Precast Inc. - March/April 2008 - (Page 52)

Sapp is the artisan who created the Mickey Mouse design on a bathroom vanity for a fan of the Disney cartoon character. He first encountered fiber optics underfoot during a trip to Epcot at Walt Disney World, where sections of sidewalk are embedded with elaborate fiber optic designs. “I stood there mesmerized,” he says. “I thought, ‘I’ve GOT to figure out how to do this. This is amazing.” An engineer by trade, Sapp experimented with the technique and eventually developed Illumistone lighted concrete surfaces, and he now shares his knowledge at CCI a few times a year. In a one-day session, he covers the fundamentals: the specific adjustments that must be made to the concrete mix so that it flows around the fibers without damaging them during the pouring and casting process. Sapp discusses proper ventilation and design considerations, as well as how to terminate a fiberoptic cable bundle and safely connect it to an illuminator unit. After the students build a 3-by-3 piece, he pulls out the project done by the previous class so he can demonstrate the demolding and finishing process that ensures the fibers don’t get broken or abraded. The technique is actually more tedious than it is technical, says Jeff Kudrick, product manager of J&M Lifestyles LLC. It’s labor-intensive and involves handling up to 1,000 individual strands. “If you’re an impatient person, don’t even attempt it,” he says. A contractor who is well versed in lighting techniques and presenting new ideas to a client has a better chance of being successful selling concrete countertops with fiber optics, Kudrick says. “You really have to have a knack for imagining how it will look before you’re done.” J&M Lifestyles, a Randolph, N.J., company that has its own proprietary system for incorporating fiber optics into surfaces, has logged 15 years of experience lighting water and waterfalls for the pool industry. Now it is involved in commercial designs where eye-catching lighting effects are used throughout the entire space. A modern, low-lit bathroom in a restaurant looks great with the addition of a countertop in which pinpoint lights shine through the glossy top. “Lighting makes even the most mundane surface that much more exciting,” Kudrick says. J&M sees most of its demand coming from bar and restaurant owners looking for sparkle on a table or bar top, but Sapp finds that he sells more bath vanities to residential customers than anything else. At $125 to $175 a square foot, the costs add up pretty quickly on bigger pieces, he says. • Is your precast item showing signs of cracking not attributed to expected mechanical setting problems? • Is your precast item growing in length unexpectedly? • Are the cracks growing? • Are you experiencing popouts that you cannot explain? Smoother Surfaces and Flexible Design If so, you may be experiencing ASR (Alkali Silica Reactivity), a reaction that occurs in concrete between reactive portions of your aggregates and/or sand and alkali from your cement or external sources. FMC is the leader in lithium technologies for the prevention and mitigation of ASR. FMC’s Lifetime® admixtures mean • Using locally available raw materials in cost-effective ways • Smoother surfaces • Decrease in dangerous temperature peaks during curing by acting as a flux Patented Renew® concrete treatment allows • The treatment and salvage of ASR-affected precast products, thus reducing rework. Visit http://fmclithium.com for more information or call 1-888-lithium. Our logos mean reliable state-of-the-art ASR technologies. 52 MARCH/APRIL 2008 | PRECAST INC. http://fmclithium.com http://fmclithium.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Precast Inc. - March/April 2008

Precast Inc. - March/April 2008 Contents Technically Speaking Concrete Repairs Return-to-Work Programs Marketing in a New World Building Confidence Risk Management Culture Bloquea La Energia – Es Tu Vida! Lock It Out – It’s Your Life! Fiber Optics in Countertops MCPX Wrap-Up Product Profile People & Products Advertisers Index NPCA Calendar

Precast Inc. - March/April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.