Vol. 20 No. 1 - January 2020

The American Concrete Institute honored the winners of its 2019 Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards during the institute’s concrete convention and exposition in October in Cincinnati, Ohio.

To some, Instagram may seem like a platform where you go to look at pretty pictures all day. But did you know it can be a powerful money-making marketing tool that brings project opportunities for your decorative concrete business? What if I told you that by using Instagram correctly for your business, you can get discovered and dominate your market?

Inspired by urban living, Eric Weil, sculptor and founder of Oso Industries in Brooklyn, and his team individually handcraft multi-functional furniture and architectural elements featuring concrete and other materials in clean, geometric forms.

Historically, repurposing glass for use in concrete mixtures has simply involved crushing and grinding the glass to a smaller size. Resizing alone doesn’t bring glass processing far enough to create a functional raw material for the concrete industry.

Polishable overlays are a popular alternative to polished concrete where the existing concrete slab isn’t a good candidate to be polished. Infilling trenches, patching, spalling and removing existing modular floor coverings often result in a concrete surface that doesn’t meet with customer approval.

Imagine the convenience and versatility of a decorative concrete finish that can be applied to walls or floors.

Actually, it’s not a matter for the imagination. Such decorative finishes already exist.

The first time I delivered “Trends in Decorative Concrete” was at the Concrete Decor Show in Fort Worth, Texas, in February 2014. It was initially created to present a quick snapshot of what was trending in our industry, targeting primarily the design community. At the time, I never anticipated the presentation would grow into the program it is today.

Contractors and artisans use specially made stencils and stains to leave their marks on decorative concrete.