The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Polishing 52,000 square feet of floor is never an easy task, but some jobs can be more demanding than others. This was one of them. It took contractor Darryl White and a crew of five 11 weeks to prep, polish and finesse the artwork for the floors of Alabama Robotics Technology Park.
CCI Flooring Inc. in Crest Hill, Ill. installs and distributes sealing products. The company is involved in more than 500 decorative concrete jobs per year. CCI President Bob Bauer worked with solvent-based sealers from 15 different top suppliers before settling on a product he likes.
The first thing designers should consider is the shape of the given work space and how to divide the space to create a striking and balanced composition.
Acid-stained concrete has been popular for decades. The process of acid staining is well documented, as are the key precautionary items to look for before and during application. Thanks to real-world experience, continuing education and better specifications, issues with acid stains have been greatly reduced.
For the first time since 1994, concrete provided the vast majority of the structural elements for The New American Home (TNAH), the official show home of the National Association of Home Builders that debuted during the 2004 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas.
Just like there’s more than one way to make chocolate chip cookies, there are plenty of ways to build concrete homes with satisfying results. Here’s a synopsis of the main options on the market.
Fu-Tung Cheng designed this concrete home currently under construction on the island of Culebra off the coast of Puerto Rico, smack dab in an area known as Hurricane Alley. Because of its location on a wind-swept mountainside, the house has to be built to withstand hurricane forces and concrete was the logical choice.
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.
On a project where different colors are desired, a simple solution is to use a solvent sealer in the darker field and a water-based sealer or a stand-alone wax (for interior projects) in the lighter field.
Bud Stegmeier, co-owner of Stegmeier Corp. in Henderson, Nev., shares these tips for using channel drains and point drains in swimming pool applications.
