Concrete Decor's Current Articles

To be your best doesn’t mean you have to always do the most difficult concrete projects. It simply means you do your best work on every concrete project.

Following the 2018 World of Concrete in Las Vegas, Concrete Decor magazine received a call from management at The Buildings Show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, asking if it would be interested in hosting an event like Decorative Concrete LIVE! in Toronto inside the show’s World of Concrete pavilion.

Mobile mixers, sometimes called volumetric mixers or metered concrete, offer a variety of benefits to decorative concrete contractors, including only paying for what is used, eliminating hot loads, readily allowing mix design changes on-site, labor savings, admixture additions and color batching.

Stone Care of Texas, based in San Antonio, was called upon to restore the flooring to its original state and provide a low-maintenance solution.

A handcrafted 5,900-square-foot meandering river scene incorporated into the building’s polished concrete floor before the building was constructed. Womack also manufactured and installed three different versions of concrete countertops, and finished the exterior concrete with custom pattern mats and a unique stain.

Snowmelt technology is, essentially, radiant heat applied to outdoor surfaces. There are few differences between the two heating techniques, and both can be used to heat low- or high-mass concrete surfaces to melt ice and snow, keeping surfaces safe and clear of icy accumulations.

Almost all manufacturers of decorative concrete systems and equipment offer some sort of training on their products. Whether it is a one-hour watch-and-learn or a three-day hands-on class that people pay to attend, these programs have become mainstream in our industry.

Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue under the flag of Spain, a country ruled in the 15th century by the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. But do you know what nation Columbus called home?

Not that tough on the scale of trivia challenges, right? Columbus hailed from Genoa, now part of Italy.

Here, the Concrete Decor staff shares its top 10 favorite out-of-the-ordinary concrete creations that were featured or almost featured in the past 99 issues. The thin-shell pavilion and fabric-formed planter tied for first place, while the faux bois sconce and slippers tied for second.

I’ve talked to experts on everything from LEED terminology and concrete polishing to sustainable coatings and organic materials. In this process, I’ve noticed that just when you think you know what green means, something changes.

Concrete is unforgiving. Surface defects and poor workmanship issues on stamped and textured concrete are difficult to repair, and in many cases there are no viable repair options.

There is a way to rein in the nuisance of dealing with snow and ice: by melting it away! Snow shovels, plows, blowers, salts and other chemicals... not required. By introducing your clients to this technology, you can help them have a stress-free, accident-free winter.

Bob “Hot Rod” Rohr isn’t your everyday installer of heating systems. The Rogersville, Mo., heating expert got turned on to radiant heat about 15 years ago and dove, well, toes-first into the technology.

An expert's tips on how to use these common household items to make your decorative concrete work easier and more beautiful.

The 34,000-square-foot colored and stamped concrete courtyard that Allied Concrete Applicators poured at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash., presented a laundry list of challenges that had to be dealt with during installation.

The new worship center at the Family Christian Center in Clermont, Fla. isn’t your grandfather’s church. It boasts sleek lines and contemporary design.

First came the revolution. The decorative concrete wave swept the concrete construction trade not so long ago, churning up myriad visual concepts and the materials that made them happen. As the wave receded, decorative concrete concepts, methods and materials entered an evolutionary phase.

Protective coatings may not deter graffiti artists, but they’ll make cleanup a lot easier.