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Colour through Concrete (integrally coloured concrete) 2010-06-13 |
Just about any new concrete structure can be coloured with CCS UV-resistant colour pigments, including pedestrian precincts, roadways, precast walls, footpaths, bikeways, buildings, interior floors, exposed aggregate, polished concrete floors, tilt-up panels, renders, floor screeds, pavers, shotcrete, mortars, and grout. Just choose from a range of products to suit your needs. |
CCS Stylepave is a cost-effective way to dramatically enhance any concrete surface. The cement-based system is sprayed on to the surface to a 3-mm thickness. Once coated, the new surface provides excellent resistance to abrasion and weathering. You can choose from a variety of sealers. Consideration should be given to the look you want to achieve, location, abrasion, chemical and stain resistance, maintenance limitations, site-access challenges and slip resistance before selecting the type of sealers. |
CCS Stencil Pave is ideal for pedestrian precincts, roadways, footpaths, patios, walkways, driveways, facility exteriors, pool surrounds, and shop interiors. CCS Stencil Pave finish provides the look of pavers with the strength and practicality of concrete. As it is created from one solid slab of concrete, CCS Stencil Pave will not sink or sag and its textured surface provides a sure footing for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. CCS Pattern Stamped Concrete is ideal for any new horizontal concrete structure where a two-toned textured surface is desired. The process is particularly suited to home exteriors and pedestrian areas, although alternative colouring systems should be considered in highly sloped areas or areas requiring a slip resistant surface. |
CCS Pattern Stamped Concrete provides the look of random slate, wood or stone at a fraction of the cost and with much less maintenance. Its natural and elegant appearance makes it the perfect alternative to plain grey concrete and paving. To find out more about Concrete Colour Systems you can visit their website www.concretecoloursystems.com.au
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Grow Green: A herb garden on your terrace-Tarragon 2010-06-13 |
In our series on various herbs that you can grow in your terrace gardens we will be covering Tarragon this week and in our last article next week we will be covering Thyme. |
Botanical Name: ARTEMISIA DRACUNCULUS,
Family Name: ASTERACEAE,
Common Name: FRENCH TARRAGON,
Part Used: LEAVES, ROOTS,
Habitat: Found Throughout India.
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Uses: Tarragon is one of the four fines herbs of French cooking, and particularly suitable for chicken, lasagna, fish and egg dishes. Tarragon is used to flavor a popular carbonated soft drink in the countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia. In Slovenia, tarragon is used as a spice for sweet pastry called potica. The scent and taste of tarragon is disliked by many garden pests, making it useful for intercropping as a companion plant, to protect its garden mates. It is also reputed to be a nurse plant, enhancing growth and flavor of companion crops. There are two varieties of tarragon viz French and Russian. French tarragon is the variety generally considered best for the kitchen, but cannot be grown from seed, it is normally purchased as a plant. A perennial, it normally goes dormant in winter. It likes a hot, sunny spot, without excessive watering. |
Tarragon has a sweet, anise-like flavor with a bit of a bite and adds sophistication both to your cooking and to your herb garden. Buy young plants. Take a leaf before buying to make sure it has a fresh licorice flavor. It prefers full sun but will tolerate filtered shade. Plant in well-drained fertile soil. Apply ½ inch of compost in early summer each year. Pick tarragon leaves anytime. For best flavor gather them in the morning. Fresh tarragon is great for sauces. You can also use it in meat or poultry dishes. With the exception of recipes that are baked in liquid, such as chicken in white wine, add tarragon at the very end of cooking time to avoid bringing out a bitter taste. Vinegars flavored with tarragon, have an unusual licorice taste.
