The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Industry veterans, entrepreneurs and decorative concrete artisans reveal findings, divulge lessons learned and outline methods used to help advance the industry as a whole.
Each job your company completes is a billboard. Each project says, “Yes, my company is good and worthy of your next decorative project,” or it says, “I’m a work in progress that right now, unfortunately, is not worth the chance.” Few billboards imply anything in between. At the end of […]
An expert’s tips on how to use these common household items to make your decorative concrete work easier and more beautiful.
Pool coping can be made of many different types of material, including cast-in-place concrete, brick, flagstone, precast concrete, travertine, aluminum or tile. The pool coping separates the pool structure from the pool deck, which means the deck can shift without adversely affecting the pool.
Concrete lounge chairs are one of the hottest applications of concrete furniture made with glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC).
Decorative concrete often appeals to designers and building owners who want to minimize their impact on the environment, because polished, stamped or textured surfaces eliminate the need for coverings that perpetually need replacement.
The decorative concrete industry is a niche market with a lot of players competing for work. An internet search for “decorative concrete contractor” will bring up nearly 3 million entries, and “concrete artisan” generates nearly 1 million. In local phone books, however, there are typically no such entries.
In the previous two articles, I discussed my bread-and-butter designs. I probably do one of those designs every other week and sometimes twice a week. They’re quick and easy once you become familiar with them. Practice drawing them on your warehouse floor a couple of times until you get used to the routine.
A How To feature that offers step-by-step instructions for casting statuary and other fine-featured pieces.
For the first time in this series, I’m basing my article on a current job I just finished. In the last one, I introduced scrollwork as a design element. I was still focused on symmetry and using scrollwork as a larger medallion in a room.
Vertical overlay finishes are being installed everywhere. They are the fastest growing segment of the overlay market, and that segment is growing faster than any other type of decorative overlayment.
