The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Imagine this: You own an estate in the California hills overlooking Monterey Bay. You are a lover of art and natural beauty. You want a swimming pool complex with a large concrete deck and pool house. You want it to accentuate the surrounding landscape and incorporate the feel of the bay, but you’re not sure how you want to achieve that. Who do you call?
When Brian Graham opened Hard Rock Developments Inc. in Calgary in 2000, he wanted the concrete tool and supply shop to be different from your standard concrete store. “My Dad was a concrete contractor, so when I was growing up, I went with him to concrete supply stores pretty often,” […]
Plenty of people have hobbies — the businessman who dabbles in winemaking, the social worker who paints with oils, the cop who gardens. But decorative concrete as a hobby?
Take an older home on the beach in need of radical change. Add a designer and a concrete contractor, both of whom are comfortable thinking outside the box. Give them carte blanche and as much time as they need. Allow their creative juices to simmer. What do you get?
A beach house floor Ralston’s company recently refurbished in Monterey Bay, Calif. The floor’s crown jewel from a decorative standpoint is a pattern created when randomly placed seaweed stamps, made from real seaweed, were laid in a 3/8-inch fast-setting overlay.
Consider the broom finish. Because steel trowel finishes are “slippery when wet,” the broom finish has been used for years to create nonskid surfaces on driveways, garage floors, sidewalks and loading docks. It’s not necessarily pretty, but it works — it’s a utilitarian texture.
For many contractors, a shop or industrial vacuum may be an afterthought. At the very least, you may not put a whole lot of time into choosing the vacuum that specifically fits your company’s needs.
A roller sleeve or cover is commonly thought of as something found in a painter’s toolbox rather than a concrete contractor’s. However, rolling sealants and colors onto (and into) concrete has become an increasingly popular option in decorative concrete applications.
Sometimes the most basic steps in completing a successful concrete pour are overlooked or minimized. When your goal is a floor with vibrant color, a polished slab that draws the eye or even a perfectly finished sidewalk, floating is one of those steps that get you to that point.
Most decorative concrete contractors know that consolidating concrete is as essential to a quality finished product as mix ratio or proper finishing and curing. Consolidating forces air out of the concrete and encourages aggregate to rotate and fit together tighter, creating stronger concrete.
