Making Cast Stone

We are making buff color cast stone pier caps for a custom home in Anne Arundel County.  There are ten foot tall "L" shape stone piers with radial cast stone arches connecting them for a front porch.  We are making the radial arches as well as the pier caps.






Julio Ibarra and Nick Holland are the two craftsmen in our cast stone shop working on this project.  We make the cast stone upside down in a birch mold box.  We then flip it out and take the mold box apart.  Then Nick can reassemble the mold box and make the same shape over and over.



We start with 4 parts sand, 1 part portland cement, 1 part proprietary mix, and 1 part water. The cast stone must cure with humidity and a constant temperature. After 7 days the stone is 95% cured and ready to install. 
Here is a shop drawing of the radial arch with soffit.