Products
We specialize in producing high-quality architectural concrete products, including both cast stone and architectural precast.
Cast Stone
Cast stone is a more versatile, more durable, and less expensive alternative to natural cut stone. It can be molded into an enormous variety of shapes and can be colored using inorganic mineral pigments to match almost any existing stone in color. Cast stone has been used in some form since the 12th century, but it was not until the invention of Portland cement in the 1840s that modern cast stone became possible. Properly-made cast stone has a beautiful "sugarcube" texture, and is almost indistinguishable from top-quality Indiana limestone.
Cast stone is typically made using the vibrant dry-tamp method, in which the cement and fine aggregate are compacted against the face of the mold using pneumatic pressure. The pieces are then finished and cured at high heat and humidity. The result is an extremely strong cement matrix, which typically achieves a compressive strength of at least 6500 PSI when tested per ASTM C 1194, with a water absorption rate less than 6%. Compressive strengths over 10,000 PSI are not uncommon for well-tamped cast stone.
Architectural Precast Concrete
Architectural precast concrete has all the advantages that have made concrete the most widely used man-made material in the world - strength, formability, affordability, and impressive insulative qualities - as well as the aesthetic qualities one would expect from an architectural material. It first became popular in North America in the 1920s, when architects like Louis Bourgeois began realizing the potential of precast concrete as an architectural material. Architectural precast can be made in almost any color and with a wide variety of textures. When lightly etched with acid, it can be made to match dry-tamped cast stone very closely.
Our architectural precast uses high-quality fine and coarse aggregates which are combined with cement and pigments and poured into molds. Because of the low water-cement ratios used, our precast typically achieves a compressive strength of 5000 PSI or higher (tested per ASTM C 39).
