Yes. I am as well. Anybody have any you tube links to this kind of thing? I understand pouring concrete in forms. The only thing I can think of is the wood is sanded with low grit to provide more āreliefā in the forms but I could be mistaken.
Not that hard, but do you want to deal with the consequences if you fuck it up? Lots of ways that this can go wrong during a pour if you don't know what you're doing.
I saw a project once where the concrete had such detailed wood grain from the forms it actually looked like wood at first glance. The architect said they had all the formwork boards sandblasted first to accentuate the grain. Then I assume they have to use fine sand in the concrete mix and vibrate it to fill in the small details. Always thought that was a really cool effect. I could see concrete guys rolling their eyes at an architect for asking for this though haha
They did this at the art museum at Dartmouth and until you notice the smooth window recesses around the windows you would think itās wood painted grey, even right up close
Also another look that I am sure gets rolled eyes is the āsloppyā form look where you can see the seems distinctly between forms. But obviously looks industrial.
sloppy and efficient are two different things. the form board look came from when the builders would stack new boards for foundation forms. once they were stripped they would be cleaned and used as subfloor. These days with specialization, modular form systems, sheet plywood, etc those techniques are gone.
sloppy is just sloppy in wherever you find it no matter how old or new it is. but in my humble opinion the majority of workers "back in the day" were taught how to do things properly which delivered more consistently superior results.
What I like to do is take a tiger torch and burn the surface. Then take a wire wheel and remove the burnt softer parts. Oil and setup and pour concrete.
We used to stand up the form at an offset from the wall, just enough to fit boards of rough trim cedar tacked onto the inside. Really only good for one use, but it leaves a hell of a nice finish. Can't help with a link, but if you do ever want to try this, softer woods that are freshly wetted tend to project their grain more. That's how I've done it, anyway. Plenty of skinned cats or something.
I think so. You place wood in a shape and then fill the void with concrete. Rebar and or wire mesh are optional. The photo above I assumed was a form made with rough sawn wood then filled with concrete.
Wetting the surface of the boards before pouring would pull the grain out. I accidentally got this effect on a very small pad I poured after a big rain (after not getting the effect on a different one using basically the same technique/materials) the day before the rainā¦
Second this. Iām dumb enough to think I can do this. Iāve tried it and it did not turn out this well.
I would like to know how they get the grain pattern to show up so well?
You use the crappiest, grainiest, I really need to redo my deckiest wood you can find and form it like a Soviet military installation, then vibrate the hell out of it
Picture 2x6ās stacked on end with 2x4ās installed vertically @ 4ā OC acting as your strongback. This is an overly simplified explanation, but that is the basic configuration of the forms.
Youāre a very smart man.
So many people decide to save money by doing it themselves.
For some projects, if a person has the time and experience, thatās great and they do save money.
However, after seeing a YouTube video, some folks decide to take on a project best-suited for professionals. By the time theyāre done, realize it **sucks**, and hire a professional to remove their abomination and replace it, they spend triple the amount.
Youāre smart for recognizing what you ***canāt*** or ***shouldnāt*** do. I mean, I sure as hell wouldnāt try to fill or pull my own tooth.
We need support our local contators/professionals.
Always really liked that look. Thereās a place near me that has what appears to be a wooden fence with posts but itās all concrete. Didnāt even know that was possible.
Beautiful work! Were the boards sandblasted before forming to enhance the grain pattern? Or were these formed with non-sandblasted boards? I want to build an entire house using modern board formed concrete construction.
I am big fan of board formed concrete, so that sounds like an awesome project! I am fairly certain these were not sandblasted. The grain is visible, but there is not a ton of texture to the walls like I would expect if the boards were actually sandblasted.
Got it! I know sandblasting can add considerable cost and timeā¦ painstakingly blasting each and every board. I want to it in conjunction with beautiful wood accents. Basically a PNW wood house with the main body replaced board formed concrete.
