San Mateo, CA (MAY 16, 2013) – CHENG Concrete will showcase a series of five Concrete Garden Stepping Stone Molds at Maker Faire at the San Mateo County Events Center, May 18 and 19, 2013. The Berkeley, CA-based company is an online how-to center offering concrete design for the home, instruction and information anchored by a store featuring a complete line of products for making indoor and outdoor concrete projects.
The stepping stone molds were designed by Fu-Tung Cheng, founder of CHENG Concrete and acclaimed custom home designer. Inspired by historic and contemporary design, art, architecture, and nature references, Cheng and his team designed the Alhambra, Aspen, Halsta, Morphos and Woody Concrete Garden Stepping Stone Molds to range from classic to contemporary. These molds were developed to make it easy for do-it-yourselfers of various skill levels to create unique stepping stones for any landscape, garden, patio, backyard or outdoor entry space.
Mold designs are priced under $20.00 and are made of durable polystyrene, which allow a do-it-yourselfer to make at least 20 concrete stepping stones, or castings, from each mold. There are three steps to making concrete stepping stones:
- Prepare the Mold – Apply mold release to the mold form.
- Mix and Pour – Mix CHENG Outdoor Pro-Formula™, bagged concrete, and water.
- Cure and De-Mold – Set aside to cure for approximately four days, flip the mold over and pull the form away from the fresh, stepping stone casting.
Instructions and design ideas for stepping stone patterns and layouts are included with every mold. With each bag of CHENG Outdoor Pro-Formula Mix and 120 lbs. of sacked concrete, two to four castings can be made, depending on the size of the mold. Available in six pre-mixed, popular colors, CHENG Outdoor Pro-Formula can be customized with a Base Mix and pigment from their CHENG SmartColor™ line.
Pro-Formula Performance
Developed by Cheng, the best-selling author of Concrete Countertops, Concrete at Home and Concrete Countertops Made Simple books, the Pro-Formula Concrete Mix line is celebrating over 10 years as the consistent mix trusted by decorative concrete professionals, while friendly for use by do-it-yourselfers. Cheng says of the latest Outdoor Pro-Formula Mix: “It offers the ideal solution for making designer-quality outdoor concrete projects including planters, benches, fire tables and fire pits, barbeque surrounds, furniture, tabletops and garden sculpture. It’s limitless.”
According to Cheng, projects made with Outdoor Pro-Formula have built-in climate flexibility, allowing them to expand and contract with temperature fluctuations, dramatically increasing the life and beauty of outdoor concrete. Whether in a northern climate, where deep freezes are common, or under the hot desert sun with scorching temperatures, Outdoor Pro-Formula holds up to the wear and tear of these extreme conditions. “All it takes is Outdoor Pro-Formula plus local, bagged concrete and water. Anyone can create a superior, durable concrete with a designer-finish—it’s simple and yet the fun is what you make with it,” Cheng explains.
Creating with Concrete: How-to Help
CHENG Concrete offers a vast menu of how-to tools, videos and instructional drawings for making concrete projects that range from small, tabletop items to large-scale, firetable projects. In addition to concrete stepping stones and molds, the concrete how-to experts will also showcase other outdoor projects aimed at sparking creative interest in concrete at Maker Faire in San Mateo. This will include the Tripod Seat-Table-Planter, aptly named for its versatile functionality and simply made from a five-gallon bucket.
The Rhomba Bench, another Cheng exclusive design, contrasts the use of concrete and wood for outdoor seating. The design goal was to minimize the use of materials in mold-making in order to reduce cost and waste, yet increase efficiency. Because Cheng wanted to teach others to make the bench, the mold design is approachable and simple to build, as well as usable over several bench projects. The result is a fresh design that surprises with detail and provides an interesting contrast between natural materials.
Finally, a charcoal, kettle-style concrete grill surround will be the highlight at CHENG Concrete’s booth. The Cubi-Q Grill Surround, designed by Cheng’s team, elevates an everyday grill to a statement piece for any outdoor living space. Cheng wanted to develop concepts and designs to inspire makers to create with concrete and to change the perception of concrete as a mundane material. He explains that with projects like Cubi-Q, stepping stones, and seating options, and the Pro-Formula Mix line, makers have a medium that empowers them to customize—to be creative with the design for nearly any indoor or outdoor application. CHENG Concrete provides the tools and information for makers to transform concrete into a cost-friendly, creative tool for expressive and functional purposes.
Complete how-to drawings for the Tripod, Rhomba Bench, and Cubi-Q Surround will be sent for free via email to Maker Faire attendees who visit CHENG Concrete at Booth #303 in the Expo Hall. The drawings, a total value of $74.00, are otherwise available at CHENG Concrete’s online store. Cheng sums up, “The secret ingredient to the concrete mix is really the user’s creativity—it makes for unlimited potential for unique projects and can enhance spaces that are not only livable but beautiful. Anyone can make something truly special with concrete.”
About CHENG Concrete
CHENG Concrete is the single, leading resource for concrete countertop design, products, and training. Geared for professional contractors and designers as well as do-it yourselfers and makers, CHENG Concrete offers diverse tools for designing with concrete and complete instruction and products for individuals to craft their own concrete projects. The CHENG Concrete Countertop Product Line includes proprietary concrete mixes, sealer, wax, tools, accessories and instructional products, including books and DVDs and can be found online at www.chengconcrete.com. CHENG Concrete has trained over 3,000 students since 2002, offering a collection of concrete-for-the-home training programs as well as online instructional tools developed by Fu-Tung Cheng and based on the design principles that guide his innovative concrete work.