Q. I own a diner where decorative concrete block forms the lower part of the exterior walls. At the front of my building a wing wall extends away from the building. Some of the solid concrete blocks ...

For decades, concrete walls and foundations were made the same way. Plywood or plain boards are built into forms that contain steel reinforcing bars (rebar) and into which wet concrete is poured. When ...

Q: I've been researching foundation types for both new homes and room additions. I've narrowed it down to either poured concrete or concrete block. Many websites say poured concrete is better than ...

While there are many reasons for smooth, featureless walls, when you want the look of stone, brick, wood or other high-end architectural finishes, patterned concrete makes an attractive, inexpensive ...

On the lookout for ever more energy-efficient building envelope solutions, a growing number of Building Teams are turning to insulating concrete forms as an alternative to light-gauge steel frame, ...

Q. Hello, Tim. I was doing research about house foundations and came across interlocking foam forms that stack on top of one another. They assemble much like children’s plastic blocks. Does a concrete ...

The latest 3D printing application? Forming concrete. That’s according to a team at ETH Zurich who claims that construction with foam forms cuts concrete usage up to 70%. It also offers improved ...

In the new Phaidon book “Concrete Architecture,” Los Angeles writers Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin examine a construction material that’s often derided as the building block of urban eyesores, but, they ...

To continue reading this content, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings and refresh this page. As climate change reshapes life in Puget Sound, from ...