Concrete Decor's Current Articles

As part of the Aagen Group’s renovation of its facilities in Houston, the Business Flooring Specialists refurbished the company’s shipping and receiving ramp. The ramp was showing wear and tear and also needed its traction improved — especially when it was wet.

For both new construction and remodel projects, polishing contractors face similar issues when trying to get concrete not poured at the same time to aesthetically match. This is a major problem in the world of construction.

About 20 people gathered together Sept. 27-30 in Manchester, California, a town about three hours north of San Francisco, for the third annual Mendo Mini Campout and Boat Build.

Four manufacturers of concrete resurfacing and repair products took on the challenge presented by the Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons International Association (OPCMIA) Local 528 last July in Seattle.

The winners of the seventh annual Decorative Concrete Awards competition sponsored by the Decorative Concrete Council were recognized in February 2015 during a ceremony at World of Concrete in Las Vegas. DCC is a specialty council of the American Society of Concrete Contractors.

A research team has created a form of concrete that, remarkably, can be made without water and using materials that are widely available on Mars.

Mike Miller, a Benicia, Calif., artist, calls his work "sensory concrete."

This company’s founders left careers in an international construction firm to offer decorative concrete with the spirit of Aloha.

The Decorative Concrete Council, a specialty council of the American Society of Concrete Contractors, has announced the winners of its fourth annual Awards competition for decorative concrete projects.

The best training and the best products mean nothing if we can't find projects to prove our talent, right? I'm not going to sugarcoat our plight - I have been peddling decorative concrete for nearly 20 years and have never seen as many challenges as the ones we face today. Having said that, my goal is to have the best year possible, and I'm going to let you in on a secret as to how this will be done.

When applying overlays over overlays, certain tools and techniques can make the job easier.

Decorative concrete bars and concrete countertops are “anticlimactic” to many concrete contractors. Many concrete contractors continue to push the limits of what concrete can do as a medium by creating good design and shapes that are not often seen within the decorative concrete industry.

High-performance fibers made of PVA, which is short for polyvinyl alcohol, were developed some 20 years ago. When added to concrete or mortar, the fibers develop a molecular and chemical bond with the cement during hydration and curing. The result: concrete with high tensile strength and amazing ductility.

Structures like these - with a smooth, weathered surface and a nature-inspired pattern, cast in relief - have the power to turn unused sidewalk space into a lush roadside minipark.

Liquid release agent is quickly becoming the choice of many decorative concrete contractors. With the increased demand for quicker turnarounds, cleaner job sites and environmental concerns, using liquid release agent for stamped concrete becomes an obvious choice.

In this Tooling section, Concrete Decor magazine focused on walk-behind models, handheld models, edgers and other tools that can be helpful to decorative contractors on small and medium-sized jobs.

Construction of the National September 11 Memorial was progressing on schedule to meet its target Sept. 11, 2011, grand opening date, when a big problem emerged concerning the twin fountains and reflecting pools built within the footprints where the North and South towers once stood.

Talking to a client about color choices can be difficult. Many times, clients say they want brown, which is about the vaguest statement a client can make. In the last article, we focused on asking if they wanted it to be light or dark. This time we want to know if they want a warm or a cool brown. Warm and cool attributes are very much like lights and darks.