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DORMA Variflex operable walls 2010-06-13 |
DORMA Variflex is the ideal movable wall for normal sound insulation requirements, providing an effective division between different types of living areas. Its technology is representative of DORMA quality yet is ideal for the simpler, more standardised application. It is a solution that facilitates modern and flexible room design. |
The maximum height of the panel elements is 14.500 mm. The experience gained from manufacturing high quality customised products is fully utilised for such standard applications. With these design credentials, Variflex enables the successful implementation of practical solutions that offer guaranteed satisfaction in day-to-day usage. Aside from providing an aesthetically sophisticated division, Variflex also provides an effective acoustic barrier with attenuation of 40 - 51 STC/Rw at normal noise levels. |
All the face panels of the Variflex are hung in acoustic free suspension. As a result they have the advantage that they can be replaced at any time – for example when the visual appearance of the room needs to be changed. Therefore the basic panel elements do not need to be removed or dismantled. |
DORMA Hueppe’s proven technology allows uncomplicated systems to be designed that are suitable for a variety of needs. Economical modern living spaces can be created for people, providing optimum functionality from their surroundings. Variflex Standard has all the attributes to satisfy the full range of requirements in a variety of applications. For more information visit their website www.dorma.com
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DalNaturel Natural Rubber flooring 2010-06-13 |
DalNaturel is an environmentally friendly rubber floor covering that boasts over 90% natural ingredients. The latex is sourced from rubber trees in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, and the tiles are manufactured in France. |
All of Dalsouple's standard colours can be made as DalNaturel (except Blanc Dakota) and almost any Pantone colour is available. The best part is that they have no minimum quantity requirement. There are 33 textures available, including terrazzo and marble finishes. |
Natural rubber is a wholly renewable raw material, and mature rubber trees are exceptionally efficient at carbon sequestration - the absorption of harmful CO2 from the atmosphere. Rubber trees, with a functioning lifespan of up to 30 years, are extraordinarily efficient at extracting CO2 from the atmosphere (this process is known as ‘sequestration’). Rubber is also easy to recycle, not just once but several times, with many potential applications. It has inherently low toxicity, particularly compared to PVC based flooring. |
All these factors, combined with a long service life, contribute to an environmental life cycle performance that is worlds away from existing resilient floor coverings. DalNaturel is the most environmentally-friendly and sustainable resilient floor covering in the world. To find out more about DalNaturel Natural Rubber flooring you can visit their website www.dalsouple.com.au
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Regency Apartments- Excellent example of Precast Facades 2010-06-13 |
Precast facades are increasingly being used in residential construction. The Regency development covers a block bounded by Help, Orchard, Endeavour and Anderson Streets in Chatswood and consists of 565 apartments in two towers, a leisure centre, retail areas and parking. |
The DA design was carried out by DEM Architects. When Grocon was awarded the job they employed Dimension 5 Design to design develop and document the project. Project Architect, Rob Doak of Dimension 5 Design affirms that the use of precast gave an excellent result in achieving design intent. Precast concrete cladding allowed him to achieve articulation of the facade with vertical and horizontal grooves while maximising the window size to satisfy client requirements. |
Large areas, which were originally intended to be painted CFC or masonry, were changed to precast to attain uniformity of appearance. The facade is generally grit-blasted precast concrete involving over 800 panels and 7,600 square meters of face area. Polished reconstructed granite panels were supplied around the podium. A major contributor to productivity was the fixing of the windows within Hanson's yard. Simple fixing details and an efficient erection crew allowed the panels to be erected very quickly. The fixing system used ensured that there was no intrusion of haunches into the floor space. Sound insulation is very important in residential buildings and the details developed to contain sound transmission between floors at the façade and from the adjacent railway line easily achieved the required standard. |
Effective waterproofing was achieved using an open drained joint system with rear seal. Building architectural finishes permanently into the precast facade rather than having them applied later in the project when cost pressures may have a detrimental effect on external finishes. The precast panels used on the Regency have integral sandstone finish produced by grit-blasting a reconstructed stone concrete. The concrete contained off-white cement and 0.25percent Flamingo oxide which complement the coarse and fine aggregates to achieve the buff coloured appearance. To find out more about Hanson Precast you can contact them on 02 96272666, send a fax on 02 96275161, email on precast@hanson.biz or visit their website www.hansonpc.biz
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