Early on, with the steel frame and thin rod welded together that would provide the framework for the lath, that would support the concrete. (the lath is already complete on the vertical post)



So this house number project has turned into a great learning experience for me. You'll recall back in October I picked a few great ideas for new sign concepts up in Canada at a workshop.... The steel-and-concrete sign concept has been in the works too long from the customers perspective (thanks for your patience Jason), but will be worthwhile when it is complete.


The lath is complete and the concrete is being applied to the sign post. It's not very pretty in the beginning, but the mud will need a little while to set before it can be carved. At this point, I'm getting pretty nervous about how well the concrete will hang on under the horizontal arm.



It's holding! The mud isn't sliding off, or dropping off of the arm, which means the mix is good. I did run out of steam and stopped about halfway through the concrete process... That meant that we'd have to let 'Part 1' set up for several days before starting 'Part 2'.



'Part 2' is underway. The crossed legs at the bottom are part of a temporary stand to hold the sign up while we're working on it. The cool part about this design is that the base post can be installed anytime at the installation site, and we'll install the sign by sliding it down onto the steel and concrete base. Solid and efficient.


The basic concept is that we build a steel framework to support a rolled steel subframe, and then cover it with lath so I could slop on fiberglass reinforced concrete and carve the shape and style that I imagined. That is always the challenge: Getting the ideas from my gray matter into the real world. It's working, albeit with baby steps... Gathering the steel, purchasing the right welder, experimenting to get the right concrete mix, practicing the concrete slop onto the lath, then waiting the right amount of time to be able to carve details into the concrete without knocking off 3 pounds of concrete...

Learning at every step... the concrete is dry and the paint is going on this week and - this is gonna work!




After the majority of the concrete work is complete, there were some flawed areas and holes that we patched using an epoxy putty that is well suited for outdoor work, and will be indistinguishable from the concrete once we've textured it to match....