DIY Concrete Projects: Innovative Molds & Finishes for Home Decor, Countertops, and Outdoor Furniture

"Concrete at Home" by Fu-Tung Cheng and Eric Olsen follows in the footsteps of Cheng's "Concrete Countertops," but differs in that it is a much broader work. It is great at illustrating the possibilities of concrete in your home but is less an instruction manual, as some of these projects are fairly unsuitable as do-it-yourself upgrades. Although not really a do-it-yourself book, it has an instructional component and is good at explaining things like monolithic slab on grade concrete methodology, interior slab with radiant tubing, screeding, control joints, reinforcement, inlays, and many other important concepts.The chapter I was most interested in was chapter three, "Floor Transformations." The discussions of inlays, stamps, and finishes were of particular interest to me, and Cheng did not disappoint. The sections on stamping and use of found objects as embellishment were good, and there is a brief "Stamping D.I.Y." outline on pp. 62-64 that, while good, is too brief for a beginner. The chapter on countertops is great (as you would expect,) and I enjoyed the designs highlighted in part two, especially the emphasis of color and texture as central design elements. I also loved the aesthetics in the too brief section "Innovations in Concrete Block." Other sections of the book weren't as applicable to me (I seriously doubt I will ever have to deal with concrete walls, for instance,) but the illustrations were all very good and I enjoyed even the more esoteric parts of the book.I recommend this book to people considering home concrete projects without reservation. Understand, though, that this is not really a do-it-yourself book. There are instructions on how to do certain tasks, but I doubt that many people could successfully use them with no other training or instructions. That may sound like a shortcoming, but I think the book is best for envisioning the possibilities of concrete, figuring out what you really want to do, and taking that project to contractors (and possibly architects or engineers, as well) to execute. If Cheng had written a book detailing the "how to" of each of the project types he describes, the volume would be gigantically unwieldy and infinitely less useful to most readers. Most homeowners will like this book as a storehouse of brilliant concrete ideas, and some contractors might also like to read it as well, not for the technical information, but for the illustrations and concepts. If you are beginning to think in terms of concrete in your home, I think this is a great book to start with.