Wood Plank in Concrete

laurencelin · 05-23-2011, 06:51 AM

I saw wood planks directly set into concrete at an outside shopping center. I was wondering how they did this so I can do this to my back yard.

I'm under the impression that the wood will rot while the cement is curing. Also, if this is done, can you polish the cement and then finish it with some sort of urethane so that it will be waterproof?

Thanks for the help!
Laurence

mustangmike3789 · 05-23-2011, 07:12 AM

the wood will rot away over time, some faster than others depending on type of wood and enviromental conditions. polished concrete is a nice look but it can be slippery outdoors. coating with urethane will make it water resistant not water proof. stamped concrete wood plank patterns, if done right can look as good as real wood and it will not rot. stamped concrete is one of those things, your either good at it or your suck at it. there is no inbetween.

Willie T · 05-23-2011, 09:35 AM

Stamped planks was the first thing that came to my mind. Are you absolutely positive what you saw was really wood? A good stamping and stain job could fool Mother Nature, herself.

******
BTW, curing concrete isn't what rots your wood away. That's really not much of a factor.
It is trapped fresh water (as opposed to saltwater) that keeps the wood moist that is the killer. It provides a feeding ground for mold. And mold creates the rot.

laurencelin · 05-23-2011, 10:43 PM

Thanks for the replies. The wood in the ground that I saw was cracking and possibly deteriorating. That's why I was wondering if there was a better option.

Also, I'm afraid of stamping, because I'm in China and cannot find a reliable contractor. Is there anything that I can use to seal both the wood and concrete so that it is water resistant? I understand that when you polish concrete, you can put different material inside (like glass or metal) so that when the concrete is being polished, so will the material. Would I be able to do that with wood?

My backyard doesn't get much rain and I plan on covering that area with a canopy anyways to reduce the heat. Will this solve the water condensation problem?

concretemasonry · 05-24-2011, 09:33 AM

Moisture can also come from the ground that can feed it into the wood as a perpetual source for continued deterioration.

There are some good stamping "contractors" in China that did work (stamped and surface pigmented - not stained) on and around some buildings in Shanghai and across the water to the east. They were about as good as i have seen, but probably are not available for individual residential projects. Also some good work in Kunming and Harbin.

Dick

laurencelin · 05-24-2011, 10:33 PM

They have pre-fab concrete boards already stamped with wood grain, however boards are not long enough. They look like tiles and cannot be fitted together tight enough to look like a wood floor. If they were longer, it would suit my purpose perfectly.