Avian madness

As an active member of the design community and a contributer to the local community at large, Newbold Stone attends a number of events each year, particularly those that involve design competitions. There were two this year, Hello Birdie and Evolution, that involved the constuction of a birdhouse.

Mark Lind, a local architect with whom I have collaborated in the past had learned of one of the competitions and we were able to work together again to create a birdhouse made of concrete and empty champagne bottles to be a joyful spot to rest the feathers.


First, the tops of the bottles are cut at an angle


The mold, with several bottles. The best seemed to be Cristalino, as it was thick and consistant in shape....also inexpensive and tasty!



The bottles were held in place by a strong armature with rubber ends, then the concrete poured around them.

Repairing Damage

One of the most common lines of questioning that I face is: "Why chose concrete over granite?". There are a number of reasons, but one of the less emphasized is "It is repairable".

Much like insurance, it doesn't seem like a big deal until you need it. Recently an equipment failure during the transport/installation of a rather large piece caused a major chip and the piece needed to be repaired.

This is the chip that came out...about 3 inches x 1 inch, ouch!

First step is to fill the hole. I make sure to mix up a VERY large batch, about 2-3 Gallons worth. The closer that you can recreate the conditions of the original pour, the closer the color match will be.

It gets covered with plastic to help prevent shrinkage and cracking.

When it cures, it looks pretty obvious (and ugly).

A good bit of grinding and polishing reveals the sand and blends the color.

Pinholes get filled in just like the original piece and then the finish goes on. Complete, it blends almost perfectly. You can tell but only if you really know what to look for. Otherwise it just seems to be a natural variation of the piece. Not as easy with granite or marble.

Still beating Icestone

Recently I had a designer contact me about a small vanity that they were doing for a client. The client had seen a sample of Icestone's "Sky Pearl" and fell in love. Unfortunately, since Icestone sells by the slab and ships out of New York City(that ain't no Pace Picante), the cost of a small vanity was astronomical.

The designer asked if I could relicate the look. Even with the upcharge for developing a custom mix (yes, if you want something unusual, I do have to charge you for my time), the estimate was lower than the "yankee" option. Also, I had to assure the client and designer that if I wasnt able to come close to the sample they wanted, then I wouldnt charge them for it.

Top Left: Original

Rounds: Initial trials

Bottom Right: Final Product

At first, I tried with the glass I had around the shop, which was more of a dark Cobalt and took a stab at the proportions based on counting the individual bits of glass and Mother of pearl in the sample that was give me. Pretty far off the mark, but it created a sample that I have since grown to really like.

In the meantime I ordered some additional glass samples, one was still a little dark but another was a perfect match.

Then the most challenging, getting the proportions right of the clear glass sizes. The key, as it turned out was a "back to basics" approach. The mix designers at Icestone use a fairly standard aggregate size distribution. a couple of tweaks and boom.....Perfect.

The clinet then made the request to see more blue and mother of pearl and to add a slight gray cast.

These were easy to accomodate and now the client has a beautiful countertop at a reasonable price and it is 100% uniquely theirs!

PS. New Camera is friggin' awesome, Mr. Bigglesworth!!

Making a custom 1-off sink

This one is more of a technical "how-to" post, as well as an explanation of why one must charge a lot for custom cast sinks. Standard cast sinks are less expensive to do, because although you have to buy the mold, it can be used over and over, and that cost eventually amortized over the life of the mold.

This technique may not be the best method for this, but it is reasonably simple and requires low investment. It does, however, require an artists touch.

Step 1: Determine the client needs. Seems like a it would go without saying, but too many out there go without doing this important step. If you make that rudimentary mistake, then you have wasted a lot of time and earned an unhappy client. This client wanted a round sink, but not one that was perfectly round....she wanted it hand hewn looking.....the actual term was "hewny".

Step 2: Styrofoam Core. I use simple EPS sheets, which I laminate together with spray adhesive when necessary. Its the same stuff they make

coolers out of and I get it at Ace Contractor supply. It cuts easily with a hand saw and I shape it with a disk sander and some 150 grit paper. Once I get it close to size I smooth it with 220 grit by hand. Its best to have a good shop vac around at this point because you are going to look like you came out of a snowstorm.

Step 3: Plaster. The mold would kind of work at this point, but regardless of how much you sand it, the styrofoam would always leave a rough finish inside your sink. Hence, the foam gets coated with a sandable layer. I use curing joint compound, which comes as a powder, and prefer the 20 minute mud. I would imagine that straightforward plaster of paris would work for this, or premixed joint compound, but I am a big fan of the curing kind for speed and sandability.

