FRAG: Concrete Foundation Pads, Streets and Sidewalks
Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:09 pm
Some time ago FRAG decided that since it would have a considerable number of buildings in its village, that it needed concrete pads for each. An additional reason was so that all buildings set level with the earth. We did not like to have taken pictures showing buildings leaning this way and that.
So we laid out an overall plan for the village and constructed everything from concrete products. These are the steps we followed:
1. The size of the foundation pad is determined by the outside dimensions of the building it would hold. Sometimes the pad size came first based on the area available, and a building was then built to fit. The pads are about 3 inches thick, with the first 2 inches made from “Quickcrete”. This is a product which comes already mixed in a bag (sand, pea gravel and Portland cement). Just add water and you have ready made concrete. This was poured into a wooden frame for which the inside dimensions and shape are the same as for the outside dimensions of the building.
The wood frame must be placed into a shallow hole that is dug into the ground and leveled in all directions. Push dirt around the wood frame to hold it in place. The top of the pad should be about 1” above grade. On top of the Quickcrete (once it has firmed up......usually an hour), we add a one inch layer of Mortar Mix (this is Portland cement and sand only). This layer is poured level with the top of the wood frame and then the edge of a long stick (say 30” x 3” x ½”) is drawn back and forth across the fresh mix to smooth all the ridges and humps out. You can trowel a smooth finish if you like but this is an unnecessary effort as the stick method provides a smooth enough surface. Once all has firmly cured (24 hrs) remove the wood frame and push dirt up around the edges. Final curing will occur within a week. If the weather is cold or wet, be sure you cover the pad during the cure process with a plastic tarp or garbage bag.
The following picture shows many pads integrated with the finished streets and sidewalks.
2. The FRAG village streets are similar to the foundation pads in that they are constructed of a 2” layer of Quickcrete, over which a 1” layer of Mortar Mix is laid. The general location of the street is noted and dug out to the 3” depth. Keep the edges of the street about 1.5” away from all foundation pads. This gap is where the sidewalk will go.
Make sure that the Mortar Mix is a bit soupy….not runny…but not thick. Once this is poured over the Quickcrete, it must be troweled as flat and smooth as possible. Let this set up so that it is firm (takes between 30 and 60 mins based on how soupy it was in the first place), and then run a pattern maker over it to imprint your choice of stone, brick or pavers......whatever was common during the era you are modeling. Our street pattern maker is made from a solid or dense rubber 10” paint roller, upon which we have glued 1/64th square strips of styrene in a pattern of large paver bricks.
Once the street has fully cured, we paint them with a red stain called Behr Products weatherproofing wood finish stain (diluted with 50% water). The reason this product is used is that we found that concrete stain is too thick to reveal the brick pattern after it dries. Two coats of the stain are usually applied.
The finished and dried street looks like this. Over time it should weather to a nice “old” looking pattern.
3. FRAG sidewalks are created much the same way as streets. These are 2¾” wide x ½” thick (sometimes a little thicker where needed). These fill the gap between streets and pads, and the top of the sidewalk is about ½” below the top of each pad. To make them, lay a board that is x 3” x ½” x whatever length you cut (ours are usually 30” long), and lay them on top the street, 2¾” away from the pad. Fill in with Mortar Mix and smooth with a small edging trowel. Between pads on the backside of the sidewalk, you will need to place small lengths of wood to back the Mortar Mix up against. We also run sidewalks up against some of the concrete walls that we have made.
Again, let the sidewalk Mortar Mix set up so that it is firm, and then imprint it with a pattern maker. We use one with a stone pattern for the sidewalks. This was made by gluing the styrene strips to a small block of wood with a handle on the opposite side. It could be imprinted with brick or some other material that sidewalks would have been made of in the era you are following. We add two coatings over our sidewalks with the same paint stain as used for the streets, but in a light yellow color. This stain is not diluted with water.
