I’ve heard people say that they don’t like GFRC because it looks too uniform, like plastic solid surface. Nonsense! GFRC can have any look any other form of concrete can. It is concrete, after all.
Here’s a great example. In summer 2011, I spent 3 months in the Cayman Islands helping my student Terry. We did a gazebo bartop using a cast in place technique and a mix delivered in a truck from the local batch plant.
Forming for the cast in place gazebo
Mix being delivered from batch plant
The finished look
We also did round and rectangular tables for a restaurant, and the owner wanted exactly the same look as the gazebo, plus some amber glass. But, the tables couldn’t be cast in place, and they couldn’t be too heavy.
No problem! With GFRC, I was able to create a face coat (like a mist coat, but with aggregate in it and obviously not sprayed) that exactly duplicated the look of the cast in place mix. Then I just applied a backer coat to that. The result: Just the right look and a happy client. GFRC made it possible.
Lots of buckets! This is the “batch plant” for GFRC.
The round tables, showing backer coat
The finished look