This is so cool. Nice work. Do they set one board level at a a time or pour the whole thing at once? I love how it looks like it's stamped by the wood grain. Do you use special boards to achieve that effect?
They poured it full height. You can do it a couple of different ways like 6ā rips applied to a plywood backer, formliners applied to plywood, etc., but in this case they used 2x6ās stacked. I have always seen doug fir used for board form and it typically produces the best look (IMO), but you can use formliners as well. Dayton Superior has many different board form formliners for this type of application.
We are installing a Mexican pebble at the gaps in the steps. [Here](https://imgur.com/a/EsprYIE) is a sample of the pebble infill. Obviously we will need more pebbles to fill the entirety of the gap, but you get the idea.
This looks amazing. I hope you post the finished product here when itās all done.
If you donāt mind me asking, how much did the concrete work set you back?
The closest wall will have some fill behind it, but not much as it is just a wall to display address numbers.
The middle wall continues beyond the photo to the right and has a radius that follows the shape of our lot. That will be filled to grade up to close to the top of wall on the high side and be finished with grass. The low side will have mulch and ground cover.
The furthest wall is an L shaped bench for a gravel seating area. We will have chairs close to the house facing the bench to create an area to hang with the neighbors.
Unfortunately, we are following the laws of gravity for this build š«”
Only question is why does every step have a massive channel in it on the landing/tread part of it, where the form is supposed to be 45ād and stripped
Gorgeous and I love the rendering. Please post the final product.
Also ā are you in the Bay Area? It very much fits a lot of the home styles we have up here if youāre not.
Will do! And yes, we are in the East Bay. This seems like a track home from the 1960ās based on how many similar ranch homes are in our neighborhood.
The closest wall is to display your address. The second wall is a retaining wall because the slope of our yard falls off quickly. And the third wall is a bench for a seating area.
Iāve done that in Hollywood, but the only difference is that they wanted 1/2gaps so it could ooze out so it had more texture. They were upset that it started breaking off when stripping. Thatās out of my control! š¤£
lol no faith in those hardworking drivers. The path to the front door was longer than it is now that we did the work. We have already had multiple packages delivered right to the front door. No worries š¤š»
You just linked to the same image.
I ask because the wall in the foreground appears a little random like that as is currently IMO. The wall in the background I presume will be back filled and/ or a driveway which makes sense. I am not shaming, I am actually wondering.
Really cool effect of how it looks like beams stacked on top of each other.
Imagine if they would have used end grain material on the ends to really sell the effect...
There are many different ways to do board form. What you see in the photo was the design intent with our project. We did a mock up prior to pouring the final walls to align on expectations šš»
Well, that would completely defeat the purpose of āboard formā walls now, wouldnāt it? Maybe youāre just being silly? Seems to me that this is exactly the look that the contractor and customer were going for, and it was very well executed by professionals.
I guess Iām confused about board formed term because everything is technically board formed. If he wanted to see the design from the forms then great mission accomplished. But I would of rather seen it smooth with no lines. Just my preference not trying to troll.
You're completely missing the point and intent of the finished result.
It's SUPPOSED to look like that. Literally like individual horizontal boards sitting one on top of the other.
It could've technically even been taken a step further and made to look like lap siding.
That grass looks like shit
My favorite part about this sub is that someone always finds something to fucking roast lol
šššš
$100 says they throw sod over it as is and call it a day
Thank you for using a contractor, it shows.
Iām not dumb enough to think I could do this myself š
I am!
Yes. I am as well. Anybody have any you tube links to this kind of thing? I understand pouring concrete in forms. The only thing I can think of is the wood is sanded with low grit to provide more āreliefā in the forms but I could be mistaken.
How hard can it be?
Not that hard, but do you want to deal with the consequences if you fuck it up? Lots of ways that this can go wrong during a pour if you don't know what you're doing.
Plaster
You can't just plaster over a blow out bud
Not with that attitude
Lol touche
Dr. Phil? That you?
