the weather, ARGH! Design Styles, Chimneys and Finish Discuss the weather, ARGH! in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; What RT said!!!! Snow is evil. Ya might try the summer clearance sales - you might be able to snag ...

[Archena]

What RT said!!!!



Snow is evil.





Ya might try the summer clearance sales - you might be able to snag a canopy or table umbrella cheap.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Hi Splat,

Did the aluminium pan hold up OK?

the pan held up fine, I dont know if you can see in the pic, there is a cookie sheet under the pan...

? did you do anything to the turkey ahead of time, like brine or anything?

nothing much really,, a little EVOO, lime, salt, pepper, seasoning, etc...
well, you have done a great job on your build (and boy,sometimes) keep up the good work,, you must have a very high energy level
Cheers
Mark

[splatgirl]

thanks, Mark. I'm looking forward to it being donedone, but glad that I'll have the winter to ponder what kind of tile work I want to do on the front, etc.
Just pulled the last bit of formwork on the counter slab today. It came out OK, but it'll look a lot better once it's a bit less green and I can really give it good working over and polishing with the diamond pads. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with that yet this season.


I wanted to have a nice landing spot, but now that the counter is in place I think I might need to make myself a little step stool to be able to reach in and set up my fires.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Splat,
have you polished any concrete yet ? and where did you buy your pads ....

Nice job again
Cheers
Mark

[splatgirl]

I formed and cast 100+sq. ft. of tops for my house a few years ago and have done a few other slabs here and there since. This was the first cast in place slab I've done, but my past history includes lots of ordinary and 3-D flatwork and a big concrete soaking tub (ofuro) in my master bathroom which makes everything else seem downright simple.
The finishing supplies I used are what I had on hand from before and IIRC, they are all from here: Diamond tools - polishing pads, polishers and core bits
but probably only because they had the best prices at the time. I haven't looked at any of that stuff for a couple of years. I have the set of hand finishing pads as well as a set of grinder pads and a pneumatic wet/dry grinder which is completely unecessary for small to medium projects. If you are thinking of just a few countertop slabs, or even more than a few, you can do a great job with just the hand pads. I would buy them individually because 1800 and 3500 grit are overkill for concrete, whereas you could go through a couple of each of the sub-400 grit pads with a few projects. Takes a bit longer than with a power grinder, but more control and you're not into them for $500.
If you're casting in place in fair weather, patient and handy with the mag float, you wouldn't really even need more than a 400 and a 600 grit pad unless you want exposed aggregate.
This was also the first time I've done anything that's curved. I used 1/2" plywood with some kerfs cut in it for the radius edge because that's what I had in the garage. Worked great.
If you want more info let me know. I could totally make a career out of screwing around with concrete, and now that I've done both molded and cast in place stuff I have some definite opinions on the pros/cons.

[Archena]

Wow. That is sooo cool! You cast a concrete tub?!?!?!?



<feels suddenly inadequate>





I made a ceramic dinosaur in fourth grade...






I'm an expert in alternative cat litter.






I can use a reel mower (and I like it!).






<Yup, still feeling inadequate....>







I go build dog houses now....

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

splat,,, you have a picture of the tub ??

[splatgirl]

Making a Concrete Ofuro - a set on Flickr
and the countertops set, if anyone is interested in that:
Making Concrete Countertops - a set on Flickr


You're not inadequate. I'm just a total concrete geek.

[Archena]

Well, I feel better now.

If you ever need a legal geek (I read cases for fun), I'm your gal. I'm still working up to concrete, though.


I'll look at the pretty pics tomorrow - dial up and updates aren't friends of simultaneous downloads with pics.

Later!

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

SPLAT !!!! too cool.... when I do mine I want to incorporate broken glass, I will definitley be pouring in place and thought I could tamp it in before the final float.. Any thoughts ??
was that BOY in the pics,, he really does do the heavy work,, Good for you, maybe you better keep him