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Alla Linetsky
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Alla Linetsky's Discussions
Plasticizers
Replied 19 hours ago
Plasticizers
Replied 19 hours ago
Alla Linetsky
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John, the Adva's are polycarbs, and I think that the higher the number, the newer the model.
I get Glenium directly from BASF in Brampton. Didn't I send you the name of the Ottawa rep a while back?
I've tried liquids and powders, and to me, there is no comparison - liquids rule. Polycarboxylates work on the electrostatic principle - they give the cement particles the same electric charge, so the particles repel each other. This is a temporar...
Beautiful cart, Brandon!
We just load up our A-frame, with 1/2" styrofoam between slabs. Largest pieces go on first, smallest ones on the outside. Get some good ratchet straps with latch hooks, min. 5000 lbs breaking strength and 1.5" wide straps...
These mortars are far too soft to be used for our purpose. I doubt you will be able to polish it; most likely it will crumble out.
The TV would be an invitation for a break-in. Some of us live and work in cities where we do have to lock our doors at night. Photographs would be better. Otherwise, I agree with John - display stuff you want to be making more of. Keep it simple -...
John, I have no idea what you're talking about. How about thinking down to the level of those of us unfamiliar with professional spraying equipment?
Tim, I'm aware of that - but it's tough to keep a 5-gal can airtight, and besides, the moisture will get through any re-applied seal. I always thought that moisture in DA would shorten the pot life of diluted EAP; I wasn't aware of any curing prob...
I've been using old DA, but I haven't noticed any curing problems. At what point do they show up? In other words, can the thinned EAP go on nicely, be buffed out smooth, etc., and then delaminate or worse?
We use it, along with qwix in the mix. In the winter, our dosage is around 1% of total cementitious binder. In the summer, we bump it up to 1.35%. This is with a 0.32 w/c ratio and LiquidZ replacing 20-25% of water. The w/c ratio includes the wate...
I remember having a rather undesirable shade variation due to plaster of paris. I used it on a foam sink plug instead of my usual synthetic lightweight filler, and didn't coat it with urethane (I usually don't, and besides, the plaster was too fre...
Floor products are cheap per square foot - otherwise, nobody would use them. This means sodium silicates are the densifiers of choice - they're the cheapest. They're also most likely to bloom. Potassium silicates are not nearly as likely to cause ...
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- Alla Linetsky
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GFRC destruction pt 2
Added by Alla Linetsky
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GFRC destruction pt 1
Added by Alla Linetsky
Comment Wall (26 comments)
- At 8:29am on November 14, 2009,
Christian Lotte COUNTERINTUITIVE said… - Thank you, Alla. This helps, you say the inside formwork doesn't have to be as stong as for regular wet-cast aggregate concrete. What do you use to make your inside formwork?
Thanks, Christian
- At 9:11pm on November 13, 2009,
al hasson said… - Thanks Alla,
i will give him a call, by the way your work looks great.
- At 7:57am on November 13, 2009,
Christian Lotte COUNTERINTUITIVE said…
- Hi Alle, I am a pretty new fabricator down in North Carolina, and while I am contemplating the move to GFRC, I constantly think about making GFRC without the spray application...and have run across that in several of your posts. You call it a wet-cast GFRC. I am trying to get a better understanding of this, but have my concerns.
Is this a single layer application? How do you avoid seeing fibers after processing in your tops? Do you stay in a 3-5% Fiber loading range?
If it is an SCC mix, then how do you assure that the majority of your fibers are oriented in the right direction? The way I learned GFRC is to layer your backer coat and roll the mix out with a compaction roller to assure correct orientation of the fibers. Or do you use additional steel reinforcing in your GFRC tops?
And finally, part of the beauty of GFRC is that you can easily make three dimensional shapes without having to have a 2-part mold. How do you manage to have an SCC mix not slide down vertical surfaces?
Sorry for all these questions, I hope you can point me in the right direction. Love your work!
