We witness many interesting processes during the construction of any given project. Recently we were on site as the crew of Austin Custom Pools shot the gunite for a privacy wall postioned next to the new swimming pool at the Clark House. Typically used to form the walls of pools, shotcrete (Gunite is a proprietary term) is a process of spraying a very dry concrete mix through a hose at high velocity. A nozzleman controls the addition of water as it is sprayed in place. The application is fast, and the compressive strength of cured shotcrete is extremely high.
Dry shotcrete mix going into the hopper out on the street.
Water and shotcrete lines make their way into the back yard
Shotcrete process complete. A more precise shape (but still rough) is achieved by hand-shaping the concrete while still wet. This wall will receive a finish application of exterior plaster.
Greg Loftus holding a pickled test panel in place. In addition to being a consummate carpenter, Greg also the front man for the Austin-based band Carpetbagger.
Part of the design process that we really enjoy is transforming commonplace materials into something special. At the Hartstein Ramshaw house, we've been experimenting with structural elements and materials that would typically be covered over. In addition to the wall studs in the clerestory windows, we're also exposing the B-C grade plywood of the living room ceiling.
This construction grade utility plywood has two types of faces; the B-side is an appearance grade face suitable for high-quality staining and paint finishing, and the C-side is the rough non-appearance side with visible knots and defects. We've been working with the contractor, Gray Renovation, to explore different options to give the exposed B-side a bit more of a refined finish while still preserving the natural grain of the wood. After testing a variety of finishes and stains, we've chosen a combination of Minwax Pickling Stain with a clear polyurethane finish.
The pickling stain evens out the grain of the B-side with a subtle, nautical whitewash, while the clear polyurethane finish gives it a pearly luster. These test samples show the difference between a clear-coat of polyurethane and the pickling stain/polyurethane combination. More photos to come as the ceiling receives this treatment.
Thank you to all who braved the cold weather over the weekend and came out to Light Night. The Waller Creek Conservancy and Ingrid Spencer put on an amazing event and we are honored to have been part of it.
We are thrilled to have our firsturban design project under construction by The City of Austin. Working with the Ridgelea Neighbourhood Association, under the visionary leadership of Ryan Britton, MLA created the urban master plan framework for the redesign of several street intersections, reducing blacktop and creating five new community green spaces, each with unusual geometric shapes specific to their location.
On friday night we tested a small section of our Light Bridge installation for the Waller Creek Conservancy Creek Show. This section of the installation was shop fabricated. The final piece will be a full scale drawing of a bridge made of electroluminescent wire and speaker wire. The wind added a great shimmering quality to the overall effect. For more on the show visit The Creek Show website. For more on Legge Lewis Legge visit www.leggelewislegge.com. The Creek Show opens November 13th.
A job well done on the careful framing by contractor Justin Gray and his crew. The exposed rafters and vertical studs for the clerestory windows line up perfectly.
