The rapid expansion of cloud computing, AI and high-performance data processing is reshaping the physical infrastructure that supports the digital economy. Across North America and around the world, new hyperscale data centers are being constructed at an unprecedented pace. These innovative facilities house thousands of servers, cooling systems and electrical […]
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The Constructability Triangle: Balancing Design, Specification, and Execution
In design driven construction, there is always a moment when imagination meets reality. Sketches, renderings, and narratives must eventually transform into materials, methods, and installation sequences that can be built in the field. In decorative concrete and resinous flooring systems, that transition can be especially complex. Modern architectural surfaces are […]
Reinventing Resin: Themed and Immersive Environments
Resin Is No Longer a Coating. It Is a Medium In our previous article “Demystifying Sealers and Resinous Coatings”, as the name entails, we clarified what resinous systems are and how to select them properly. Here, in this edition, we expand that conversation further into where they are going and […]
A Brief History of Pigments
As many of you know, I hold a master’s degree in painting. During my college years, I learned a lot about the pigments used to create all the beautiful colors in each of my paintings. When I began my career in decorative concrete, I had to start all over with […]
Troubleshooting Can Frustrate Yet Educate
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of assisting contractors with thousands of issues—sometimes simple, sometimes baffling, and occasionally the kind that leaves many scratching their heads. What I’ve learned is that every problem tells a story—a story involving timing, chemistry, environment, craftsmanship, or sometimes pure luck. And while troubleshooting […]
Quality Control is Essential for Both Contractors and Suppliers
For much of my career as a concrete contractor, my crews and I have focused on creating the best product we could for our customers. We established this through years of trial and error, regular training, and eventually implementation of practices that ensured we could produce the best aesthetics and […]
Successfully Completing the Journey from Concept to Creation
Waking up every day excited about what I do for a living is a blessing. I know that each of us experienced decorative concrete contractors understands that statement and agrees. I look forward to the next phone call, email, and text because it’s always a new opportunity to create. My […]
A Less Familiar Road to Great Looking Concrete
For 25 years, Concrete Decor has promoted products that impart color and texture to concrete. Editorially, the magazine’s focus on quality workmanship rewards product manufacturers and those who use the product for their tireless efforts to improve and maintain quality standards. Today, as a result, new and old concrete surfaces […]
Matters of the Heart: Developing a Low-Carbon Decorative Concrete Mix with Slag, Basalt Fibers, and Composite Dowels
Just like Kermit the Frog said, “It’s not easy being green.” Who knew concrete and frogs had so much in common? To develop the green mix design used at the Port St. Lucie, Florida, heart sculpture, a lot of brainstorming and testing had to take place before it could even […]
Green is the Heart of Florida Sculpture
When you think of what the concrete work surrounding the world’s largest heart sculpture might look like, you may envision red. However, in reality, it’s white in color—but the mix design is as green as could be. Back in spring 2024, Rich Rhoades, vice president of Adena Corp. in Florida, […]







