Using concrete as a decorative element or simple insulator requires knowledge, precision and unlimited patience. It’s often better to rely on the support of a professional. But if you prefer to do it yourself for your own pleasure, you’re going to be spoiled.
Here’s a bit of advice.[……]
Do you not like concrete? It’s grey, cold, ugly, uniform, old fashioned. You don’t even like the word “concrete”. But concrete has come a long way in the last few years! The proof: there is concrete that generates light because of the luminous fibre optics it contains. Want to hear more?
There is translucent concrete which allows the natural light to shine through, self-cleaning and depolluting concrete, concrete that sparkles, concrete that reproduces photos, concrete that changes colour. All of this could be flooding the market soon.
Good old traditional concrete is easy to maintain, resistant, waterproof, solid. Originally reserved for industrial buildings and architecture, concrete has become a popular decorative material in the last few years.
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Concrete is not a noble material, but it highlights natural materials like wood, stone and slate. As a floor covering, it fits easily with any of these materials to ensure variety when it comes to flooring. It has even been used to complement terra cotta tiles. [……]
The cold sets in. The good old fireplace will soon find our feet, our hands, our faces and our best smiles. It will offer us warmth and the crackling of its logs as soon as we get close enough. The fireplace is very practical, but it can also be very beautiful if you take the time to refit it with a nice exterior when you’re doing renovations, decoration or construction work.
A fireplace can be a column of rough and massive stones or, on the contrary, a column with a finely sculpted mantel that evokes Greek or Roman esthetics, to the great pleasure of owners with a classical taste.
A fireplace can be monumental in size and its relief or built in for greater discretion. The contemporary look is ideal for a built-in fireplace, because it spreads softness and simplicity. This makes the contemporary look perfect for a suspended fireplace. Most fireplaces are made of metal. They are so slender that they appear to be mobile.[……]
Often created in decommissioned industrial buildings, lofts offer an immense open space to decorate, a single room whose dimensions are around 500 square metres, with ceilings of up to three metres and more.
Few doors, few walls, often nothing at all. A wave of natural light from the long vertical windows along the wall floods the central space. Added to these windows you sometimes find a windowed façade, skylights or windows on the ceiling.
Wood or steel beams, concrete, brick and metal surfaces are everywhere. And the abandoned vestiges of the building’s past: pulleys, wooden cases, platforms, giant washbasins, air conditioning conduits, steel tables, oversized chimney.
What do you do with this unrefined decor? Make it your home.
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Once the cleaning work is done, the real work starts. Most owners keep traces of the building’s former vocation for decorative purposes. That’s what makes a loft a loft. That’s what separates it from a penthouse.
If partitions are needed for a certain intimacy, they should be as discreet as possible in order to maintain the continuity of the space and let the light flood in. That is why complete walls are rare. Or areas are combined, such as the living room and dining room. Or low walls, mobile screens, opaque or trans lucid panels are added.
A loft is a paradise for colour. Owners often use colour to divide the space into areas: one dominant colour per area, or one dominant colour on the ground floor and a second on the upper floor, which is usually a mezzanine.[……]
Initially, a real loft was a dwelling outfitted in an abandoned industrial building. At some point, interior design professionals had the idea of usin[……]
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Do you know the insulated concrete method for formwork? It consists in replacing the wood formwork with a polystyrene foam formwork (rigid insulation), for the foundation and the above-ground walls. The framework is an integral part of the wall because it stays in place after the concrete work.
This method offers several benefits: increased fire resistance, noise reduction, improved energy efficiency, strength and long-term profitability.
Energy efficiency may be the most obvious benefit. The walls are insulated without air space or thermal bridges inside and outside, from the footing to the roof. The building is impervious to heat loss and air infiltrations if the caulking around the openings is done properly.
This type of construction ensures sustainable development. In ideal conditions, poured concrete in an insulated framework provides a practically indestructible product that will resist humidity, insects and any type of degradation for a long time.[……]
Over the last few winters, a small crack has appeared in a corner of your house’s foundation.
You tell yourself that it’s tiny and therefore harmless. And you move on to other things.
That’s a big mistake because you find yourself faced with a structural problem that will affect the stability of your house. This will affect the resale value.
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Where does this crack come from? Why is the foundation of the house cracking? Can you do anything about it?
The freeze and thaw cycle is often the primary cause. Depending on the region of Quebec you’re building is located in, the depth of the foundation walls varies. When you do work around the walls, you have to always keep in mind to protect them against freezing.
Once a crack is visible, how do you prevent it from degrading?[……]