New to the site. We are building a rather large addition to our existing house along with a pool and outdoor covered kitchen and patio area. A retaining wall will also be a part of the project. Anyway, I really like natural stone but it is very expensive for the real stuff. I am a pretty artistic person and decided I could probably do some of this decorative concrete stuff myself once I learned some things about the processes involved. I want to make some of our walls look as though it is made out of stacked stone. While I know this site doesn't seem to deal with vertical cement carving at alll, I still thought you might be able to make a guess or straight out answer my questions about such an endeavor.
On our retaining wall, it will probably be made out of cinder block. I will use caps to tidy the tops of it, but on the wall i want to do some sculpting. I Have seen in some videos where they take this wire mesh and screw it to the wall with screws and big washer like things underneath them. Do you think this would be necessary with a cinder block wall? Wouldn't the mix of concrete from this site just bond to it?
And about the metal mesh i have seen in videos. They spray the mesh with something before they start applying concrete. Do you have any idea what this could be? I am assuming it is some kind of bonding agent but what? I guess the specific video in question might be helpful: http://youtu.be/U_joT9TDJMY
I also notice he puts one layer of cement on before starting a second layer for the stamping. Any thoughts as to why that is? Is it more of a slurry mix? It seems awfully thick if that is what it is.
Anyway, I am enjoying the site and have learned a LOT from it. Learning to do the boulders was worth the price of admission.