Tools & Equipment

What is ground and polished concrete? How do we determine the difference between a topical-polished floor, in which a product has been applied to the floor to seal it, and a mechanical polish with bonded abrasives?

Quick-Imprint creates a reusable form liners — for tilt-up, downcast, and vertical precast pours — enabling an imprint finish on both sides of the walls.

There’s a grinder/polisher model available for just about every task, whether it’s prepping the floor of a big-box store or finishing a basement or small office. Finding the right tool for the job can make a big difference in speed and efficiency, so know what you want before you go shopping.

Let’s face it, working concrete is a hard job. It’s hard on the hands, the back and especially the knees. Fortunately, for some contractors there’s an option that allows them to stand upright and still complete their jobs.

Before the hand-held Stucco Sprayer, concrete contractors who wanted to work vertically had to settle for one of two extremes – a large, costly pump, requiring a crew of four to six, or hand-stacking. The new sprayer fills a niche between the two.

Some facts and advice in the form of questions and answers that may help you maneuver the market if you’re interested in learning more about mixers and pumps.

Vibrators for concrete can be used to move air out of the mix come in all shapes and sizes from ultra portable to versions for the countertop.

A review of tools and methods for sink polishing and edge profiling concrete countertops.

An overview of the different concrete saws on the market and which might be the best fit for your job.

Sometimes the solution to a problem is only an imaginative thought away.

Modular, compact and sturdy in design; portable concrete mixers come in designs to fit all construction needs.

Riviera Brush Co. has been a leader in the concrete brush industry since 1989. They started out by developing their line of Orange-Crete wash brushes for the ready-mix industry. The brushes were designed to stand up to the harsh conditions inherent to the industry — lime, abrasives, muriatic acid and other cleaning agents. They were ideal for cleaning trucks and equipment.

An engineer for a manufacturer of machines that use ultraviolet light to cure coatings explains equipment options for contractors.

It’s hard to describe enVisions using words alone. The plastic casting mat, which is laid into a countertop form before the concrete is poured, creates a genuinely unique, shimmering visual effect on a concrete surface.

The word "diamonds" is inevitably associated with the concept of "big bucks," but like many other things about diamond grinding, this is something of a misconception.

An overview of different specialty cutting tools, saw blades and chains that will help you on be successful on your next job.

The Crack-Chaser Blade from Pearl Abrasive Company was designed for more efficient cleaning, routing and repairing of cracks in concrete. The diamond segments are sintered to the core in a V-shaped pattern, leaving a clean groove for filling.

Traditionally, when decorative or specialty flooring contractors wanted to broadcast decorative vinyl color chips or colored quartz onto a horizontal or vertical surface, they preferred doing it by hand.

Still struggling with how to meet the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s requirements on protecting your employees from silica dust? You certainly aren’t alone.

Wagman Metal Products Inc., the global leader in power trowel replacement blades, pans and innovative trowel attachments for scrubbing, stripping, and polishing, introduces a new polypropylene brush.

An engineered piece of metal that bridges cracks to hold two pieces of concrete together and an overlay can be installed right over the top.

When raw soil or aggregate needs to be compacted before a pour, what do decorative concrete contractors use to pound the ground? Rollers are too much machine for smaller jobs. So generally, the choice is between rammers and vibratory plate compactors.

In our industry we are often asked: What’s the gloss on the floor? Or, did you hit the gloss readings that are in the specification?

Brad Obbink went all-in as a polished concrete contractor a few years ago, discarding the paint pot and brush and hitching his fortunes to the concrete grinder/polisher, for better or worse.

As you know, there are plenty of situations when you mix your own concrete rather than having it delivered from the ready-mix plant. Whether you are proposing stain, exposed aggregate or stamped concrete, a mixer is a great option for creating samples.

Veto Pro Pac Launches Tech OT-MC: A Compact Open Top Tool Bag with an Innovative Central Box and Customizable Injection Molded Insert Boxes

Proline Concrete Tools Inc. isn’t in the winemaking business, but if contractors all over the country want to press its grapes, the company would be more than happy to make that happen.

There are many molding compounds available, so it’s important to get one that’s appropriate for the application at hand.

It’s going to take the industry by storm. It’s a game changer. Revolutionary. In the case of polishing concrete with power trowel machinery, all those phrases might well prove true. Or, maybe not. Revolutionary? You could make that claim. Game changer? Yes, but...

The problem: How to spray sealers and other solventbased liquids onto concrete as if they were paint. The solution: The Solvenator Premier Concrete Sprayer.

Trimtape Inc., a Georgia company, is unspooling several sticky options for concrete contractors. Trimtape’s grout line tapes, which range in width from 1/4 inch to 1 inch, are laced with strands of fiberglass for strength. Layout marker lines appear every four inches of tape.

Potential clients often struggle with visualizing what decorative concrete will look like at their home or business. The new Deco-Con Wizard from Depiction Software can help remove the mystery by quickly and easily showing them what selected decorative concrete patterns will look like on their property.

Understanding how moisture moves through concrete is critical to successful flooring. It helps you reduce the risk for future moisture-related flooring failure during installation. It also helps you identify and assess the cause of moisture-related issues that have already occurred.

Dust control is a hot topic these days. We compiled a list of some of the dust control equipment on the market that can help on any decorative concrete job.

Bob Harris, president of the Decorative Concrete Institute in Temple, Ga., is offering an innovative product to make decorative contractors’ lives a little easier.

To get the look, Ralston scattered rock salt here and there on the fresh pour, along with drops of retardant. After washing away the salt and retardant the next day and attacking the concrete with an acid-water solution and a wire brush, his team had the aged, corroded effect they wanted.

Crete Master's smooth-as-glass countertop finish, a hand-held surface finisher that excels in finishing concrete counter tops, horizontal and vertical overlays, colored hardeners, edges on concrete slabs and many other applications that require a smooth finish.

David Dalton of Sprayers Plus — a supplier of spray tools for a wide range of uses — suggests these tips pertaining to sprayer care and maintenance.

Have you ever looked at your concrete-covered tools and wished you could just — poof! — make the hardened mess disappear?

Well, that’s the premise behind Poof!, a cleaning agent from Kover Krete Systems Inc. in Orlando, Fla.

World of Concrete 2018 exceeded everyone’s expectations in January by attracting more than 58,000 registered professionals and nearly 1,600 participating companies, including about 300 brand-new exhibitors.

Imagine you own a company that supplies concrete contractors with the tools for their trade. You offer a product that has been the industry standard for decades and is essential to most contractors in your industry. Your company sells a lot of them and they are a good source of income. Your company is a recognized industry leader as a provider of the product.