apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I hate to go off-topic with the first post- but I like that bedroom furniture. Anyone have a lead?

That just sounds like a bad idea. I'm not an architect or engineer, but it seems like that could cause electrical or wiring problems. You couldn't have any outlets or wiring in those walls. I would go with the tile.

The furniture is from the Matera collection from www.dwr.com

Anna,

There was a post on this same subject not too long ago. You may want to try to search for it.

I think you are right about not doing all the ways in concrete. Maybe a feature wall. There are some porcelain wall tiles out there that look like concrete. You could also look into venetian plaster or a spray limestone which was just featured on this site.

Of course, if you are building on a slab you could pour a solid concrete wall if you really wanted to. But that would be like living in a bunker. Julia L is right, you'd have to have all of your wiring run on the outside of the wall via conduit and your outlets would stick from the wall.

I don't see what the problems are....if you're going for a slightly industrial look then who cares if you have conduit, outlet boxes and j-boxes running along walls or ceilings? Heck, I have conduit running against the walls in our 1890 Victorian brick residence instead of hacking through the plaster in tenant units and it looks pretty cool. It just needs to be done tightly. Can you use something in an aerated concrete for the walls? Hebel is a German source that comes to mind.They briefly opened a manufacturing plant in the SE USA around 8 years ago that shut down or was taken over by a US subsidiary...You can cut and patch that material and it has built in insulation properties...ask your contractor/architect about it I am curious to read what they say. I ordered samples back then and I still have a brick of it laying around...pretty cool stuff. Good luck whatever route you choose.
Have a great day.

PS: Art I have not forgot about the local woodworking/cabinet/designer source. He's been out of town and out of touch. But I will post something when I hear/talk to him.

I love the look of poured conrete walls. Additionally there are lots of new products on the market that are classified as "concrete"(very strong) but are lightweight and some even allow light to pass through!

JuliaL: You can have outlets and wiring in a concrete wall, you just have to meticulously plan everything before the concrete is poured. It might be more feasible to do the majority of the wall in poured conrete but leave a panel that is concrete tile to house all the wiring/electric.

Anna and Brian:
thanks. i forgot to add the link to the Matera set, but it's up there now!

Thanks for everyone's great comments. Aaron- I did some searching to find these new products. I found some aerated concrete wall panels that we are going to look into and of course I'm going to keep searching. If you have any links feel free to send them! Thanks!

The faux concrete wall look can be done. I've seen it at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, CA. 75% of the bathroom had faux concrete. I could tell because the walls sounded hollow when knocked on, and you could see the clayboard peeking out from where a guest knocked of a corner of the wall near the floor.

although, I have no idea how it was accomplished, but the look was pretty authentic looking.

Maybe some type of faux bois?

You could have the wall built out of steel studs and hardibacker and then covered with a steel mesh. The mesh is very tight, not like chicken wire, almost diamond shaped. This is used when laying a stone wall.

You could then plaster the wall with concrete or Quickrete non-shrink grout.

My though behind this is that you can create the wall with all the wiring and cutouts that you need. You've created the look you are going for without having to pour a solid wall and/or a special lightweight mix (expensive). And you've got something that can be torn back down to the studs and redone years down the road if need be.

Art makes a good point.

Any really skilled tile layer prefers laying tile on a backing of skimmed concrete to avoid any seams and not on durock/durorock or some of the other backer board materials....I forget the newer one out now with really does put durock to shame. If they can do walls and floors out of mortar for a bath I am sure they can do it over a mesh wall. good luck.

Patrickinchicago,

You may be thinking of wonderboard.

There is also a kind of elastic material that is poured to make tiles that look like concrete tiles. Very lightweight of course. If I find the links, I will post them.

I'm from south FL where just about everything is concrete. If I remember properly, the concrete can just be scored to look like tile. I think it is just that simple. It's like how they do sidewalks and faux stone driveways and stuff.

Art,

No, wonderboard is essentially durorock.....I was thinking of hardiebacker backer board which has been around for quite awhile but wasn't really widely available in the Chicago area until somewhat recently. It is similiar to both the other 2 but much nicer to work with, comes lightly pre-scored with a grid for tile layout and it's has no embedded mesh which makes it is easier to score and cut and is just easier to work with. Durorock has actually been lowering their price due to the competition. Oh yes it also has a built-in moldblock of some type and is considered LEEDS compliant and a green product....you've probably seen it used as a siding. It looks like a painted wood but has the color baked in during manufacture. It's used alot more in humid areas like Florida.

Have a great day. And the carpenter I talked about is checking out the website and will let me know if it is ok to post his info.

Anna

I make thin concrete wall panels. They can be made in different sizes and shapes with many different textures from smooth to ones that resemble concrete building formwork (as in the picture you posted) to rough wood. They are just attached to stud or masonry walls and holes can be cut to allow for outlets. If you wish to know more please see my site www.rockelements.com. thank you

There has to be a wallpaper out by now. I do know of the hardibacker method but bleh.....