Tiki Central / Tiki Carving / Everything you always wanted to know about Aerated Concrete Blocks (AAC) for tiki carving
Post #103426 by Aaron's Akua on Thu, Jul 22, 2004 2:27 PM
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Aaron's Akua
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Thu, Jul 22, 2004 2:27 PM
I am posting this in response the high level of interest in this material. It started when I posted an offer to trade some AAC for Palm. http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=9840&forum=7&11 Then I followed up with an offer of free blocks, because my friend is moving and wanted to give them a good home. (She split the purchase of a pallet of AAC blocks with me). This one got even more interest because it had the word "FREE" in the subject title! http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=9996&forum=7&5 It looks like all of the free blocks are spoken for. However, some TC members from the East coast offered to pay the shipping if I would send them. Here is my suggestion: Everyone who wants to get some of this material please posts their interest in this thread. MAKE SURE TO LIST WHERE YOU ARE LOCATED. Then, all the tikiphiles in a given area (Florida, or Germany, or Arizona for instance) can post or PM each other and arrange to split the cost of a pallette or so of the blocks and divvy them up amongst themselves. I got mine from E-Crete in Arizona, and I think an entire pallete was only around $140. This was about 40 or so blocks! It would be probitively expensive to have them shipped, although they are relatively light for concrete. Now, here is some info to whet your carving appetite: You can carve this stuff with any kind of chisels. No mallet necessary, but may be usefull. You can cut it with a regular hand saw. You can use files, rasps, rifflers, etc., and you can sand it when you're finished. A coat of regular concrete sealer from Home Depot will brighten it and give it a nice sheen. Make sure and wear a mask when you are working on it, because it is pretty dusty. When complete, it will have a nice "corraly" finish. My blocks are white, but I understand that they vary and also come in light grey and tan, depending on the factory and location. Summary from a construction web site: "Builders in this country now can take advantage of an innovative concrete material that Europeans have time-tested and adopted. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) is a precast, manufactured building stone made of all-natural raw materials. It is an economical, environmentally friendly, cellular, lightweight but structural material that features thermal and acoustic insulation as well as fire and termite resistance. AAC is available in a variety of forms, ranging from wall and roof panels to blocks and lintels. Although it has been a popular building material in Europe for over 50 years, AAC has only been introduced to the U.S. in the past few years." Here is an offer of FREE SAMPLES of AAC that I found on the internet!!!! http://www.sculptor.org/Stone/Marble/CarvingStonesOffered.htm "Ohio: Duffy Building Systems: Autoclaved, aerated concrete. A lightweight concrete that can be sculpted like basswood, but is durable like normal concrete when coated with proper sealants. One-fifth the weight of regular concrete, 600 to 700 psi compressive strength. Ship anywhere in the US. Call for free sample. Contact: Don Duffy at [email protected] or 614-419-4563 in Columbus, Ohio USA." Like that? FREE SAMPLE!!!! Links to artists on the web using AAC: http://sculpturedisplay.com/Frank.html http://www.marcoislandart.com/delaroche-cooper-concrete1.htm http://www.aildm.com.au/articles/sculptors/gaye_porter.htm http://www.abc.net.au/eyre/stories/s531816.htm http://www.trademe.co.nz/Art/Carvings-sculpture/auction-12825284.htm http://www.netti.fi/~laurleva/The-River.html http://groups.msn.com/RatBoysPageofThings/sculpture.msnw?albumlist=2 More info at: http://www.toolbase.org/tertiaryT.asp?DocumentID=2076&CategoryID=1402 Also check out this site for the "Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Products Association" at http://www.aacpa.org You can use the site to locate MFR's of the material in your area. Manufacturers of AAC (US and International). Note - if you go to the http://www.aacpa.org website, you can get links to their websites: Aercon Florida LLC Contec Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. E-Crete, LLC Eckart America, L.P. Elite Cement Products, Inc. Masa-USA, LLC Phoenix Cement Company Schlenk Metallpulver GMBH & Co., KG Stork Bouwtechniek Wehrhahn Angelo Coduto Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Systems, Inc. Consultec, Ltd., consulting engineers Demand Products, Inc. International Masonry Institute Peter Townsend Thermacrete, LLC Thunderbolt Construction Corp. of Arizona You can get more info by typing in AAC, Aerated Concrete, or Autoclaved Aerated Concrete from your web browser. Anyway, this may be more info than anyone needs, but I thought I would share...and I hope it is useful. One last thing. Make sure to post any tiki sculptures that you create here on TC, because I'd really love to see where this thing goes. Mahalo, Aaron [ Edited by: Aaron on 2004-07-22 14:28 ] |