The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Our editors compiled a list of some of the newest polishers on the market. This article goes in depth on each of them.
Before the hand-held Stucco Sprayer, concrete contractors who wanted to work vertically had to settle for one of two extremes – a large, costly pump, requiring a crew of four to six, or hand-stacking. The new sprayer fills a niche between the two.
With its distinctive Rice Krispies look, pervious concrete was designed to let liquids pass through it. The material poses some clear challenges for decorative concrete contractors.
The lack of communication between owners and designers at the top of the building process and the workers at the production end, as well as the training needed for a seamless transition from client’s conception to finished project can create a dysfunction in the industry that is in desperate need of fixing.
Seven years ago, Mike Menendez, a veteran in the decorative concrete overlay business, was presented with a franchise opportunity for detectible warning systems, which signal terrain transitions to pedestrians. After evaluating the products, he felt that he could create a better one. The end result was SafetyStepTD.
The weak economy does not have to make our industry buckle under price pressures. We’ve forgotten that polished concrete is already the best bargain in the flooring industry, and what’s more, we’ve allowed the formulaic installation to become entrenched in specifications.
A closer look at the interior and exterior first place winners of the 2010 Concrete Restoration Contest.
If you’ve been in business for even a short while, you’ve invested your time and efforts in identifying bid opportunities. You diligently filled out all the necessary documents, put the insurance and bond requirements in place, met the time restrictions, obtained the correct license and so on. Then you sit back waiting to hear if you were the one who was awarded the project.
As complements to stains, as colorants on polished concrete jobs or on their own, dyes are earning a more permanent place in the decorative concrete artisan’s tool kit.
Our industry of decorative concrete is full of amazing and talented artists who have taken our trade to a level I truly never thought I would see in my lifetime. Every issue of this magazine is proof of it. But.
