The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Concrete is the ideal material to use to transform outdoor spaces into outdoor rooms surrounded by stunning hardscapes and equipped with all the comforts of home.
Tamara Gilgenast combines passion and a veteran’s discipline and attention to detail to create works of art in concrete. Though she only started her business about four years ago after discovering The Ashby System, she already has an extensive portfolio.
Looking at it today, it’s hard to imagine that the focal point of the Weiner family’s backyard used to be a $300 aboveground swimming pool from Walmart. Now, the award-winning residential resort is more in line with the likes of Neiman Marcus with its outdoor kitchen, water slide, conversation area with fire pit, and concrete swimming pool and spa with a Baja shelf, two in-pool tables and a shaded pavilion.
When taking the plunge into a pool construction or renovation project, don’t forget the stormwater drainage.
“Graceful Curves.” That’s what Scott Cohen and his team at Green Scene Landscaping and Swimming Pools call a recent backyard masterpiece in Malibu, California. Cohen describes it as the ultimate entertaining backyard that has everything and then some — including a pool that makes you feel like you’re in a giant lake.
For a guy who started from the bottom up, Jesse Escalera has managed to make a name for himself over the years through his backyard masterpieces.
Concrete patios and pool decks have long set a standard for basic backyards. But today’s consumers want much more than the basics and the industry is complying. Due to more efficient tools and techniques, complex designs can be installed quicker, easier and at a fraction of the cost.
When Tom Ralston Concrete took on the job of building Todd Turowski a lap pool in the backyard of his hillside house in Scotts Valley, Calif., they did so with eyes wide open.
Throughout the United States and Canada, even in cold climates, homeowners are clamoring for outdoor kitchens and living spaces, using concrete as the material, to enhance the beauty, comfort and resale value of their homes.
Last year, a homeowner in Augusta, New Jersey, went into a masons’ supply store looking for a fix for his pool deck. The pavers installed 15 years ago had settled. The deck wasn’t draining properly, and his homeowner’s insurance company had identified the paver portion of the pool deck as a hazard.
Luisa is the senior sales representative and Dan is president at Greystone Masonry, the company they founded 18 years ago. The Dittmanns have enjoyed a high level of success, doing a lot of work for increasingly sophisticated homeowners and for the many government facilities in their region of the country.
