why the coating is always advisable. For a coating to be effective, it has to be done right. Here, we highlight tips that work for concrete coating.

Make Sure There Is Adhesion:

When coating, it is important that the concrete is adequately prepared so that the coating materials will bond to it. This usually means cleaning the concrete surface and if a previous coating has been applied, scraping it off as much as possible. You may also test the coating material on a small part of the concrete to determine its adhesion before using it all through.

Clean The Concrete Surface:

For the coating material to bond to concrete, the surface must be clean. Dust particles and grease on a surface will prevent optimal bonding, so you must get rid of those. Ensure your surface is clean and dry as well.

Level The Substrate:

The coating is only a few tens of microns thick when applied. Thus, it will not hide any irregularity in the level of the floor. This is why you must make sure you correct all irregularities beforehand. You don’t want bulges and protrusions on your floor before coating it because those places are weak points where the coating would begin to wear out way before they should.

Ensure You Have Great Environmental Conditions:

If you are using water-based coatings, you will need to have a room that is at the right temperature and humidity for the coating to bond well. An excellent drying process is essential so factor this into your plans. Make sure the room you are coating has excellent ventilation too.

Apply Evenly:

The best coatings are the ones done without any streaks. So, ensure the application is even. You can use cross-rolling to structure the floor accordingly, and you should also merge the new coating with the parts that were applied before when it is still wet to prevent visible roller marks.

Apply an Extra Layer Where the Surface Is Porous:

If the concrete is untreated, it would be porous. You should therefore apply an extra layer. The first layer might be minimally diluted with water. It also helps if you apply primers first before the coating in such instances.

Conclusion

Getting your coating right will save you money and the stress of maintenance and repairs. All you have to do is make sure the process is thorough and detailed. For more tips and tricks visit https://www.honolulu-concrete.com.

How to Build a Concrete Parking Lot?

A parking lot is an essential facility in any building, especially a commercial one where there are many activities. In a building where you have visitors coming, and regularly, you don’t want to inconvenience your visitors by asking them to find parking spots far away from your building. You also can’t encourage them to park by roadsides knowing this could lead to tickets, towing, fines, and of course, traffic jams. For you to prevent all these, you only need a parking lot.

A parking lot can be built with various materials. You can use cobbled stones, interlocking blocks, concrete, as well as asphalt. Each of these materials and the many others that can be used have their advantages and disadvantages. For instance, asphalt can be susceptible to extreme heat, which causes it to contract and crack in the end. Concrete may also crack, especially if the load is more than the capacity. Here, we discuss the process of building a concrete parking lot.

Concrete Parking Lot

A concrete parking lot is simply a concrete slab that covers a vast space and can withstand exposure to environmental elements and handle vehicular loads. Although asphalt is still the most used material for parking lots, concrete is gradually taking over. This is due to the improved quality of concrete, and they increased the price of asphalt in recent years.

While concrete still costs a little more than asphalt, the added advantages of durability, structural flexibility and integrity, and low maintenance costs give it an edge over asphalt.

Building a Concrete Parking Lot

Design: The first stage of any construction project is the design stage, and it is no different from concrete parking lots. Designing a parking lot is not quite simple as you have to consider a lot of factors such as the expected load on the parking lot, thickness, the number of load repetitions for the lifetime of the parking lot, traction, and all other features that would be included in the lot such as the lights, drainages, etc.

Erect formwork: Once you have a design in place, the next step is the erection of work. The formwork must be designed to carry the load of the fresh concrete and the weight of workers and their machines. It should be properly positioned with all the joints sealed. It is essential that the formwork is leveled. Wood, metal, aluminum, and steel are an example of materials used for making a form.

Place Reinforcements in the Formwork: Once you are sure that the concrete form is correctly placed and conform to structural plans. The next step is to place reinforcements. The rebar that would be used is already determined by design, and all you have to do is ensure that the specified size and lengths are used. Incorrect placement of reinforcements can lead to structural failure of the parking lot. So you must ensure that it is placed with the correct positioning, spacing, and bending.

Pour the concrete and finishing: All that is left to be done at this stage is to pour the concrete. There must be proper coordination of this process with the finishing of the concrete as well. Concrete should be compacted after pouring. After the concrete has cured, the formwork is removed.

Conclusion

A concrete parking lot construction may seem simple, but it is not. It requires a professional concrete contractor to get it done right.