Thank you, Christian
- At 9:08pm on November 11, 2009,
al hasson said…
- Hi Alla, i am from the matitimes and would also like to know if there are any canadian suppliers for gfrc. i already use glenium 7700 , but that is the only thing i can find so far. i bought gores video and trying to follow his recipe as he has been around for a while and seems to work. i am running out of time as i have to purchase the componets soon, i have a client that is having her cubbords installed at the end of the month...........not much time to practice. any help would be appreciated. one more thing is the eap sealer as good as they say it is. thanks in advance Al.
- At 9:37am on September 27, 2009,
element concrete said… - Thanks Alla, let the experiments begin
- At 10:57pm on September 24, 2009,
element concrete said…
- Hi Alla, thanks for the reply I really appreciate your time and info. No you have not replied to me before but I bet I am not the first to ask you for some info on mix design. The cheng mix is not a typo but does say to use 72lbs natural sand or 40lbs light weight sand? not sure what that is as the sand I use has been graded for use in concrete. If you don't mind what add mixtures do you use if you do not like polyplex? Thanks again Patrick.
- At 1:18pm on September 23, 2009,
element concrete said…
- Hi Alla, my name is Patrick and I live in BC. I am new to the forum and so far have been amazed at the wealth of knowledge on this site especially your input. I have two questions I was hoping you could help out with. 1) Is there anywhere in Canada I can order admixtures ie: polyplex, vcas 160 etc for my counter mix? This is so I can avoid the duty and less shipping charges. 2) I have been using chengs recipe for my concrete mix. It seems a bit heavy on the sand. (cement 22.5lbs sand 72lbs 37lbs gravel). Is there a better recipe you can recommend? I have a small flatwork company and am very familiar with concrete slabs and walls but counters are fairly new to me. I was thinking of posting this on the forum but wanted specific info from you. If you have the time thanks for any help you can offer. Patrick
- At 2:50am on September 13, 2009,
Kasper Naef said… - I am using the HPC cement from Quickcrete http://concreterepair.com/HPCSpecSheets/HPC.4.4Cement.pdf
I have the white 40 minute one. First I was using it straight, but it was just too hot. Now I came up with the mix I am using now, 50:50 with Portland and it works great. I have poured at 34 degrees C a few weeks back and I used a bit of delay then. I had to hustle, but still got about 30 minutes. Now when it is around 25 degrees, I have about 45 minutes to an hour working time. That is without any delay in it.
I demold everything after 12-15 hours and polish right away.After 24 hours it becomes virtually impossible to polish. Just too hard. I don't do any curing regiment at all. Have not had any problems. I just use regular sand and VCAS. I used SIKA Viscocrete 6100 as a super P.
I have not have had any luck polishing anything where I had the fibers in it, they show right away, so that is why I came up with the method I am using now.
I don't know if the Eclipse helped with the pinholes. I really don't have any at all, other than on the edges and where I do seeded "rivers" with large glass and pebbles. I think it had more to do with going away from Polyplex, which was horrible. I went to Liquid Z, which was much better, but now I am using Mapei Planicrete AC at 5%. That has really eliminated the pinholes. I polish to 200 and the can go directly to the first coat of EAP. Then a slurry coat and one more EAP.
Planicrete is only $80 canadian for 20 liters. I think with the CSA, using acrylic is kind of overkill anyway.
- At 4:22pm on September 12, 2009,
Kasper Naef said…
- Hi Alla,
I know what you mean about the other forum. After all it is Blue concrete's forum.... Don't mention the letters E A P over there..... LOL
I have been using the Grace Eclipse floor and it has worked great. Now all my pieces are perfectly straight everytime.
I am using 50:50 HPC and portland cement. All poured GFRC using regular sand. I pour a thin layer of without fibers first and then add the backer coat.
99% of my pieces are exposed aggregate. I stick a 1/2" strip styrofam along the exposed edges, fill the back coat and then pull the styro out while pouring in some more of the face coat without the fibers. The same for undermount sinks. Works great, exposed agg with poured GFRC, the way to go...
Kasper
- At 8:35pm on September 10, 2009,
James Catabia said… - Hello Alla,
Are you still using Poraver in your mix? I am currently GFRC all the way and I have started using Poraver over the last few months. I like the results. I only use it in the backer portion of my mix. I am at a 25% sub at this time. My concrete at 1 1/2" thick is 15 lbs. per square foot. What are your results like. I am using the 1mm-2mm size.
