Working With Shotcrete

[Roegur]

Article by Bill Brown in the July 03 issue of the Journal of Light Construction.

[Arnold]

Heres the URL:

http://www.jlconline.com/cgi-bin/jlconline.storefront

[Bill Burkett]

Great article! Detailed but not too technical. I've followed this BBS for years in preparation for the dome we hope to build sooner rather than later, and this article gave me a much clearer picture of what shotcreting is and what it involves.

Can anyone comment on how using shocrete in a dome differs fromt the applications discussed in the article? Obviously, screeding would be different because of the curved surfaces, but what else?

[MMI / Dave]

Great article! Detailed but not too technical. I've followed this BBS for years in preparation for the dome we hope to build sooner rather than later, and this article gave me a much clearer picture of what shotcreting is and what it involves.

Can anyone comment on how using shocrete in a dome differs fromt the applications discussed in the article? Obviously, screeding would be different because of the curved surfaces, but what else?

Bill, the process on a dome requires coats approximately 1/2" thick at a time. Or you get fallouts. The only coat that could or should be screed would be the finish/sand coat at the end. Due to the difficulty in getting the shotcrete on a dome screed before it sets. Most people end up going to a stucco process later in the construction sequence.

[Bill Burkett]

Thanks for reinforcing things I've also heard in my lurking time here, Dave!

[eric]

the online article is here:
http://www.jlconline.com/cgi-bin/jlconl ... 4efdf8&p=1

[DBS]

To all:

Shotcreteing is a great way to apply concrete. In a dome it is the best of all worlds. It self cleans.It does not have rebound in the cracks as it all falls on the floor. As you apply each coat the coat can be trimmed to keep the total thickness accurate and looking good. The final coat can be a light coat and leave a nice finish without any more hand work.