The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Instead of pouring concrete, concrete installers place concrete where they want it to go. And there are right ways and wrong ways to do this.
A primer on accelerators and their use in decorative concrete. Accelerators are one of the most popular kinds of chemical admixtures. Like water reducers, retarders and plasticizers, when added to a concrete batch either immediately before or during mixing.
People who work with concrete know that creative forming is essential for a high-quality finished product. It can sometimes be the most arduous part of concrete work, especially when curves and circles are involved.
Exterior decorative concrete projects lend themselves well to areas of the country with warm, dry climates where the client can enjoy their outdoor space year-round. Unfortunately warm temperatures can also impact the workability of concrete.
Broom finishes provide an economical alternative to the removal and replacement of existing concrete. This system creates a flexible and durable finish that can be used to re-level, renovate, resurface and create decorative patterns and designs, with or without integral coloring. When sealed, the new finish will resist gas, oils, water, salts, freeze-thaw cycles and ultraviolet rays.
Decorative grates made of cast iron look impressive. But too often, they’re also expensive, so they aren’t considered for any projects but those with the largest budgets. A company called Iron Age Designs hopes to change that. Iron Age grates are manufactured using cost-efficient Danish technology, so they can be […]
Here are a list of places where radiant heat and snowmelt systems can be most effective.
Today, most slabs are finished using mechanical trowels for the body of the slab and hand trowels for the edges. There are two basic types of mechanical trowels: walk-behinds and ride-ons.
Colored release powder is a blend of pigments and hydrophobic (water-resistant) powders. Release powder’s primary purpose is to allow stamping tools to release cleanly from the concrete surface without sticking.
Tom Ralston of Tom Ralston Concrete in Santa Cruz, California, returned home as the winningest recipient of the eighth annual Decorative Concrete Awards competition sponsored by the Decorative Concrete Council, a specialty council of the American Society of Concrete Contractors.
It’s a classic dilemma. The more beautiful the outdoor decorative concrete, the more those ugly drain and vent holes stand out. A half-circle of corrugated pipe poking into a carefully crafted design can thwart the best artistic intentions
