color pigment in concrete

[ET1 SS]

Has anyone else every played with concrete micro-fibers?

I have been adding them to my concrete while pouring in our crawl-space, and it really changes the way that the concrete 'clings' and once it is cured it really does seem much stronger.

My DW and I have been looking at variations of flooring systems. She really wants black slate or something close to it.

And then while setting up the "heat-shield / fire-safety" border around our wood stove, I got to thinking and I threw some black concrete pigment into a batch of concrete and I just made some flagstones outside just to see what they would look like. Well it is really 'black'. and this stuff is much cheaper than those concrete-fiber boards they sale for putting underneath a wood-stove or against the nearest wall.

So I will be pouring a 8' X 6' pad of black concrete for underneath the wood-stove.

Now looking at these flagstones that I poured, the DW and I are thinking that this would work for the entire house. Just a half-inch layer with lots of fiber in it.

What you do think?

[LisaInN.Idaho]

I haven't played with it but we had a driveway done with fiber reinforced concrete, stamped and colored to look just like Mexican tile. It was super strong and absolutely gorgeous.

[HermitJohn]

Where did you find the fibers?

[texican]

ditto what Hermit John said...

I'm pouring lots of footers for stone walls and I'm interested in anything that gives me more strength... Right now I'm using lots of steel. If I could find 'kosher' fibers, I'd get some. Would love to find out if the polypropylene in hay strings would have a positive or negative effect, seeing as I have an unlimited suppy...

[ET1 SS]

I did a lot of research, and I checked with a lot of websites, and then finally I bought through ebay.

They need to be chopped 1/2 inch long, but from what I was able to learn they work whether they are nylon, or vynal, or poly-xyz, jsut about any kind of plastic micro-fibers seems to work good.

I add about one cup per cubic foot of concrete.

[RachAnn in NW Okla]

There is a concrete specialist on the board....she and her hubby had a shop but closed sometime last year....I am sure that you could PM her or maybe she will see your thread.....lemme find her name (she posts on a GC game thread)

Rachel

[RachAnn in NW Okla]

It was cricket...... she is the concrete specialist

HTH
Rachel

[ET1 SS]

I pm'ed her.