Creating fire out of concrete

The theme of earth, wind and fire encompasses a new park in Fort Collins.  Radiant Park, recently constructed by Designscapes of Colorado, features Colorado Hardscapes’ Lithocrete for the “fire” portion of the theme. Creating fire out of concrete takes an artistic approach and innovative concrete techniques. Colorado Hardscapes constructed this concrete “flame” using a combination of Sandscape and Lithocrete. The artisans at Colorado Hardscapes hand-seeded yellow, orange, blue and red glass to create to flowing flame using the patented Lithocrete technique.

 

Architectual Concrete Walls

Concrete flatwork has dominated the focus when decorative or architectural concrete has been discussed in the Denver area.   However, there are many options and opportunities for specialty concrete in vertical applications as well.

Colorado Hardscapes has been developing and installing walls with creative features such as board form/white cement walls, Sandscape® finished architectural seat walls, formliner walls,  Lithocrete® sedimentary walls with various lenses of material, and simulated rock walls.  Other options include radius walls with a reverse batter, the    selective use of rustication strips, sandblasted finishes, and natural-looking architectural coatings for walls.

Proper expansion and control joints, skate deterrent details, and appropriate sealers all help to make the walls architecturally attractive and durable.

Let us help with the design and details for your next wall project.

Sandscape and sandblasted wall

Custom formliner artistic concrete wall

Photo by 360 Design

Wall Sampling

Sedimentary wall at sign base

Sedimentary wall

with uncolored concrete and form finish

With rustications

Faux rock wall

Formliner Wall

Custom uncolored concrete wall

Custom shotcrete finished wall

Board form finish

~ by John Buteyn of Colorado Hardscapes

email John at jbuteyn@coloradohardscapes.com for more information

Wadsworth Station Open for Commuters

Client Need: In June of 2010, a meeting was held with Denver Transit to discuss the feasibility of having decorative Sandscape finish atop a bridge platform. The project consisted of a deck with a highly structural bridge for an expansion project on the Ligh tRail train system. The project had been awarded to Ed Kramer and Sons, but Colorado Hardscapes worked in partnership with them to install the Sandscape finish. The architecture firm, klipp Architecture, felt an important need to maintain a specific aesthetic quality, therefore specified Sandscape on this deck at Wadsworth Station.

Solution: As a result of the meeting held in June, new partnerships with Denver Transit, Ed Kraemer and Sons, RTD and the City of Lakewood evolved. Once coordination, details, scheduling and finishes were established, Colorado Hardscapes contracted with Ed Kraemer and Sons for them to form, reinforce and place the concrete. Colorado Hardscapes was contracted to apply the Sandscape Finish. Ed Kraemer and Sons was able to do what they do best – the structural concrete platform; and Colorado Hardscapes was able to do what they do best – the consistent and decorative finish.

Results: At the end of the project, Michael Fay of Ed Kraemer and Sons stated, “The platform finish came out a success. Your crew’s integration with ours went very well and hopefully that will continue to grow on some future work.” The deck turned out beautifully and is opening the doors to future work for all involved. In 2013 the rail line officially opened and is used daily by commuters.

Sandscape finish on Wadsworth Station Platform

Sandscape at Light Rail Station

Lakewood Light Rail Station with Sandscape Finish

Sandscape by Colorado Hardscapes

Sandscape by Colorado Hardscapes

Sandscape by Colorado Hardscapes

Sandscape by Colorado Hardscapes

Denargo Market

Denargo Market is in the final stages of completion in Denver, CO. Under the direction of the general contractor, MPC, Colorado Hardscapes installed the high-end concrete finishes at this high-end apartment living. With stunning Sandscape in both courtyards, including the pool deck, a concrete fire pit and seating,  board finish walls, and a Micro-Top ST rooftop terrace the concrete compliments the upscale finishes that surround it. Stay tuned on http://www.coloradohardscapes.com for a full case study to come soon!

 

Sandscape Pool Deck

Sandscape concrete pool deck

Sandscape pool deck with concrete coping

Micro-top ST terrace

Micro-Top ST

Courtyard with fire pit, pavers, Sandscape and hot tub

Sandscape pool deck and courtyard

Employee Profile- Christy Bol

Colorado Hardscapes’ Employee- Christy Bol

        Christy Bol has been part of the team at Colorado Hardscapes for over 18 years.  She came to Colorado after graduating from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI.  Interesting to note, she graduated from college with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation.  Although she has not worked directly in that line of work, she has been able to use her business classes to become a valuable asset to the sales team at Colorado Hardscapes.

        Christy’s favorite aspect of her job is being able to work on a  project from beginning to end.  Starting with bidding, design, installation, and close-out.

        Her family of four and her new puppy keep her busy in her spare time outside of work.  Christy continues to pursue her passion of volleyball by playing on a club team year round.  She enjoys her role at Hampden Heights Neighborhood Association as Treasurer.

       When asked what she would like fellow employees to know about herself, she said that she has been at Colorado Hardscapes for as long as she has because she enjoys working with all the people who make up the team here at Colorado Hardscapes.

Ack! A ghost! Understanding the pre-construction review of polished concrete floors.

At Colorado Hardscapes, we do our best to help customers set realistic expectations. Sometimes it is difficult to foresee all of the potential site conditions of a possible project, but when it is feasible, certain things should be discussed. Let’s talk about polished concrete floors today. I personally love polished concrete. It’s a great finish, it can be decorative, and it’s relatively low in maintenance. Beautiful, unique floors are possible that can rival any terrazzo or even polished stone floors. They also can utilize the building’s structural concrete floor and not have to cover it up with any other finish with lower life-cycles.

