Concrete Decor's Current Articles

Is there value in having a dedicated trade show for the decorative concrete industry? The short answer is yes. There’s tremendous value in having an industry-focused show. While there are decorative-devoted pavilions at other shows, they are just that — areas within other events.

As clients look to increase their home’s curb appeal, they often overlook transforming the mundane mailbox. Considering a home’s curb appeal encompasses everything from the sidewalk to the front door, a monument mailbox can quickly and easily make a big impact in improving a home’s first impression. Here’s what you need to create a monument mailbox and how to do it:

When it came to installing floors at his new decorative concrete training facility, concrete guru Bob Harris chose to emulate the old ways of Venetian artists.

After 39 years in business it's still; quality products, quality education, quality support that equate to quality installations every time.

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.

A 16-foot-tall concrete wave? Concrete artists created this and more at a 15,000-square-foot skate park.

One of the largest lighting manufacturers in North America has recently moved its product development to a 132,000-square-foot building in Atlanta, Georgia, and the company chose polished concrete as the most cost-efficient and easy to maintain flooring option.

Originally developed for finishing drywall, this magical tool smooths concrete surfaces without leaving any trowel lines. “We’re getting so many calls from concrete people,” says Joe Torres, president of TexMaster Tools, which makes the Magic Trowel. “The guys in this industry are going crazy!”

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

Sometimes the solution to a problem is only an imaginative thought away.

Coatings that cure when exposed to ultraviolet light pose unique challenges for artisans and contractors, but the performance and cure speed of these materials may make them worth it.

Concrete countertop tips and tricks shared with you from the experts.

Apprenticeships, or a system of training new generations of skilled craftsmen, have a long and rich history in many countries of the world, though it never caught on with much fervor in the United States.

The distributor’s new Web site offers customized features that will allow you to streamline and document your bidding, planning and purchases.

As high-performance coatings become more commonplace in decorative applications, so do the problems associated with using them. Unlike acrylic sealers, high-performance coatings (polyurethane, epoxy, polyaspartic and polyurea) are not as forgiving when it comes to application, or more specifically, reapplication.

All over the country, architects who design primary and secondary schools are warming to polished concrete. Jim Ward, of Ward Scott Architecture, Tuscaloosa, Ala., is one of them. His firm’s recent project, Big Sandy Elementary School, part of the Tuscaloosa County School System, opened in 2013.

This is not intended to be comprehensive or complet list, but here are a few things to think about when you are beginning any project that involves solvents.

It’s more dainty, more elegant, like between silk and cloth with hard-eners. The grays and browns last forever. He also likes to sprinkle color on top of the concrete with a brush to create freckles, just like real stones offer.