DAC-ART is pre-cast architectural concrete building components with the look and strength of European limestone. "Old World Architecture created in a New Way"

Product Info

See Our DAC-ART House Construction Journal, Step-by-Step w/ Photos

DAC-ART Building System

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Hurricane Proof Home    Hurricane Shutters     Hurricane Windows/Doors
Mosaic Construction Details:    Page 1     Page 2    Page 3 Mosaics
Chandelier   Porch Lanterns   Beamed Ceiling    Interior
Concrete Acid Stain Floors    House Plan & Builder BOOKS
Wilder House floor plans   New Main House
Hurricane Proof Hurricane IVAN   Hurricane Katrina Update

Construction of the small Gulf Coast Italian styled vacation home con't..

plastic and plywood on finished concrete acid stained floors.

protect our concrete acid stained floors.

This is a continuation of the concrete acid stain process we used on our Gulf Shores small Italian style vacation home. The acid stain floor beginning page is here.

At this point we put down protection for our floors. In the main room, we put plastic, then 5/8 in. CDX plywood (which will be used for the roof decking later) and on the porch we used particle board. The particle board is certainly less expensive than cleaning off masonary spills and re-doing scratches made by equipment.

This turned out to be a big mistake. I had already put one coat of clear acrylic finish on the concrete acid stained floors. Even though I allowed the stated number of days or weeks on the package for each step, the plastic sheeting caused the thick slab to not be able to 'breathe' and the clear acrylic finish bubbled. Eventually I rented a huge rotary floor sander to try to remove the bubbled finish. I ended up with badly bruised ribs and was only able to partially remove the messed up top coat. The porch, that had not been sealed, came out fine when we removed the protective plastic sheeting. I would now wait until the very end of construction to apply the top coat sealer to any concrete acid stained floor. Just protect it from spills and chewing tobacco, plumbers pipe dope, glues, etc... Interestingly--bird poop does create a permanent stain on the unsealed floor, especially the black colored droppings.

Concrete acid stain resources here-Concrete Acid Stain

If I had built a two story home, I'd have used the new Bamboo Flooring that has recently become available in the U.S. It is beautiful, looks similar to traditional hardwood flooring and is a renewable resource, so it is 'earth friendly'.

crane to lift modular blocks

placing concrete blocks with a crane

The lower courses of DAC-ART stacked using a bobcat

We have rented this Dynalift to place our blocks on the upper courses. It has 4 wheels that all turn so it is able to move around in tight spaces and does minimum damage to the lot. It has worked out quite well. We have rented it for a month.

Building a small Italian villa vacation house on the Gulf Coast.

shimming window and door openings using the concrete blocks of DAC-ART.

The concrete and rebar backfill in the DAC-ART blocks hurricane proof house.

After the blocks are placed, Scott and Darrel work to level each one using shims before we pour the backfill concrete core. You can see both the grey plastic electrical conduit and the rebar extending out the top of the blocks between the lift handles.

We got the concrete truck close as possible has saved time and money

The concrete truck pulled right up to the window opening and we wheelbarrowed the fill concrete to the scaffolding. Since this is only a one story structure, we did not have to rent a pump to pump the fill concrete up to the upper courses.

Scaffolding made it easier to build this small vacation home.

Everyone in the family can pitch in if you build a DAC-ART Building System house

Girls just want to have FUN too!

Our electrician, Michael Bates, is on-hand to see that conduit extensions are added as the walls go up and advise us where we need to allow for utilities.
	Henry Langford of Langford Trussin Foley,Alabama, above left with Harry, came out to do some measuring before he builds our trusses that will support the roof.

dacart special decorative precast concrete window panel custom designed home.

Ted Dial has designed ornamental DAC-ART pieces to go under our windows. This is a model from which a mold will be made for the special blocks..

Construction of this Italian Style Home continues:

DAC-ART Product		See Our DAC-ART House Construction Journal, Step-by-Step w/ Photos
Inro to DacArt Page Who is the DacArt Client? Why Use DacArt? DacArt Blocks DacArt Pricing & FAQ's See DacArt Projects History of DacArt Contact Us See House Plans		Home--First Time Visitors Start Here The Beginning Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Hurricane Proof Home Hurricane Shutters Hurricane Windows/Doors Mosaic Construction Details: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Mosaics Chandelier Porch Lanterns Beamed Ceiling Interior Concrete Acid Stain Floors House Plan & Builder BOOKS Guest House Floor Plans New Main House Hurricane Proof Hurricane IVAN Update Hurricane Katrina Update
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