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I find it funny we like and encourage the ageing of certain building materials, but not others. How long will it be before we're finding ways to age concrete fa

by fredley 11y ago

I find it funny we like and encourage the ageing of certain building materials, but not others. How long will it be before we're finding ways to age concrete faster? This thread contains stories of people deliberately painting their houses with yoghurt, soot, and cow shit to make them age faster: http://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/how-to-age-stone-faster-than-nature.89124/ http://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/how-to-age-stone-faster-th... All that this affects is the texture and patina of the surface. What is it that makes particular patinas desirable and others not? I'd say it's entirely cultural, and cultural perceptions change.

mattmanser 11y ago
Apart from it's not. Doesn't matter how many times you type it in this thread, it's still not going to be true. They were controversial when they were built, they look fugly and age so badly. Brutalism scarred much of Britain's skylines. Here in Nottingham we have some truly disgusting looking buildings marring an otherwise nice skyline. The quicker they all get knocked down, the better. It's Sheffield I feel most sorry for. They got their eye sore listed by idiots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Hill,_Sheffield https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Hill,_Sheffield
- fredley 11y ago
  Other buildings almost pulled down because they were considered eye sores: * The Eiffel Tower * The Golden Gate Bridge * Battersea Power Station etc. etc.
  - mattmanser 11y ago
    The Eiffel tower is an eye sore, it's just become an iconic one. Look at an aerial shot of Paris, it's so incredibly out of place.
liotier 11y ago
> How long will it be before we're finding ways to age concrete faster ? Actually, the current trend is rather to prevent the aging... It seems that early designers and implementers of concrete construction believed that concrete is waterproof - it is not. Water percolates, rebar inflates from rust... It is necessary to inject anti-rust to stop the process and then coat the concrete with waterproofing - an expensive process to ensure the concrete's stability over time. Uncoated reinforced concrete exposed to rain is doomed.

by fredley 11y ago

mattmanser 11y ago

Apart from it's not. Doesn't matter how many times you type it in this thread, it's still not going to be true. They were controversial when they were built, they look fugly and age so badly. Brutalism scarred much of Britain's skylines. Here in Nottingham we have some truly disgusting looking buildings marring an otherwise nice skyline. The quicker they all get knocked down, the better. It's Sheffield I feel most sorry for. They got their eye sore listed by idiots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Hill,_Sheffield https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Hill,_Sheffield

fredley 11y ago
Other buildings almost pulled down because they were considered eye sores: * The Eiffel Tower * The Golden Gate Bridge * Battersea Power Station etc. etc.
- mattmanser 11y ago
  The Eiffel tower is an eye sore, it's just become an iconic one. Look at an aerial shot of Paris, it's so incredibly out of place.

liotier 11y ago

> How long will it be before we're finding ways to age concrete faster ? Actually, the current trend is rather to prevent the aging... It seems that early designers and implementers of concrete construction believed that concrete is waterproof - it is not. Water percolates, rebar inflates from rust... It is necessary to inject anti-rust to stop the process and then coat the concrete with waterproofing - an expensive process to ensure the concrete's stability over time. Uncoated reinforced concrete exposed to rain is doomed.