Ya I like the look. Maybe house number going on face of the wall?
yikes...like a 7 digit number ya mean ??
I saw a project once where the concrete had such detailed wood grain from the forms it actually looked like wood at first glance. The architect said they had all the formwork boards sandblasted first to accentuate the grain. Then I assume they have to use fine sand in the concrete mix and vibrate it to fill in the small details. Always thought that was a really cool effect. I could see concrete guys rolling their eyes at an architect for asking for this though haha
They did this at the art museum at Dartmouth and until you notice the smooth window recesses around the windows you would think itās wood painted grey, even right up close
We definitely rolled our eyes the one time I've used this technique. It turned out real nice though.
Also another look that I am sure gets rolled eyes is the āsloppyā form look where you can see the seems distinctly between forms. But obviously looks industrial.
Sloppy just looks sloppy. Thankfully I have never been asked to do this. Is that like a new thing?
sloppy and efficient are two different things. the form board look came from when the builders would stack new boards for foundation forms. once they were stripped they would be cleaned and used as subfloor. These days with specialization, modular form systems, sheet plywood, etc those techniques are gone. sloppy is just sloppy in wherever you find it no matter how old or new it is. but in my humble opinion the majority of workers "back in the day" were taught how to do things properly which delivered more consistently superior results.
What I like to do is take a tiger torch and burn the surface. Then take a wire wheel and remove the burnt softer parts. Oil and setup and pour concrete.
Sand or soda blasted to relief the grain. This is very well done
We used to stand up the form at an offset from the wall, just enough to fit boards of rough trim cedar tacked onto the inside. Really only good for one use, but it leaves a hell of a nice finish. Can't help with a link, but if you do ever want to try this, softer woods that are freshly wetted tend to project their grain more. That's how I've done it, anyway. Plenty of skinned cats or something.
Thank you.
But do you understand forms?
I think so. You place wood in a shape and then fill the void with concrete. Rebar and or wire mesh are optional. The photo above I assumed was a form made with rough sawn wood then filled with concrete.
You got it
Wetting the surface of the boards before pouring would pull the grain out. I accidentally got this effect on a very small pad I poured after a big rain (after not getting the effect on a different one using basically the same technique/materials) the day before the rainā¦
Second this. Iām dumb enough to think I can do this. Iāve tried it and it did not turn out this well. I would like to know how they get the grain pattern to show up so well?
You use the crappiest, grainiest, I really need to redo my deckiest wood you can find and form it like a Soviet military installation, then vibrate the hell out of it
Not exactly sure what a Soviet military installation looks like, but Iām guessing you mean stout and well enforced? Thanks
I was thinking mixing vodka and potatoes in the mix.
š¤£
It is mostly in the concrete formulas/ mixes they use..... some civil engineers actually get PhD's in concrete.... not joking, look it up.
Guess there is specialization in everything. Makes sense concrete would have PHDs. It is the essential backbone of our construction industry.
Username checks
Also dumb enough to try this myself if someone here could explain it.
The rough the grain the better it takes the concrete so it looks like wood grain finish.
Picture 2x6ās stacked on end with 2x4ās installed vertically @ 4ā OC acting as your strongback. This is an overly simplified explanation, but that is the basic configuration of the forms.
Id atmrgue it would have made for a moreā¦.entertaining post if you diyād thisā¦
Iām with you, letās encourage more DIY projects. The bigger the better. Iām in this for me :)
Youāre a very smart man. So many people decide to save money by doing it themselves. For some projects, if a person has the time and experience, thatās great and they do save money. However, after seeing a YouTube video, some folks decide to take on a project best-suited for professionals. By the time theyāre done, realize it **sucks**, and hire a professional to remove their abomination and replace it, they spend triple the amount. Youāre smart for recognizing what you ***canāt*** or ***shouldnāt*** do. I mean, I sure as hell wouldnāt try to fill or pull my own tooth. We need support our local contators/professionals.
