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"Artificial Stone" - concrete block
Does anyone still manufacture "artificial stone" cement block similar to the type that was made around 1915?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Donald Shore on -
Good question, I have a similar need. There are ads in old magazines that show these contraptions to make your own cement block on site. My thought was to make a form out of plaster and make my own block.
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Permalink Reply by Phil on -
I have some of that fake stone that was used in porch piers that was maybe added in the 1920, and also some that was used as quoins on a my garage that was built in the 1940s. I removed the porch ones to put a full foundation in a few years back, and I found that they were a standard looking block that was veneered with a pattern. So, one might be able to create a mold from an existing block and then create new veneers to add to modern blocks. Then again, if it is that easy it should be cheap to hire out, so I would probably pay a mason to do it for me to ensure better craftsmanship.
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Permalink Reply by Stacie L. Herman-Laurence on -
A neighbor of ours used the abocrete(?) product to make molds of his blocks to create new ones for replacing his porch piers. Did a nice job of it.
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Permalink Reply by John Burnell on -
Count me as another interested party here. I'm looking at making some plaster casts of cast stone in situ on a 1906 home and then duplicating -- might need up to twenty units. Would like to hear from anyone who might know how this is done and also possible recipes for a historic concrete -- the material we are looking at is porous and we need to duplicate that porosity. We're also told that waterglass was used in the original mix -- most all of the "stone" is great shape except where some repair work had been done a decade or so ago.
Stacie, I looked into the Abocrete and intend to phone Abatron later today to get some more information.
Cheers, John
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Permalink Reply by Janice S Morgan on -
I came across this site: http://classicrockfaceblock.com/
I knew of a company several years back that went out of business. One thing to consider is that each company had different molds. You may be better off casting your own from what is on your house already. We found a mason to hand face where a few of ours had been damaged.
When asking around try the term "split face cinder block"
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Permalink Reply by Francene Grewe on -
Split face is technique that provides a much different surface than the molds will give. I used split face early on in my garden, but am glad that I found how to make the molds for the house restoration.
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Permalink Reply by Francene Grewe on
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My home was built in 1907. I found one of the original block machines and continue to produce the blocks; but here the series when the DYI network filmed me making molds to restore the other pieces of my home.
http://www.diynetwork.com/remodeling/the-basics-of-cast-concrete-an...
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