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Become an AIA-Approved Education Provider in 7 Easy Steps

Licensed architects are required to earn a certain number of continuing education credits to maintain their license from the American Institute of Architects. So, when you, a decorative concrete contractor, offer them a way to earn desired credit, you have at least one guaranteed hour of their attention.

architects & concrete

How to Get Your Projects Noticed by Editors

Trade-magazine editors are always looking for great projects to cover and they love to hear from contractors who have a story — and great photos — to share.

Matt Hine, Progressive Concrete Coatings

Many concrete professionals who are asked how they got into the business of concrete say they sort of “fell into it.”

Artisan in Concrete

Vertical Polished Concrete Condo Touted to be World's Largest

Florida’s Miami Beach is a part of the country known for its high real estate prices, but the penthouse condominium sales price of $60 million for the Faena House Saxony Condo set a new high. The 22-story condo, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning firm Foster + Partners, comes with all the usual amenities such as an in-house spa and fitness center, a private club, concierge service and a round-the-clock doorman. But what the buyers might not realize is that the complex is reportedly the world’s largest poured-in-place vertical polished concrete project.

Project Profile

Contractor Hits a Bullseye with Glow Aggregate, Engraved Logos

What started out as a once-in-a-lifetime hunting adventure turned into a friendship and a trophy-worthy job where contractor Matt Villella, owner of Sierra Concrete Arts in Saint Paul, Minnesota, bagged one of his most memorable projects to date.

Terrazzo and Honed Concrete Chosen to Finesse Airport Rental Car Complex

When weary travelers pull or carry their bags across the plaza and into one of the lobbies of the Consolidated Rental Car Center at Lindbergh Field at the airport in San Diego, they probably won’t give much thought to the decorative concrete and terrazzo beneath their feet.

San Diego

San Diego County is known far and wide for its beautiful weather, interesting people and endless summer atmosphere. So it was with great anticipation when San Diego was picked as the site for the 2016 Concrete Decor Show Sept. 25-29 that it was destined to be one showstopper of a show. And all indications point to that premonition coming true.

Modern Mosaic Artwork Livens San Diego's Landscape

“It was back-breaking work,” says the owner of Brailsford Public Art in San Diego about placing colored aggregate piece by piece into wet concrete on a job site. She was working with Shaw & Sons’ Lithocrete system which incorporates a means to create a scattered aggregate pattern on a concrete surface.

Array of Sprays

Applying stains and sealers with spray equipment may strike the decorative concrete contractor as a convenient, speedy solution, not terribly complicated.

Is College Really Necessary?

Time and again, today’s youth have been told that going to college is extremely important to their futures. It’s been drilled into their heads that without a degree, they can only hope to attain low-level employment with low pay.

Decorative Overlays Exhibit Various Types of Cracking

In a recent week, I’ve had two overlay projects with cracking. The first project had lots of short random cracks, the longest about 3 inches long. We noticed them the afternoon of the same day the overlay was applied.

Concrete Questions

Reasons for Safety are Manyfold

As we approach the 2016 Concrete Decor show, the reality is hitting me that I will no longer be a casual observer to the amazing creations at the workshops or learning in the classroom but instead will be playing an active role as a resource for anyone who has questions regarding construction safety.

Safety@Work

Changes Afoot

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed a shift in the polished concrete market. As the industry has grown, there has always been three sizes of contractors.

The Polishing Consultant

Keep Basic Design Layout Simple

Lately, I feel the industry has created a very busy design world. Many times I think people do too much design and they need to simplify things. Many interior designers want simple stain-and-seal floors because they want to focus on the furniture, lights and wall decor.

Design Theory:

Smoking in the Boy's Room

Perhaps it was a throwback to his old “smoking in the boy’s room” days but a homeowner in Zurich, Switzerland, yearned to have his own private smoking pavilion in his backyard. Instead of a crowded room filled with rule-breaking teenagers, he wanted a quiet, relaxing place where he could sit back and smoke while admiring a newly sculpted garden, a lake and mountains without bothering anyone else in the household.