The Concrete Countertop Institute has announced the first ever advanced class designed for experienced concrete countertop makers who are having technical difficulties with mixes and sealers. The two-day tutorial, titled “Mixes & Sealers 301,” teaches scientific principles that will prevent problems and result in more satisfied customers. Led by Institute president Jeff Girard, the inaugural class will be offered July 26-27, 2007, at the Institute training facility in Raleigh, N.C.
Girard, a licensed professional civil engineer, designed the new class to teach students not just rote formulas and procedures, but the engineering that goes into creating high-performance concrete countertop mixes from local materials and optimizing concrete countertop sealer performance. Girard will explain how he designs the mixes he makes from scratch and the scientific testing procedures he uses to evaluate any new sealer.
The class covers concrete countertop mixes on day one: concrete fundamentals, strength development, curing, pozzolans, admixtures, aggregate gradation, fibers, all-sand mixes, lightweight concrete and self-consolidating concrete. Hands-on mixing is included, and students receive exact formulas for two different from-scratch concrete countertop mixes. On day two, students learn about concrete countertop sealers: types of penetrating and topical sealers such as densifiers, repellants, acrylics, epoxies and urethanes, how to test the performance properties of sealers, how to set customer expectations for sealers, application methods such as rolling or spraying, and hands-on application of two different commercially available concrete countertop sealing systems.
A class called “Advanced Sinks & Molds 202” is offered immediately preceding this workshop. It has been expanded to include more mold-making techniques with various materials such as rubber, foam and fiberglass, plus more mold shapes such as vessel sinks and ramp sinks. Each student takes home a rubber sink mold that he or she makes during the class.
Both classes are open only to concrete countertop professionals who have been making concrete countertops for paying customers for at least one year.
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