Concrete Decor's Current Articles

Concrete is going to crack and contractors should be prepared to handle certain issues when they happen.

A little-known fact about New Castle, Indiana, (for everyone not a Hoosier) is that it’s home to the world’s largest high school gymnasium. Basketball fever is so rampant in this small town of 18,000 that the community raised the money needed to build a high school gym that seats 9,325 spectators.

"Innovation" was the word of the day for Scofield’s 10th annual Decorative Concrete Awards which were presented during the 2018 World of Concrete in Las Vegas. Grand prize-winning “Scofie” projects in six categories were unique in their design and execution, with several recipients pushing the limits of their experience to try new things.

The project originally given Kevin Baltz, president of Memphis, Tenn., company Baltz & Sons Concrete Services, was a lot simpler than the one he 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.

Large maps in the school’s three outdoor courtyards give the elementary students some perspective of the world, our country and their state.

Contractors choose acrylic stains over chemical stains for a variety of reasons. Acrylic stains offer an array of colors that chemical stains cannot. Designers and applicators are no longer limited to the eight colors commonly available with acid-based stains. 

When Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs show called Richard Smith Custom Concrete about sending host Mike Rowe out to a decorative concrete job site for a day, Rick Smith rubbed his hands with glee, thinking to himself, "We're gonna get this guy filthy!"

This sweeping outdoor staircase and wraparound deck at Azure Standard, in Dufur, Ore., is more than just an update to an old warehouse on a rural Northwest farm. It’s the latest chapter in the story of a business that has spanned four generations and was built on a strong foundation of organic farming, sustainability and close-knit family ties.

Green building has been making a lot of headlines lately — it seems as if you can’t turn on the TV, read a magazine or attend a conference without hearing about it. You have probably heard the buzz about LEED and wondered how this building rating system applies to you. Green building is the next step for the decorative contractor industry, and LEED will help you and your business take that step

When the Cincinnati Reds had to redo two cracked and peeling dugout roofs, they needed a decorative concrete contractor who could not only repair the cracked slabs, but get that Reds red right.

Repairs are always tricky. The idea is to get them done as quickly as possible with a remedy the customer will buy. By selecting the correct process and products, you can control how long the repairs will take to complete. Customers’ willingness to accept repairs is determined by understanding their expectations and letting them know early on if their goals are achievable.

From the guys who claim several world titles, including the “World’s #1 Manufacturer of Decorative Concrete Cutting Equipment,” comes this innovative accessory called SawKart.

As high school students, most of us were encouraged to join a variety of extracurricular activities to build our resumes and make us more well-rounded people. As adults and business owners, joining an association, as well as attending conferences and trade shows, can have some of these same advantages, but they can also help grow your business.

The terms “polishing” and burnishing” are sometimes used interchangeably in the decorative concrete industry to describe two very different processes.

The nation's best decorative concrete artisans have years of experience laying down color combinations that glow, spark and shimmer. Even better, they're willing to share their secrets with you.

Today’s contractors who love the look of acid stains but loathe the labor and time required to get the job done have more ways than ever before to bypass the troublesome application using safer-for-all water routes.

Benesse Healing Garden at the Benesse Oncology Center, part of the Major Hospital system in Shelbyville, is an integral part of Benesse’s mind-body-soul treatment philosophy. The almost one-acre park has four water features, meandering walkways, lush plantings and several seating areas that allow for social interaction or privacy. 

A decorative concrete supply store in Michigan dazzles customers with its new showroom.

The most important thing with maintaining good color across a large job is consistency. From the obvious factors (color, admixture and water-to-cement ratios, temperature, humidity) to the less-tangible ones (soil type and moisture content of the subgrade, amount of time the concrete and color spend in the mixer, slump at the time of placement), document everything thoroughly and keep it the same from batch to batch.

Whether more utilitarian or more exotic, these are forms that every general contractor and every concrete guy is familiar with. We all have the tools and the formulae to produce these lines, angles and shapes.