EDUCATION

What is GFRC?

Glass Fiber Reinforced Cement (GFRC) is a category of cementitious composite materials made from:

  • Portland cement

  • Sand

  • Water

  • Copolymer and admixtures

  • Fiberglass

generally cast into a thin “skin” between 1/2”-1” thick.


What is GFRC used for?

GFRC has many applications, but Buffalo Architectural Casting fabricates GFRC units to replace limestone and terracotta on historic building facades.

Why would we use GFRC?

  • GFRC is often 25-50% the cost of terracotta or stone.

  • On projects where terracotta and carved stone might be delivered in 16-18 months, we deliver in 6-8 weeks.

  • GFRC requires fewer internal web-walls and thinner wall thickness than terracotta, so GFRC is often 25-50% lighter than terracotta.

    GFRC is hollow-cast, so is often 10x lighter than limestone.

  • Because GFRC is made from cement, we have the luxury of incorporating masonry dies and colored aggregate into our mixes.

    We can also use various finishing techniques like faux painting with mineral coatings, tinting sealer, and acid etching to alter the appearance of our cast units.

    And because our units are cast, we can design molds that impart incredibly detailed texture into the unit faces.

    Thus, we can make our GFRC look like just about anything, from terracotta and limestone to marble, metals, and wood.


  • Item description

Why BAC?

Buffalo Architectural Casting fabricates GFRC using a hand-laid method, allowing us to capture complicated shapes in extremely high-detail.

Because of our background in historic preservation, we specialize in matching historic masonry units (terracotta, limestone, sandstone, and many more finishes including other stone, metals, wood, etc.)

In addition to utilizing LiDar scanning technology, making molds of existing units in-situ, and repairing damaged units for replication, we excel in sculpting original ornamentation from historic photographs, extrapolating from very minimal information.

Buffalo Architectural Casting is the right choice of GFRC fabricator for challenging projects which require extra attention to detail, and the utmost fidelity.

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