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The project was a lot simpler than the one Baltz ended up with. “I was first approached to do some hardscape and subbase for a network of brick or paver stone terraces,” he recalls. “The connecting walkways were going to be asphalt.” He can’t hide the disdain in his voice when he makes that last statement.
When Brian Graham opened Hard Rock Developments Inc. in Calgary in 2000, he wanted the concrete tool and supply shop to be different from your standard concrete store. “My Dad was a concrete contractor, so when I was growing up, I went with him to concrete supply stores pretty often,” […]
Designed as an easier-to-use, more controllable color system, Construcolor B01 integral pigment is a liquid gel that has been winning over skeptics for the last decade.
The owner, an old concrete contractor, wanted to replace the two bars with concrete. The goal was to add ambience and character to the bar with a material that could be hosed down along with the floors. The owner also wanted seamless tops, making this a good candidate for pouring in place.
Just a few short years ago, saying that concrete was a green building material was sufficient. It was taken for granted that concrete, being locally produced, durable and nontoxic, was a sound, sustainable choice.
Do you really understand how the products you use on your decorative projects work? One of my “Seven Steps to Success Before You Start a Project” states that you should “understand the products and process.” Using the product is not enough. You have to really know what it is, what it’s made of, how it works, and how to properly use it.
When you put in years perfecting your decorative concrete craft , you start to consider yourself an expert in your field. Past customers appreciate your skill, courtesy and professionalism, and they refer friends and relatives to your services. But recently you have noticed something is changing, and this change makes you uneasy.
As concretists, each of us defines ourselves as “one who practices concrete poetry.” As we craft this material, we are crafting a poem. At the most basic level, that poem can be a haiku — deceptively simple.
When it comes to the application of decorative concrete finishes, it is the smallest (tackiest) details that will make or break your project.
We always have on hand different kinds of tape: three sizes of blue (painter’s) tapes, black tape, and when all else fails, duct tape.
Nailing the gold in the O that is the official logo of University of Oregon sports couldn’t have been easy. But here it is, on a dyed and polished cement overlay floor at The Duck Store in the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall, near Portland, Ore.