On a final note, the topographic grade of your village area may actually flow downhill in some areas, so you will have to plan for pads at different levels and how the streets and sidewalks fall to meet these levels. We use stair steps as well as ramps to get between sidewalk grade changes.
So we laid out an overall plan for the village and constructed everything from concrete products. These are the steps we followed:
1. The size of the foundation pad is determined by the outside dimensions of the building it would hold. Sometimes the pad size came first based on the area available, and a building was then built to fit. The pads are about 3 inches thick, with the first 2 inches made from “Quickcrete”. This is a product which comes already mixed in a bag (sand, pea gravel and Portland cement). Just add water and you have ready made concrete. This was poured into a wooden frame for which the inside dimensions and shape are the same as for the outside dimensions of the building.
The wood frame must be placed into a shallow hole that is dug into the ground and leveled in all directions. Push dirt around the wood frame to hold it in place. The top of the pad should be about 1” above grade. On top of the Quickcrete (once it has firmed up......usually an hour), we add a one inch layer of Mortar Mix (this is Portland cement and sand only). This layer is poured level with the top of the wood frame and then the edge of a long stick (say 30” x 3” x ½”) is drawn back and forth across the fresh mix to smooth all the ridges and humps out. You can trowel a smooth finish if you like but this is an unnecessary effort as the stick method provides a smooth enough surface. Once all has firmly cured (24 hrs) remove the wood frame and push dirt up around the edges. Final curing will occur within a week. If the weather is cold or wet, be sure you cover the pad during the cure process with a plastic tarp or garbage bag.
The following picture shows many pads integrated with the finished streets and sidewalks.
2. The FRAG village streets are similar to the foundation pads in that they are constructed of a 2” layer of Quickcrete, over which a 1” layer of Mortar Mix is laid. The general location of the street is noted and dug out to the 3” depth. Keep the edges of the street about 1.5” away from all foundation pads. This gap is where the sidewalk will go.
Make sure that the Mortar Mix is a bit soupy….not runny…but not thick. Once this is poured over the Quickcrete, it must be troweled as flat and smooth as possible. Let this set up so that it is firm (takes between 30 and 60 mins based on how soupy it was in the first place), and then run a pattern maker over it to imprint your choice of stone, brick or pavers......whatever was common during the era you are modeling. Our street pattern maker is made from a solid or dense rubber 10” paint roller, upon which we have glued 1/64th square strips of styrene in a pattern of large paver bricks.
Once the street has fully cured, we paint them with a red stain called Behr Products weatherproofing wood finish stain (diluted with 50% water). The reason this product is used is that we found that concrete stain is too thick to reveal the brick pattern after it dries. Two coats of the stain are usually applied.
The finished and dried street looks like this. Over time it should weather to a nice “old” looking pattern.
3. FRAG sidewalks are created much the same way as streets. These are 2¾” wide x ½” thick (sometimes a little thicker where needed). These fill the gap between streets and pads, and the top of the sidewalk is about ½” below the top of each pad. To make them, lay a board that is x 3” x ½” x whatever length you cut (ours are usually 30” long), and lay them on top the street, 2¾” away from the pad. Fill in with Mortar Mix and smooth with a small edging trowel. Between pads on the backside of the sidewalk, you will need to place small lengths of wood to back the Mortar Mix up against. We also run sidewalks up against some of the concrete walls that we have made.
Again, let the sidewalk Mortar Mix set up so that it is firm, and then imprint it with a pattern maker. We use one with a stone pattern for the sidewalks. This was made by gluing the styrene strips to a small block of wood with a handle on the opposite side. It could be imprinted with brick or some other material that sidewalks would have been made of in the era you are following. We add two coatings over our sidewalks with the same paint stain as used for the streets, but in a light yellow color. This stain is not diluted with water.
On a final note, the topographic grade of your village area may actually flow downhill in some areas, so you will have to plan for pads at different levels and how the streets and sidewalks fall to meet these levels. We use stair steps as well as ramps to get between sidewalk grade changes.