Thursday, May 27, 2010

Icicles in spring.

Day Two of no rain in the forecast. The sun is moving higher into the sky. It's 59 degrees this morning, but the afternoon temperature will reach into the low 90s. It's the perfect time for Icicles to form in the Crape Myrtle bed.

Veronica spicata "Icicles"



The Daisy Gardenia is in full bloom. Now imagine this shrub 3' tall and 4' wide. It could take years.



After work, I plan to install the new breaker for the microwave. Still doing more research on concrete countertops. Melamine is used to build forms. My cost, as a special order product from the store, will be about $30/sheet. I need two sheets. The concrete is roughly $4 a bag. I'll need at least a dozen bags. Broken bags are still half price. I've got the guys in lumber keeping an eye out for a few.

I really like the Pressed Concrete method. It looks like travertine stone. Almost any color combination is possible.

6 comments:

Tammy said...

Wow, Tom, I have never seen that before. We built our house from scratch, including drawing up the plans 30 yrs ago. We still try to do as much by hand as possible. Love that look of the pressed concrete.Best of all it looks very do-able by the average person. Cant wait to see yours.Thanks for the video clip.

Dar said...

Now you are going to be busy. It will be interesting to see your project in progress???? Best of luck to you...and don't forget to have some fun at it.

F Cameron said...

You may be the busiest person I know, but you've got your priorities straight--making your world (home and garden) your idea of paradise!

I've never tried veronica. Don't know why, guess it's just never been on my radar. I love the look of the icicles.

Dave@TheHomeGarden said...

That looks pretty neat! I tried to put together a concrete counter top for a potting bench but has some issues with it. After watching the video I may need to give it another go! What kind of concrete do they use?

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

Dave, this guy sells his own products, but from what I've read, you just need to use a mortar mix. Nothing with stone in it will work. Stay away from the Quikcrete. A Mortar mix is what you need. And plenty of rebar.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I have heard of concrete counter tops and I just LOVE the pressed method. I'm sure it will come out wonderful for you. What colors are you thinking of using?

Now you've got me thinking about them. Hmmmm. At HD, they polished their concrete floors and they look fantastic.

Have a great afternoon. I'm pooped from my work outside this morning, trimming, etc. Came in about an hour ago, 10:30, as I had had enough being out in the heat and humidity and sweating.

FlowerLady