Rick, I would love to think I have stirred up some interest with the mesh/concrete combinations. Before I take much credit however, I would have to mention all the sources from which I got various pieces of information about the process. Sherri Warner Hunter (author of Making Conccrete Garden Ornaments) mentioned something called the Polyadam system using scrim and PiI and acryllic additive with no water to create a strong exterior coat of concrete that superceded the strength of the armature when it cured. HUH? I was looking for a way to make a substrate for mosaic work that would stay outdoors so that sounded interesting but I really didn't understand it ...... A couple of years later I saw the dumpster with the fiberglass mesh in it and started talking to the workers and learned about EIFS and the new amazing stucco work being done everywhere. This reminded me of the Polyadam info. Looking into that system I realized EIFS mesh was surely similar and - it came in a dumpster so I could afford to play around with it. With input from people on the forum I have tried some ideas and now we have our own "system" but I suspect it owes a lot to previous discoveries! I just hope a lot of people play around with the mesh/concrete and share ideas. Fleur found a source for the mesh that makes it cost (with shipping) one dollar a square yard. Now that is a price that allows some playing and experimenting! It might also be smart to check out the Sherri Hunter product called the acryllic additive - in her book she said it far surpassed the products available at local home improvement stores. Laura

punamy--thanks for the close-up and how-to! looks just as good up close as from afar. I'll definitely have to add that to the to-do list. Texashottie, your cushions are even cuter looking at them again! Great looking area and the plants really bring in life there.

it means that the material is such it can be easily washed with water..like, even with a hose or something the feel/look close up might depend on a maker i guess. As with almost anything. I did purchase indoors/outdoors rug..from Ballards I think?..that looks pretty nice, and feels pretty nice. Not especially soft but not plastic-y either. I didn't start using it yet lol-because I like my floor's color..was supposed to go in the kitchen to protect the floor. But I'm not getting rid of it either. Will come handy. If you like it-I don't know what size you're looking for? Since mine is 3 by 5 I think, and if I'd have to return it would be less hassle, than in a case of a big rug. Now, for a bedroom one might want a softer rug-or not. You can try to order it in smallest size possible then decide whether you like the texture etc. If yes-order a pad for it..they're on a thinner side, you don't want your rug moving around too much in your bedroom. Also will give thicker feel.

We pulled out our existing deck, it was just made with some kind of wood-we're not even sure what it was, but it was grooved on the underside. The PO had installed it and it was a very bad job that he'd done. Twice I fell on it-one resulted in me fracturing vertebrea in my back, the other I fell thru a board that snapped and just got bruised up. DH also fell thru snapped boards and we decided that was it-it's got to go! We researched all kinds of materials, I wanted no maintenance, but found that the composite decking wasn't a good idea for our wet weather-too slippery. Thought about cedar but it was high maintenance, so we just went with pressure treated. We've completely redesigned the deck, too, to make it more usable for how WE use it. We haven't finished it yet but what we've done we're very happy with. We'll stain it when it's done, and I want to add some railing in a few spots-its' not very high off the ground, but the ground is not level, so some areas are higher. I want to do a cable railing.