Franklin Blog and Articles

9/18/2022

Concrete Barrels for Wine?

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What's the next big thing in wine? Concrete tanks, Japanese firm hopes

Aizawa Concrete will compare wines aged in stainless steel and concrete tanks.
(Photo courtesy of Aizawa Concrete)

Concrete fermentation tanks are being mass-produced by a company in Hokkaido, but first the vintages must pass sommelier approval. In the prefectures of Hokkaido, Yamanashi, and Nagano, Aizawa Concrete will conduct proving tests pitting concrete wine tanks against stainless-steel tanks. Approximately 500 liters of grapes will be fermented in each of the tanks starting this fall. Laboratory tests will be conducted on the finished wine to determine its mineral content and pH value, among other things. It will be decided by professional wine tasters -- tentatively in January 2024 -- after the products have been sampled and compared.
Vinification of wine in concrete at stable temperatures has been found to be more effective than vinification in stainless steel. Furthermore, the material is porous on a microscopic level, and its breathability is thought to promote fermentation.

Couple of Ways to Remove Paint from a Concrete Floor.

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The most common panicked fear when spilling paint is that the stain will become permanent! You rush around trying to find the quickest way to clean it up off multiple surfaces, the kids, your pets, or yourself. The most challenging of these that can end up happening is permanent stains on your concrete floors. Paint spills on tiled floors, or wooden
laminate can take some time, but can usually come up. It’s the spill on concrete floors that makes it a race against time. Why? Its because concrete is a porous material. Water and other liquids move through
the tiny holes in the hard surface. Unless your concrete has a waterproof coating, that paint you just spilled is going to be absorbed. Don’t panic quite yet, as there are some things you can do to clean up the mess.
You might have a large job involving old paint, and this advice is for you. Use a chemical paint stripper as it can include benzyl alcohol and glycol acid that dissolves paint making it easy to remove. However, you
need to wear protective eyewear and gloves because chemical paint strippers have irritants in them which can affect your skin or fumes affect your eyes. Always read the instructions on the container. The first step is to cover the area of the concrete where the paint needs to be removed. Coat the paint stripper on the concrete using a large
stain-friendly paintbrush. The coat should be 1/8 inch thick which will allow it to soak in without drying up. Another way of preventing drying is covering the area with a sheet of plastic on top, but not touching the
surface. You want the paint stripper to work for as long as possible. The recommended time is 24 hours. Removing the stripper also requires protective clothing. When the 24 hours are finished take off the plastic
sheet and throw it away and start scraping off the stripper. It will have created a film over the area and might be a bit gooey. Scrap the stripper off and immediately discard it. Once its all scraped away you
can power wash the surface to remove the chemicals and then cleanse it with soapy water. The paint should be completely gone.

When to bring out a Floor Grinder

Using a floor grinder can be faster and maybe even easier than using chemicals, but you’ll have to make sure you use enough protection devices as the area can become very loud and dusty. Some sort of filtering mask is a must, and eye protection to protect your eyes from dust particles. Using a floor grinder is a direct approach to removing paint from your concrete and when you are addressing extremely large areas this may be the best option. A floor grinder is a power tool with a spinning disc that scrapes off the top layers of concrete surfaces. This is a great alternative to using chemicals if you want to add a different coat of paint or finish and seal the concrete afterwards. Using a floor grinder is actually a great way to prep an area for these uses. Floor grinders usually come with a vacuum hose that sucks up dust and debris, but its not going to grab everything. There is still going to be a mess as residual dust can blow around as you work, which is why protective clothing and safety equipment is very helpful. Safety glasses, gloves, dust masks, and knee pads are highly recommended. The floor grinder grinds down the surface and while grinding you are going to want to avoid creating divots and wedges by making smooth even passes over the top layer, otherwise you risk an uneven finished result.

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Concrete Barrels for Wine?

What's the next big thing in wine? Concrete tanks, Japanese firm hopes

Aizawa Concrete will compare wines aged in stainless steel and concrete tanks.
(Photo courtesy of Aizawa Concrete)

Couple of Ways to Remove Paint from a Concrete Floor.

Max Diamond

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Concrete Barrels for Wine?

What's the next big thing in wine? Concrete tanks, Japanese firm hopes ​

Aizawa Concrete will compare wines aged in stainless steel and concrete tanks.​(Photo courtesy of Aizawa Concrete)

Couple of Ways to Remove Paint from a Concrete Floor.

Max Diamond

Archives

Categories

What's the next big thing in wine? Concrete tanks, Japanese firm hopes

Aizawa Concrete will compare wines aged in stainless steel and concrete tanks.
(Photo courtesy of Aizawa Concrete)