This is the original porch. It is fortunate that it stepped down out of the house. This way there was room to easily bring up the surface to just below the threshold. A trench was dug around the porch for a footer of gravel concrete, rock and rebar. The flat surface of the footer gave a clean foundation on which the forms could sit.

The concrete foundation of the house was drilled into and a couple of pieces of short rebar were put in place to attach the first piece, the finished piece on the left, to the house. Concrete Bonding Adhesive was brushed on the foundation as well to help with the adhesion.

Starting out from the house I worked counter-clockwise around the porch. Each form was built against the carved piece before it. Small pieces of sheet metal were cut and screwed to the form boards to keep the mix from running out onto the carved piece. However leakage would occur and needed to be carfully scrubbed of with a stiff bristled brush while it was fresh.

Concrete is heavy and substantial bracing is required to keep the form in place. In the previous picture you can see where I used scrapings from the first two carving sessions to fill in the void on the step across the front. This allowed me to mix less, 6 cu. ft., for the piece opposite.

I calculate the volume of the void sometimes in two parts. A cubic box for the front face and another on top where it steps over. Then add the two together to find the total volume. With irregular voids I usually bump up the final estimate so I have enough to fill the form to the top. This way there is enough to carve down the concrete and get a nice clean surface. The formulas for calculating volumes are found on the Wet Carved Concrete Page.

Once again strong bracing both top and bottom is required to hold the form in place. Notice at the bottom left where the concrete is leaking out. As the mix settles in the form excess "bleed" water comes to the top or finds its way out the bottom. After you remove the form and part of the shape you want to carve has eroded away you can trowel in some of the soft cement that is first carved from the piece. Avoid working this area for a few hours because it needs time to firm up before it can be carved and scraped.

In this instance the form was made to overhang a little. This can be left braced for a while even after the rest of the form has been removed to allow for the mix to be well set in order to avoid fractures or breaking off. At this point in the construction it was getting late into the Fall and the average daytime temperature was in the 60's F. Setting time was prolonged and I compensated by useing hot water and placing all my sand indoors in buckets by the wood burning stove so it would be well above outdoor ambient temperature. After making the 45 mile drive to Nashville I immediately placed two electric heaters on the area where the mix was to be poured to warm up the subsurface the best I could. While they were warming I mixed, filled the form and placed them once again near the piece. I then made a makeshift tent to hold in the heat.

Once the form is removed the basic shape is ready to carve. I have found that the work generally gets harder at the bottom first so I always start there and work my way up. Also areas where the mix is thick, like on the bottom front, tend to get hard faster. I avoided the overhang until late in the carve. Excluding all other work, like prep and mix, it took five hours to carve this section.

In this instance two small sections were done at once. The front of the top step and the small wing wall to the right.

With all the vertical sections complete and there perimeter a few inches above the flat top of the porch the center area was poured, screeded and troweled. By now the weather was plenty cool and rainy. This piece was slow to set. I had two heaters going, tarps over the space, and was carving by lights well after dark.

The remaining steps were small and easy but could only be done one at a time. The the top step needed to be carved and hard before the next one could be formed, poured and carved against it. The project was stopped at this point to avoid a planned removal and replacement of the driveway below.

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