Decorative concrete is a hot segment of the overall concrete market. So a concrete castle infrastructure for a water slide speaks to both utility and creativity.

At Splash Kingdom Water Park in Shreveport, La., BeThePro.com contributor Thom Hunt’s team wrapped a platform, staging area and ramps to look like the park’s castle logo. This was done by welding a rebar armature onto the existing steel frame of the platforms, then attaching fiberglass lath to the entire armature and spraying grout mix onto it for a hard coating.

After the hard coat was applied and all rebar and mesh covered, 2-3 inches of carving-coat mortar (2-1 sand to Portland mix) was sprayed on the structure. About 120 sq. ft. was covered at a time then hand carving of the details was done in the style of an old castle stone work.

The windows, doors and drawbridge stairs are all hand-carved plaster using the same mix, and the same as the small details of metal hinges and door lock. The hand rails and steel posts at the top of the castle were themed as old wood railings using two-part epoxy clay to achieve the textures.

Then all was stained with Smith concrete stains to get the colors desired. There were eight 12’x12’x2’ planters themed to match the stone work on the castle also.  And voila, you have a functional and decorative concrete castle.

You can learn more about Thom in our Meet the Pros section.

Concrete Castle Project Photos