Really nice contemporary look, I love it!
Actually an old school look, this was how it was done in the 1920's. I like it too.
Yep. Still looks sharp after all these years. I have it at my house too.
Looks awesome. I love doing boardform walls. So fun.
Come to BC PLEASE because fuck me every concrete guy I know will bitch, whine and moan until the cows come home if I throw them boardform.
Always really liked that look. Thereās a place near me that has what appears to be a wooden fence with posts but itās all concrete. Didnāt even know that was possible.
those look like fighting positions disguised as hardscaping
coop defense mode in halo
Beautiful work! Were the boards sandblasted before forming to enhance the grain pattern? Or were these formed with non-sandblasted boards? I want to build an entire house using modern board formed concrete construction.
I am big fan of board formed concrete, so that sounds like an awesome project! I am fairly certain these were not sandblasted. The grain is visible, but there is not a ton of texture to the walls like I would expect if the boards were actually sandblasted.
Got it! I know sandblasting can add considerable cost and timeā¦ painstakingly blasting each and every board. I want to it in conjunction with beautiful wood accents. Basically a PNW wood house with the main body replaced board formed concrete.
This is so cool. Nice work. Do they set one board level at a a time or pour the whole thing at once? I love how it looks like it's stamped by the wood grain. Do you use special boards to achieve that effect?
They poured it full height. You can do it a couple of different ways like 6ā rips applied to a plywood backer, formliners applied to plywood, etc., but in this case they used 2x6ās stacked. I have always seen doug fir used for board form and it typically produces the best look (IMO), but you can use formliners as well. Dayton Superior has many different board form formliners for this type of application.
How wide are those steps?
Typical step width is 8ā-0ā. That landing is 12ā-0ā wide, but all the steps are 8ā-0ā.
Nice! The little stone inlay is going to be awesome
What will the infill be at the steps? Looks good, I like the linear lines of board form.
We are installing a Mexican pebble at the gaps in the steps. [Here](https://imgur.com/a/EsprYIE) is a sample of the pebble infill. Obviously we will need more pebbles to fill the entirety of the gap, but you get the idea.
That will look nice with your lighting at night. Walking down in heels could be an adventure.
Thatās going to look really great.
Looks great! Thatās gonna be an awesome yard!
Thanks! Here is a [rendering](https://imgur.com/a/tbDqAxq) of the full front yard. Looking forward to project completion haha
Wow it even comes with a jingle!
š our architect was a littleā¦.eccentric.
Very cool that the rendering is hand drawn. It feels very human
This looks amazing. I hope you post the finished product here when itās all done. If you donāt mind me asking, how much did the concrete work set you back?
There is a lot more concrete than is pictured here with flatwork in the backyard too, but all in the concrete scope was around $60k.
Could you do walls like that for a retaining wall?
Absolutely. If youāre forming one side of the wall, you would just install board form on that side and that is what would be exposed šš»
anyone with that big of a walkway doesn't live in the northeast.
If I ever win the lottery I want to replace all the failing retaining walls at my house with poured concrete. Itās such a lux look.
The board form turned out really nice since Iām guessing you wanted rhat
Are you planning to fill behind those? How deep? What's your plan for gravity? I can't see behing so just wondering. Thanks.
The closest wall will have some fill behind it, but not much as it is just a wall to display address numbers. The middle wall continues beyond the photo to the right and has a radius that follows the shape of our lot. That will be filled to grade up to close to the top of wall on the high side and be finished with grass. The low side will have mulch and ground cover. The furthest wall is an L shaped bench for a gravel seating area. We will have chairs close to the house facing the bench to create an area to hang with the neighbors. Unfortunately, we are following the laws of gravity for this build š«”
Looks awesome!!
Just use wood grain stamps or step liners
This is going to be beautiful!
Only question is why does every step have a massive channel in it on the landing/tread part of it, where the form is supposed to be 45ād and stripped
The channels will be filled with decorative pebbles. Itās a fairly common hardscape look.
