shotcrete
Installing a beautiful and durable plaster or exposed aggregate finish begins with the surface upon which it is installed. Here Jon Temple breaks down the surface preparation process with a concise look at shotcrete and how it sets up a successful plaster installation.
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Bill Drakeley is passionate about shotcrete, and has spent his professional life becoming a leading authority on its proper use—a pursuit that has led him into a world of concrete that goes far beyond the comfortable confines of swimming pool construction.
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On November 11, plasterer Rob Romano, of David Cook Plaster Co., and Bill Drakeley, WU cofounder, defined successful plaster installation in a lively Wolfpack Webinar Wednesdays presentation. The discussion was part of WU's ongoing effort to provide basic, as well as advanced, technical instruction for watershape builders and subcontractors.
Engineers carry an almost sacred trust, with watershapers relying on them to design structures and systems that are reliable, science-based and code-compliant. When that trust is broken, says Dave Peterson and Bill Drakeley, the consumer's investment is at risk -- as is the watershaper's reputation.
Avoiding 'shadowing' in the shotcrete-placement process is crucial to the structural integrity of pool shells, notes Dave Peterson. Here, he shares a detail that dodges the void creation that can lead to structural compromises.
Construction defects often first reveal themselves on the plaster surface. When the concrete substrate isn't right, those issues will always transmit to the plaster and become painfully visible. Making sure that the shotcrete bonding plane is up to standards is key to successful plaster installation. While the subject of plaster's relationship with
As this strange time keeps on rolling and builders' phones continue to ring off the hook, Watershape University (WU) is serving our audience with our dynamic Wolfpack Webinar Wednesdays series of online educational offerings. When we started down this path, admittedly it was something of an experiment, but now with three months of presentations under our canine belts, we have been thrilled with
Tying form boards to structural steel is a huge mistake, says Paolo Benedetti: There's no standard or rationale that supports the practice, and as he notes here, that's simply because doing so conjures a host of problems and can result in structurally incompetent walls and shells.
Placing shotcrete in hot weather can be a risky proposition if you don't follow basic guidelines. Success under these conditions, reports William Drakeley, calls for controlling concrete temperature and mix design while also managing details of the installation and curing processes.
