Featured Contractor: Nolan King
King Architectural Concrete & Construction
817 South Main Street
River Falls, WI 54022
651.271.9723
Project Name: Snake Path
Considered to be a "power animal" by the native shamans, the anaconda
was the perfect creature that inspired this 150' long snake path through
the woods.
When my customer came to me with their snake path concept, I thought for a moment and then said "yes that can be
done!" However, there are no three-dimensional snake skin patterns out
there. So we went to the drawing board and with a little research I
was able to create the pattern & texture ideal for this project using
a clay mold, and I found realistic colors using L. M. Scofield Company's LITHOCHROME® Chemstain® Classic. With help from a local business we made rubber stamps
used to add texture and dimension to the body of the
snake.
The Snake is a 150' long, 4' wide, and the head
is 4.5' wide x 8' long and rises out of the ground two feet. With the
stamps in hand we were ready to pour. The first 125' was set up the
same as your standard stamped sidewalk would be. The challenging part
was the head, which I made a scaled model of out of clay. This was to
relay my ideas to my customer and act as a guide during the pour.
General forming of the snake's head consisted of setting up an
outlined shape of what I was looking for. The success of this pour
would rely on our ability to sculpt concrete in a very timely
manner! During the shaping of the head we inserted custom-made eyes
which were hand blown glass pieces made by Ryan Gregory At Nichka
Glass Works. The finishing touch was to apply Chemstain in Antique Amber, Faded Terracotta, Weathered Bronze, Padre Brown, Black, and Copper Patina, then sealing with two coats of a solvent-borne acrylic for long lasting protection.
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