Concrete at Home: Innovative Forms and Finishes

"Concrete at Home" by Fu-Tung Cheng and Eric Olsen follows in the footsteps of Cheng's "Concrete Countertops," but differs in that it is a much broader work. It is great at illustrating the possibilities of concrete in your home but is less an instruction manual, as some of these projects are fairly unsuitable as do-it-yourself upgrades. Although not really a do-it-yourself book, it has an instructional component and is good at explaining things like monolithic slab on grade concrete methodology, interior slab with radiant tubing, screeding, control joints, reinforcement, inlays, and many other important concepts.The chapter I was most interested in was chapter three, "Floor Transformations." The discussions of inlays, stamps, and finishes were of particular interest to me, and Cheng did not disappoint. The sections on stamping and use of found objects as embellishment were good, and there is a brief "Stamping D.I.Y." outline on pp. 62-64 that, while good, is too brief for a beginner. The chapter on countertops is great (as you would expect,) and I enjoyed the designs highlighted in part two, especially the emphasis of color and texture as central design elements. I also loved the aesthetics in the too brief section "Innovations in Concrete Block." Other sections of the book weren't as applicable to me (I seriously doubt I will ever have to deal with concrete walls, for instance,) but the illustrations were all very good and I enjoyed even the more esoteric parts of the book.I recommend this book to people considering home concrete projects without reservation. Understand, though, that this is not really a do-it-yourself book. There are instructions on how to do certain tasks, but I doubt that many people could successfully use them with no other training or instructions. That may sound like a shortcoming, but I think the book is best for envisioning the possibilities of concrete, figuring out what you really want to do, and taking that project to contractors (and possibly architects or engineers, as well) to execute. If Cheng had written a book detailing the "how to" of each of the project types he describes, the volume would be gigantically unwieldy and infinitely less useful to most readers. Most homeowners will like this book as a storehouse of brilliant concrete ideas, and some contractors might also like to read it as well, not for the technical information, but for the illustrations and concepts. If you are beginning to think in terms of concrete in your home, I think this is a great book to start with.

I like both this book, and Fu-Tung Cheng's other book more specifically about concrete countertops.These books are great becaue they feature tons of beautiful pictures to drool over.These are both great books for contractors, or skills D.I.Y workers who are in the trades.While you could learn if you have no construction experience, it would probably be difficult. You also need some beginning and more advanced tools.These books are great to give contractors and companies ideas of how to really do great looking, impressive work and projects.Or rather, how to spice up run-of-the-mill projects into WoW projets!Some of the techniques can be cost effective to add to a job, it's probably worth it even to cut your margins to get the advertising of anyone who sees your awesome work. At least on a job or two for friends, family or yourself. It could also bump you from ordinary remodels up to a more luxury niche.Some of the project descriptions are very specefic. He gives some great advice, for instance he mentions adding fly ash to your concret mix. Just the other day I was reviewing the standards for LEED homes, and one (of many) things which adds to your LEED score was adding fly ash.I plan on incorporating some of his techniques into my home remodel / addition as soon as our plans are finalized. Very exciting.

That people expect to have the years of knowledge and experience Mr Cheng possesses handed to them on a platter in this book. Any true craftsman wouldn't ask for that, and any novice shouldn't expect it (and particularly not for $22!). This book is a wonderful overview of the amazing qualities and possible applications of concrete. It's designed to get your mind working, and the creative juices flowing. Not as a "Concrete for Dummies" (and how flattering are those books to the average intelligence anyway?). Buy this book for inspiration, for some tips and tricks, and prepare yourself to be amazed. If you want further insight into the methodology, buy the first book as well. And despite another reviewers claims, most of Cheng's work is NOT poured on site, but in the shop, and the pictures on the website are gorgeous! Professional jealousy perhaps, but even as 'just' a coffee table piece, this book is really beautiful.

We used this book along with Cheng's other book and DVD when making our own concrete countertops. It was very helpful to us because we did a "pour in place" countertop where you build the molds right on your existing cabinets and pour the wet concrete in the molds for a seamless finish. Cheng's method for countertops focuses mainly on building molds in your backyard or garage, pouring the concrete, and then flipping the finished pieces over so you start with a smooth finish. This book has a lot of good examples of poured in place projects, so it was helpful to use this in conjunction with Cheng's countertop book.

If you are contemplating doing finish concrete in your house, then Concrete at Home is essential. It is the companion book to Concrete Countertops, also by Fu-Teng Cheng. Both books include easy to follow, start-to-finish instructions written by a professional. Both books also incude high quality photos of some impressive concrete work. The photos emphasize modern architecture, which is a good thing, because modern architecture is the better than all the rest (;-). I used these books as guidelines for my own projects, which include a ferrocement hot tub with cement surround, and a ferrocement countertop. For photos see [...]