Reinforcing relief sculpture work: A key to proper adhesion

Abstract

The recent relief sculpture works showed lack of bonding properties for the work to last long. Therefore, this study sought to reinforce relief sculpture letters for better adhesion. A practice-based method was used, consisting of the following steps. The wall nailling, binding, and cement grouting were used in constructing relief sculpture letters. This was done to reinforce the work. First, the template (mould) was made from plywood, traced onto the cement rendering, and hacked the layout of the letters to give the key. In the second step, the mould was mounted or fixed onto the cement rendering for hacked areas to show through the template. This was followed by fixing the wall nails and binding wire in the mould and applying the cement grout onto them. Finally, cement mortar was filled into the mould. It was found that the wall nails and the binding wire had reinforced the relief sculpture letters, while the cement grout also exhibited a good bonding. As a result of this, the relief sculpture lettering did not crack or peel-off from the cement surface. By using wall nails, binding wire, and cement grout as reinforcing agents, it can be concluded that relief sculpture works can withstand tensile or shear stresses caused by forces.