- At 7:47am on August 21, 2009,
Marty St.Clair said… - You produce some nice peices, Alla.
- At 9:25pm on August 20, 2009,
Will Jenkins said…
- Alla,
First off you are awesomely talented, but you knew that already I'm sure. I am doing a curved double sink and double drain board similar to the one in your pics. Although mine won't wrap around as tight as yours. So I had 2 questions. How did you make the slots for the drain board? Also, unrelated, do you cast on plexiglass? It sort of looks like it in the mold photo. Thanks so much,
Will Jenkins
- At 12:02pm on August 10, 2009,
Mark Celebuski said… - I’ve been working with CeraTech for the last 6 months to develop a precast / countertop / GFRC / Portland free / cement. I’ll be the manufacturer’s rep for the new product; it will be sold through distributors.
It started as a search for a green alternative for countertops and hopefully will end up with people creating 98% recycled content building systems, countertops etc.
It can be sprayed with GFRC equipment, it will make almost self consolidating GFRC (may require a little vibration / compaction).
We will see how it goes.
Mark
- At 5:45am on August 10, 2009,
Mark Celebuski said…
- Alla,
I think it’s great that you are making your own alkali activated cement. I believe this is a big step in curbing world CO2 emissions.
I’m forbidden from discussing CeraTech’s processes or chemistry beyond saying that their patent pending cements work very differently from ordinary alkali activated cements.
So far I’ve been very impressed with the results.
Good luck, Mark
- At 1:45am on July 20, 2009,
Becky Thompson said… - Alla, I understand there are a lot of people out there that expect everything to be ready-made for them, including concrete mixes. I want to work on developing my own mixes, tailored to my needs, so therefore I know I need more information to build my knowledge base and experiment. I have read about deformers, superplasticizers, polymers,retarders, ect to no end on the internet but i would like something in hardcover. Is that too much to ask for? Suggestions for reference materials? I WANT to know the chemistry of concrete. As much of it as my brain will absorb.
Over the last few moths of browsing this forum (even before I joined) I have noticed you have a chemistry background which i believe puts you a step ahead of many others out there. You cannot tell me you learned all about concrete overnight and neither can I. I must find resources to work with that aren't based on brand names of products and start there.
Also, I took Tommy and Mike Cook's GFRC course and we did cover mix designs and basic admixtures, I just want to know more. I am not looking for a "magic bullet" of any kind. I hope know you will understand what I am looking for from my post. I also edited the original post to prevent others for thinking along the lines you did. Thank you for that. Now hopefully I will get some useful suggestions. Cheers
Becky Thompson
- At 11:23am on June 16, 2009,
Loren said… - Hi Alla just wondering where you purchase your liquidz from...... I'm from Calgary and shipping costs are brutal. I'm looking for acrylic polymer alternatives.
Thanks
Loren
- At 8:24pm on April 6, 2009,
david said… - Hey Alla, We met in Orlando. I'm the one who asked if you were from Austarlia at the party. We have been mixing a wet GFRC. Have you done this with exposed aggregate. If so what result. I remember you had a chemistry back ground. What is the best additive to encompass aggregate, especially large.
- At 12:09am on December 9, 2008,
Ron - Natural Choice said… - Alla - any chance of posting a photo of the wet polishing set up you mentioned a few weeks back? I am sure a few of us figuring out how to deal with winter conditions would appreciate it. Thanks
Ron
- At 4:37pm on November 8, 2008,
Derek Mackenzie said… - Alla,
I am a hobbiest at best. I am in love with concrete and all of it's forms, basiscally a huge concrete geek.I have been a fan of your work for some time now and have been awaiting the day I finally got to meet you. I will be glad to help, I can take care of this floor and make your client love you again.
I am doing my kitchen countertops as we speak, I popped the forms today. Not bad, had a seam issue due to it being too big to fit on a 4x8 sheet. I am hoping some slurry and fancy polishing will do the trick.
Would love to meet.
How is your week?
- At 5:51am on September 12, 2008,
Boom Bechkowiak said… - Alla,
So, having the 1st year students must be positive??
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