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However, as great as polished floors are, they have their limitations as well. By understanding their limitations, hopefully we can help guide design and installation decisions.

Your polished concrete floor is only as good as the concrete slab. Ok, that pretty much sums up EVERYTHING I want to say here. But, let me elaborate.

• If your floor has cracks and/or joints (let me tell you now, it probably does) – those cracks will be seen, and there’s a good chance they will be more defined with the polishing process. They can (and should) be filled, but will never “disappear”. 
• If your floor is not perfectly flat, you will have inconsistencies on the surface. There may be areas where you see just a cement polished area and others where you see larger aggregate. Personally, this is what I love about polished floors – the organic uniqueness of them. However, if you’re expecting uniformity, either change your expectations or do everything in your power to have a perfectly flat floor (even at the edges where concrete tends to curl as it cures).
• If you need to have patches, dig trenches, or have different loads of concrete, it will be noticeable.

 

With existing floors – the finish that is currently on the concrete surface may affect the polished concrete’s final appearance.

1. Tiles… ugh, these rank pretty high on my least favorite surface to remove off of concrete floors that will be polished. Usually because the tiles (VCT, ceramic, etc) have probably been there for awhile and this phenomenon called “ghosting” is 97% likely to occur. For whatever reason, tiles like to haunt the floors, long after they are gone.
2. Carpet – glue can be a pain to remove. It’s possible, but realize that you will be paying not only for the removal of the carpet surface, but also the glue so that we have a workable surface to polish
3. Armor plating – well this stuff just isn’t fun. 
4. Miscellaneous embeds – with re-models of older buildings; you may never know what you’ll find in the slab until you start construction. 
5. It’s messy and loud – there is no such thing as dustless or noiseless when it comes to polishing concrete.

Please don’t be scared of polished concrete floors. Like I mentioned earlier, they can be the most beautiful and lower lifecycle cost flooring choice. But please, understand the limitations and potential risks associated with specifying a polished concrete floor. If you need assistance specifying or reviewing a floor for potential polishing, please call Colorado Hardscapes. We can help you determine if a particular floor could be a potential candidate for a stunning polished concrete floor and the best methods to achieve your design intent. And with any concrete finish, I highly recommend having your contractor, whomever you choose, do an on-site mockup showing crack repairs, edges, and anything else that may come up in your particular project.

2020 Lawrence Fire Feature Photos

The fire feature at 2020 Lawrence is officially complete! Check out the photos of the GFRC rock and polished concrete top that makes this custom fire feature one-of-a-kind.

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Recycled stained glass window shattered on new concrete floors

Great green designers love to re-use pieces from old buildings for new construction. Architectural firm, Aller Lingle Massey, had this vision when designing the new Lory Student Center on Colorado State University’s campus in Fort Collins. In the floor placed and polished by Colorado Hardscapes, shards of what once was a beautiful stained glass window are scattered on the new floor. To make this expansion, the existing wall with the stained glass window needed to come down, but to keep a piece of history, the designers created this imagery to give the impression that the old window shattered on this new floor.

Colorado Hardscapes installed this floor using the Bomanite Modena system, which also helped this building in its pursuit of LEED Certification due to it’s recycled content, material re-use and regional materials.

Student area

Loveland Library – creating a concrete floor of earth, water and wood

When Loveland Library began the renovation of their Loveland Galleria library, they started to consider ways to enhance their existing flooring surface. The options seemed dismal with overlay materials such as carpet tiles or VCT. As a result, they hired Oz Architecture who designed a concept with earth, water, and wood.  With those design elements in mind, the approached Colorado Hardscapes on what is possible with a concrete overlay.

 

To achieve the concept of earth, water and wood, Oz designed an abstract pattern designed for the floor with Bomanite Modena – a concrete overlay with similar attributes to terrazzo. The base used CanyonCity aggregate, integral colors, and approximately 7,340 pounds of recycled glass. During the polishing process, Colorado Hardscapes applied two concrete dyes in specific areas to achieve an organic and flowing finish.

 

To achieve the design concept, a lot of details and thought went into the flooring.  This made the design complex, the materials unique, and the end result spectacular. 

Concrete Art Adorns City Set

City Set is a new mixed-use development in Glendale, CO. A Hilton Garden Inn sits on one side, a Marriott Residence Inn on the other, with retail providing a lively corridor between them. General Contractor, Waner Construction, called on Colorado Hardscapes to install the decorative paving on the site. Designed by Commarts/Stantec, the paving featured fine-detailed integrally colored Sandscape and broom finished concrete. By alternating the finishes between broom and Sandscape, the concrete achieved different appearances without the expense of separate pours. In the main corridor, Colorado Hardscapes coordinated the installation of Borgert concrete pavers. The parking stalls were cleverly delineated with different concrete finishes along with the traditional marking paint. As an artistic addition to the concrete flatwork, Colorado Hardscapes sandblasted decorative symmetrical patterns into the colored concrete at the pedestrian ramps. These patterns appear to change throughout the day as the sunlight crosses them.

About half way through the project, the owners of the project, Stonebridge Companies, visited Colorado Hardscapes’ DesignCenter in reference to another project. While they were there, they came across some polished concrete with seeded glass. This immediately sparked interest of a potential finish for some cherries for the City Set site. From that point on, Colorado Hardscapes worked with them and their designers at CommArts/Stantec to fine tune the artistic idea. Colorado Hardscapes created three red, polished concrete with red glass cherries. These cherries sit aside some uncolored concrete cherries in a synthetic turf area. The cherries add a hint of art to the site that children can play, climb, and sit on. Between the high-end paving, decorative patterns, and polished red cherries, the vision of CommArts and Stonebridge add a sense of art to a new development in Colorado.

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