Cement slabs – history, craftsmanship, future

Peter Bucher is ‘The Tile Maker’. He has revived an almost forgotten craft: the traditional manufacture of historical building components made of cement. Over many years, he has researched, reconstructed and brought back into practical use ancient knowledge, historical moulds and original manufacturing processes.

His particular strength lies in the reconstruction of historic cement roof and floor slabs. Using old originals as a guide, the slab-maker is able to recreate shapes, dimensions and manufacturing processes, and even produce slabs that have not been available for many decades, true to the original.

But his expertise extends further: Bucher has also re-learned the historical methods for producing bricks, coping stones and moulded concrete elements, and is able to reconstruct them based on historical models.

In doing so, Peter Bucher has restored the cement slab to its original form and manufacturing process. For heritage conservation and restoration, this means that what seemed lost can be recreated.

The slab-maker – a historic craft from Tyrol, revived for future generations.