Vol. 14 No. 1 - January 2014

GST International Inc. is best known for its concrete cleaners and sealers, but the company has been working on developing the ultimate cementitious overlay for a decade and a half. They think they’ve finally cracked the case.

Are you content with installing decorative concrete countertops, overlays and stamped concrete, or do you have what it takes to rise to the occasion?

Let’s take a look at three critical challenges to marketing your business effectively and how you can resolve them.

No matter what industry you’re in, whether it’s massage therapy, concrete staining or stamped concrete, you have to consider yourself as being in sales.

Richard Winget sees himself as a glorified copycat, an artisan who uses concrete and other mediums to simulate everything from cavern environments, majestic rockscapes and award-winning underwater reefs to rain forests, waterfalls and mountain landscapes.

The moment you step through the doors of the Children’s Discovery Museum in central Las Vegas, you know you are in for a treat. The museum promises in its mission a “vibrant and engaging experience” for children from all walks of life.

On some decorative concrete projects, the only people looking over your shoulder are other tradespeople.

The tragedy created a bond between the boys’ mothers, Milena Sellers-Phillips and Maria Keever. When Sellers-Phillips participated in the search for a murdered girl in 2010, the experience renewed her desire for a public memorial to Jonathan and Charlie.

There’s a little bit of art and a little bit of science involved in the making of beer. And when the popular Sun King Brewing Co. in Indianapolis, Ind., needed an upgrade to its floors, the local flooring contractor contacted to handle the job applied the same mixed approach.

Winter and freeze-thaw have a way of exposing defects in concrete we normally would not see in warmer regions.

I have an exterior raised wooden deck that has a cement-based overlay applied to the top. The area that is under roof is fine, but the area that is outside is failing.

Concrete countertops have been around for decades now, and more and more magazines and TV shows are featuring them. So you wold think misconceptions such as “concrete countertops are cheap” or “concrete countertops are high-maintenance” would be a thing of the past.

Play sand is a great thing to keep handy as an abrasion aid when using a concrete grinder. It keeps the diamonds dressed and cooled while acting as a secondary abrasive to assist in the actual grinding process.

ST115 is a new standard for the concrete polishing industry that was adopted in fall 2013 by the Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association (CSDA). The standard explains in detail how to measure the texture of a concrete surface by using a texture meter.

Within the concrete industry there is a common misconception that polished concrete means no maintenance, when in reality keeping up a polished floor simply requires low maintenance.

Sundek of Washington, Chantilly, Va., installed about 7,500 square feet of Sundek Classic Texture in Pewter Gray, Mission Tan and Clear for architect Adam Steiner, of Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., and developer Mill Creek Residential Trust.

Cheng Concrete has reinvented its annual concrete design challenge with the first contest of a new series — the Kitchen & Bath Concrete Maker Challenge. The company announced the 2013 winners in November.