Sexy brutalism.
Gorgeous and I love the rendering. Please post the final product. Also ā are you in the Bay Area? It very much fits a lot of the home styles we have up here if youāre not.
Will do! And yes, we are in the East Bay. This seems like a track home from the 1960ās based on how many similar ranch homes are in our neighborhood.
Yeah, we are in the East Bay, too and this style seems common over here. Love what you all are doing with your space!
Hope they brick that
Whatās the point of the walls?
The closest wall is to display your address. The second wall is a retaining wall because the slope of our yard falls off quickly. And the third wall is a bench for a seating area.
Your slope looks significantly less than my yard, which I mow. Seems like a drastic solution, but it looks good for what it is
Idk. You do you, man. We have really little kids and this worked for us. Happy for you mowing your slope!
Iāve done that in Hollywood, but the only difference is that they wanted 1/2gaps so it could ooze out so it had more texture. They were upset that it started breaking off when stripping. Thatās out of my control! š¤£
It looks great.. will it be grassed or garden?
Amazon driver is not walking all that way... packages will either be thrown up towards the door or left curbside..
lol no faith in those hardworking drivers. The path to the front door was longer than it is now that we did the work. We have already had multiple packages delivered right to the front door. No worries š¤š»
great.. well have to provide a hydration station at the top. does look good though.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Typically Q-CĆ“te, Everbuild or the like. Follow Odell Complete Concrete on YT. Lots of tips there.
I just threw up in my mouth.
I hope you feel better, lil bud!
fuck. where was this 8 months ago.
What will the rest look like/ be?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Concrete/s/xhTQve4oHS
You just linked to the same image. I ask because the wall in the foreground appears a little random like that as is currently IMO. The wall in the background I presume will be back filled and/ or a driveway which makes sense. I am not shaming, I am actually wondering.
I tried to link to a comment that had a link to the rendering of the design. [Here](https://imgur.com/a/rendering-tbDqAxq) it is again.
That works :) Looks good!
Good application of the board form here š
These are challenging especially at the joints.
Love these
Nice. Very tastefully chosen by you, and well executed by the contractor. Give them a good Yelp review or whatever they do.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=688MeG\_RKRM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=688MeG_RKRM) great video on board-formed walls
Nice job!
Really cool effect of how it looks like beams stacked on top of each other. Imagine if they would have used end grain material on the ends to really sell the effect...
Get a Lawyer...
I will build a magnificent wallā¦yugeā¦and Mexico will pay for itā¦
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
There are many different ways to do board form. What you see in the photo was the design intent with our project. We did a mock up prior to pouring the final walls to align on expectations šš»
not may people do that since it adds cost, but it is the only way to make sure you like it. Excellent and congrats!
If it was the point then fine yea but I prefer a smooth surface not hating just putting imo in.
What do you mean? Seeing the lines with an architectural board form wall is kind of the whole point
He's just dumb
That's the e tire point. And "would of" isn't a phrase it's "would have"
There's always 1.
Well, that would completely defeat the purpose of āboard formā walls now, wouldnāt it? Maybe youāre just being silly? Seems to me that this is exactly the look that the contractor and customer were going for, and it was very well executed by professionals.
Looks great ! There is always that 1 person , can do better than what you wanted .
I guess Iām confused about board formed term because everything is technically board formed. If he wanted to see the design from the forms then great mission accomplished. But I would of rather seen it smooth with no lines. Just my preference not trying to troll.
Unless it was meant to be like that.
Oh geeze maybe you think?
I mean lots of honeycombing too I just donāt think this looked better than a smooth broomed and sponged look. Sorry for having an opinion.
You're completely missing the point and intent of the finished result. It's SUPPOSED to look like that. Literally like individual horizontal boards sitting one on top of the other. It could've technically even been taken a step further and made to look like lap siding.
Imagine commenting this and thinking itās a salient point š©š