Vol. 11 No. 5 - July 2011

Neither Scott Cohen, who owns The Green Scene in Northridge, Calif., nor Allen Miller, CEO and president of Concrete Revolution in Denver, Colo., have ever had a problem with alkali-silica reaction in their glass and concrete countertops.

For Martin R. Smith, president of Rockerz Inc., running a successful business is all about the people on your team. “I’m really driven, myself,” he says, “and I like to hire people who rise to the challenge. Personality, to me, is what sets certain people apart.”

Decorative concrete contractors know how to turn plain concrete into works of art using various applications and techniques. What they may not know is how these applications and techniques affect the temperature of the concrete.

Our task had been to art-direct the placement of a new natural gray topping slab, and to subsequently patina it to simulate some 20 years of hard use. In other words, we were turning it from gray to “that special gray.”

Your business may have the upper hand in finding new projects, at least if you’re willing to step up to online marketing.

The way this decorative concrete contractor sees it, the only way to land more projects is to increase your number of strong leads. Let’s take a look at exactly how you can add more solid leads immediately.

Ever notice the broad range of opinions that exist regarding concrete overlays and how they work? Take color hardener, for example — not everyone uses the product, but most agree that it is good and provides excellent results. Why then with overlays does such a spectrum of opinion and emotion exist?

This is an expert self-leveling application that can take an unfinished floor with two different substrates (in this case concrete and plywood) and turn it into one beautiful, continuous floor.

Penicillin, popsicles and the pacemaker are all great inventions that were created by accident. Now it’s time to add another one to that list: Glo-Kote from Super-Krete International Inc.

One thing I noticed is that it seemed like a lot of the wet-cast apron-front sinks I cast had developed very fine hairline cracks in the corners. The cracks never opened up but would show up when the sinks got wet. I don’t know if the sinks cracked during striping and handling or from concrete shrinkage later — all I knew was I had to stop them.

Unlike water and oil, glass and concrete do mix and can marry well under the right circumstances. On the other hand, the union may not remain solvent if the chemistry isn’t there to deter the main reason this coupling would meet its demise: alkali-silica reaction (ASR).

At the Tampa Museum of Art, all eyes are on the compelling paintings, photographs and sculptures. And the building itself evokes an essence that’s subtle and serene so as not to detract from the art on display.

We all wish that we could tell our customers, “Screw you! I did the work. Pay me!” I know that in my career I have gotten just about every excuse in the book as to why I wasn’t getting paid for my work. By its very nature, the decorative concrete industry that we love so much allows customers to play with our money.

In August 2010, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy in Winnipeg contacted Randall Klassen to get a quote for the demolition and removal of the Assiniboine Park Zoo’s Tropical House. The house had fallen into disrepair and the conservancy wanted to replace it with a rocky tropical oasis for animals, birds and plants.

This article breaks down three different jobs and how one artistan developed the designs for each project, stage by stage.

Developed as an ecofriendly alternative to acid stain, Increte Systems’ Stone Essence is a water-based stain that offers contractors a wide variety of options in regards to both location and aesthetics.

The 500,000 square feet of stamped concrete pathways and patios at the new Italian theme park Rainbow MagicLand look like no place else on Earth.