Vol. 4 No. 4 - August/September 2004

Use this decorative technique to transfer art to a concrete patio using a grid method is an effiicient and foolproof way to get the perfect look you and your customer are after.

As demand for concrete countertops grows, concrete contractors and artists have been honing their techniques to produce concrete countertops. Countertops fall into two general categories: cast-in-place and precast and projects can call for either application.

Like an artist's paintbrush on canvas, the trowel can create a wide variety of effects on overlays.

Sometimes there's no better way to finish a cementitious topping than to get down on your hands and kneeboards and go to town with a trowel.

Thanks to a recent concrete extravaganza that featured a Concrete Carnival family festival, an exhibition and a concrete canoe competition, many not associated with the concrete trade have learned to appreciate its surprising and fascinating properties, too.

21st century concrete on display in the exhibit Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete, features innovations that range from translucent blocks and photoengraved building fronts to revolutionary materials that promise to change the rules of construction as we know them today.

Reliable. Multifaceted. Maintainable. Portable concrete mixers are all that and more, says Warren Faler, mixer product manager for Multiquip in Carson, Calif. “They can be productive in a wide variety of applications.”

Snowmelt technology is, essentially, radiant heat applied to outdoor surfaces. There are few differences between the two heating techniques, and both can be used to heat low- or high-mass concrete surfaces to melt ice and snow, keeping surfaces safe and clear of icy accumulations.

Whether you’re evaluating a prospective client’s existing concrete for estimating purposes or you’re in the process of neutralizing a surface in preparation for resurfacing, Extech’s pH tester ExStik pH100 (aka the ExStik) is a fabulous tool for identifying problem areas.

In 1971, Robert Freis was working as a buyer for a California building supply company when a customer asked to buy a set of aluminum stamps for a concrete design application.

Doug Carlton says he tried his darnedest to stay out of the decorative concrete market. With both his father and grandfather traditional concrete contractors, he was quite content to maintain the status quo when he started his own company back in 1987.

Fu-Tung Cheng, award-winning designer and author of Concrete Countertops, is now offering five-day Advanced Countertop Design Trainings. Held in Berkeley, Calif., the trainings are limited to 12 participants and include hours of direct instruction by Cheng.