Fossils In Concrete?

[RJB]

Hey folks. Here is a picture of our new master bathroom concrete slab. I know it has nothing to do with fossils, but it got me to thinkin?! A long while ago, I was in a rockshop where they sold lots of Green River fish from the split fish layers. The rockshop owner told me that a guy came in a bought most of her fish, and told me that he was going to put them into his shower that he was building. I asked about him, called him up, and he invited me over to see his work. He had all these little Knightias in rock of different sizes all at about eye level in his shower and all glazed over with some kind of very thick and very shiny stuff? He cut the tile he was using to fit around all the different sizes of fish that he squared up. It looked very funky to me, but at the time it gave me a good idea of using fishes in the really hard and stable 18 inch layer and the super hard marlstone layers to do the same thing some day? Im purty dang sure that his split fish layer fish are having problems, but still... Also, I remember a guy in Utah that used fossil wood and some very large ammos to build his rockshop with. Some of you may have seen his shop. Its purty dang cool. But here is also a question for Dan. Im thinking of maybe putting in two really big ammos from texas to put into a rock wall for our walkway. "Just how stable are those ammos from texas Dan"? I live in Montana where it can get purty dang cold, and am wondering just how well they would hold up to the cold winters and the hot summers. I think with some planning, that a really big ammo on each side of the rock wall for the entryway would look DAM COOL!!! Just wondering?

RB

[Auspex]

If you get good, stoney ammos, and soak them for a while in Thompson's Water Seal, they'll hold up to freeze-thaw cycles pretty well. I probably wouldn't use them to bear much load, though.

[ebrocklds]

i don't know about the ammonites, but i will be redoing my kitchen tile with fossil fish plates this summer. i have access to one of the 18" quarries and i will be taking my tiles from the capstone layers that are super hard and a bit darker grey in color. i will be polishing them to a shine, which looks really cool with the fish. i will post a pic later today if i can remeber to.

brock

[Guest Nicholas]

i don't know about the ammonites, but i will be redoing my kitchen tile with fossil fish plates this summer. i have access to one of the 18" quarries and i will be taking my tiles from the capstone layers that are super hard and a bit darker grey in color. i will be polishing them to a shine, which looks really cool with the fish. i will post a pic later today if i can remeber to.

brock

That's really cool Brock, I wanted to do something like that myself but tile a wall instead.

[Carl O'Cles]

Wow, that seems like a pretty cool idea. I have heard of people having bone gardens but never people putting fossils in concrete. When i first saw the title of this post i thought it was going to be about finding fossils in concrete. I know this sounds like a crazy thing but i have seen it before. At a local beach there are some old concrete slabs laying on the beach. When the slabs were made they were mixed with rocks from the beach which also included some teeth and bone frags which are protruding out, its knida neat

[Auspex]

Wow, that seems like a pretty cool idea. I have heard of people having bone gardens but never people putting fossils in concrete. When i first saw the title of this post i thought it was going to be about finding fossils in concrete. I know this sounds like a crazy thing but i have seen it before. At a local beach there are some old concrete slabs laying on the beach. When the slabs were made they were mixed with rocks from the beach which also included some teeth and bone frags which are protruding out, its knida neat

"Concreteadon aggregatus"

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I have various B grade ammonites in my rock gardens and they appear to be holding up well. Most are common Eopachydiscus and Mortoniceras specimens seen every day on eBay. Bill Jolley in Tyler sells lots of them there, and in the background of each is his fireplace which has a few Morts inlaid amongst the rocks. Looks cool. However, this is indoors. Most of the sizeable ammonites in TX come from the Goodland, Duck Creek, Fort Worth formations, the Eos being the biggest. These formations aren't super hard, but my outdoor ammonites are holding up well. A buddy in Dallas where there are colder and wetter winters recommends Butvaring his garden ammonites annually. My only experience in colder climes is with a Lake Texoma Duck Creek Mort I gave my Mom, who put it outside untreated, and it broke the first winter. Ice wedge is a powerful thing. I've never tried the water seal thing, but I suppose you could acquire some ammonites, seal them, let them sit out all winter, then inlay them in the spring if they hold up.

[Guest N.AL.hunter]

Do this:

http://www.geodecor.com/PPinteriors1.asp

[Shuko]

Do this:

http://www.geodecor.com/PPinteriors1.asp

Now THAT is cool.

[NJ Mary Ann]

Now THAT is cool.

Here's another site:

http://www.greenriverstone.com

Mary Ann

[ebrocklds]

here is a sample piece of rock that i did. it isn't cut square or anything but it gives you the idea

brock

[Roger]

Six years I lived in an apartment. They were redoing the brick retainer walls around the interior courtyard in limestone. I approached the apartment manager and asked her to have two of my Eopachydiscus ammonites (a 12" and a 15") put in the wall in front of my apartment. She had it done and I thought it looked quite cool and completely natural with the other limestone around it.

I moved out a year later to a new home and obviously left the ammonites behind me. Last year on a whim, I stopped back by the old apartments and there they were - still in their glory - embedded in the wall in the courtyard.

Who knows, someday a kid may think they're really cool and get interested in paleo. . .

Roger