Step 4: Repeat. Sand and replaster a few times, till you get it almost perfect, and then I fill in any final holes or bubbles with a layer of premixed joint compound (spackle) and let that dry. Final sand with 400 grit.

Step 5: Primer with Kilz. This seals the plaster coat. It dries fast, so it typically gets 3-4 coats.

Step 6: Gloss Oil Based Paint. Again, 3-4 Coats. I like to alternate colors....it makes it easy to see how much you are getting down.

Step 7: Make a drain. Foam with some tape around it is quick and dirty, or the appropriate PVC. Reusable rubber ones are available as well.

Step 8: Place and Cast. Definitely use mold release of some sort, otherwise the next step is going to be a real drag.

Step 9: Ta-Da, a sink. Acetone is your friend, as it will dissolve the foam and soften the plaster. some digging and scraping is going to be required, but then you are ready to sand the concrete.

Its a 2-3 day process to produce one, and when you get done you melt it.

The result is something that the client knows is unique to them, hence step one is that much more important.

I Love a Parade

This year I was lucky enough to have pieces in 2 homes on the HBA Parade of Homes.....One was even unexpected!

The downside to one of these parade homes is that you have a hard end date for having the home complete. We finally got the dimensions for the countertop about a week before the parade was due to open. I suppose that when the framer or insulation contractor is installing their part of the home and they get delayed by a couple of days, they get hassled for taking too long, but it doesnt seem like the end of the world. But it just means that the concrete countertop guy doesnt get to have those days to do his job. And those days add up, one after the other.

Hence, when you show up to install your countertop and there are 3 additional trades and a TV news crew all invading the master bathroom where you are supposed to install the 4" thick tops, life really goes to a step more towards tense. This of course happens after everyone concerned with the job has called you many times to make sure you will be on time.

But despite nerves that were tighter than a guitar string, the install went well and we produced a product that we were proud of.

The installation consisted of a 9 foot charcoal colored dual vanity, with 2 elevated sections for the custom cast ramp sinks. the whole thing was made of my latest Eco-Lite Concrete (80% recycled content and half the weight of traditional concrete). Both ramp sinks included slot style drains.

The great thing is that i got to spend some time manning the room during the tour and I would estimate that 80% of the people stopped, looked closer and turned on the faucet....just to see the sinks do their job. That was very gratifying.

Also, we installed 2 custom COMBI benchs in that home. To my surprise, next door Threshold Interiors had teamed up with the Micheal Hsu Design Office and placed another COMBI bench on their porch!!!

Winning awards at World Of Concrete 2009

Each year the concrete industry has a convention in Las Vegas. I have gone the last couple of years and this year was no different. Its not all countertops....its everything to do with concrete. there are demonstrations of staining and polishing techniques and equipment ranging from a handheld rebar detector to concrete saws with blades that are 10ft across. There are many members of the decorative industry there as well, including an award ceremony from the Cheng Concrete Exchange. Fu-Tung Cheng is one of the originators of the concrete countertop industry and has been designing and building concrete countertops since the 70s, as well as writing 3 books and training others to build the best in concrete countertops. I trained under Fu-Tung and his team at the Exchange. This is the fifth year during which he has held a competition for design and craftsmanship, which they refer to as the 'Circle of Distinction'. Its a stiff competition of the best projects and products created by leaders of the decorative concrete industry. This year, Newbold Stone was able to bring home 2 awards. We recieved Best in Class for the Integral sink featured in my Dec. 10th Article below. We also recieved an Honorable Mention Award for a product we call 'The C'. This versatile piece combines concrete ends and wooden slats to create a very comfortable and distinctive stool, with applications both interior and exterior. It can also be flipped on end and used as a table, either on its own, or wrapping over the seat of a couch or ottoman.

Warranty is a drag, but the results speak for themselves

As any business owner will tell you, warranty is the most painful thing you have to deal with. sometimes you can force the cost up the value chain to the vendor that sold you whatever it was that went bad....but sometimes you cannot. In this case, we had a sealer failure. As we stand firmly behind our products, it was a matter of course that when a client called 6 months after installation to say their countertops were badly stained, we had no choice but to offer a solution, refinishing. Some minimal staining is not unusual with concrete, even concrete that has been properly sealed, and the technology used for sealing keeps improving. We are constantly evaluating newer and stronger sealers. However, in this case, the sealer had simply failed.

In the end, it took about 3 days worth of time and several visits, but we ended up upgrading the old sealer that we had discontinued using, with a newer, more robust one. The customer is happy and ready to show them off to her Bunco group, and doesnt have to worry a bit about spilling wine on them......this sealer even laughs at Balsamic.