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Like any concrete surface that leads to the front entrance of a major Las Vegas hotel, the driveway at the main valet area of Caesars Palace is subject to all kinds of wear and tear.
At first glance, you’d think you were looking at a distinguished upholstered bar done in a style that many attribute to a sofa designed for the fourth earl of Chesterfield, Philip Stanhope (1694-1773), that featured the now iconic buttoned leather look.
If you install stamped concrete, you should be maintaining stamped concrete. You already have all the equipment you need, and you have the experience and training you need as well. Offering an annual maintenance program on your work, or any stamped concrete work for that matter, is a good source of revenue that does not require much in the way of equipment or mental gymnastics.
I have identified six steps that all successful hunks of stamped concrete have in common. Bypassing one of the six steps will leave a stamping professional a rung short of a true level of potential. Perfection starts well before any color broadcasts across a wet concrete’s surface, and even well before a ready-mix truck arrives.
The decorative concrete business often can follow a roller-coaster trajectory, with ups and downs that can challenge the stomach.
Fortunately for David Edwards and his 30-year-old company Edwards Concrete, a profitable relationship with Florida’s amusement and theme parks has played an integral role in the ride.
Ideal for patios, driveways or other expansive exteriors, this stamping technique is all about subtle variations in color and texture, resulting in a realistic stony finish.
Imagine you own a company that supplies concrete contractors with the tools for their trade. You offer a product that has been the industry standard for decades and is essential to most contractors in your industry. Your company sells a lot of them and they are a good source of income. Your company is a recognized industry leader as a provider of the product.
A look at sandblasting, stenciled overlays and the new gelled-acid etching techniques.
Radial stamps, multipiece tools that create circular and curved patterns, have earned stamp manufacturers a round of applause.
Great concrete stencil products and top-notch technical support define this hardworking company.
Even on the thumb tip of northwest Washington state, decorative concrete is making its mark, thanks to this father-son outfit.
Three unique looks achieved by seasoned veterans with stamping and texturing tools - an authentic travertine tile look, a cobblestone finish and a patio with hand-tooled brick.
There is something that could be said about the connection between wine and the invention of a great idea.
This certainly holds true for Bob Harris, president of the Decorative Concrete Institute.
Many of history’s most beautiful works of art were created for places of worship. These days, decorative concrete is doing its part to beautify churches across the country.
Behind every successful slab of stamped concrete is an accumulation of effort by you (the decorative concrete artist) and your local ready-mix provider. If one participant falls short the project becomes compromised, maybe not to the point of being unsalvageable but still to where it does not meet the goal of most professionals.
This top-to-bottom (well, really bottom-to-top) overlay recipe is great for putting down a distinctive design, such as this swordfish.
Airspeed Skateparks’ work was featured on the cover of last year’s World of Concrete issue. Since that time they have started incorporating both color and texture into their work, and decorative concrete has become a valuable extension of their skate park design services.
A stamped concrete floor with a solvent-based acrylic that was applied one year ago. The applicator wanted to see what the floor would look like with Armor Blush Repair and Armor AR350 sealer before doing the entire floor.
After 15 years of heavy tourist traffic along Las Vegas Boulevard, one of the first seamless texture projects in Las Vegas was ready for a facelift.
Proline Concrete Tools receives a lot of requests for custom stamps, but rarely do the patterns end up turning into a nationwide trend.
Back in early 1990s, the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park wanted to emulate cracked mud found in the Serengeti Desert and Proline was up to the task.
For a man who was an Eastern Airline employee for years and owned his own pest control company after that, he found working with his hands, LEDs and chemicals familiar territory. So when the economy began to tank, it wasn’t that far of a stretch when Clem Carrion founded Visual Artisan in December 2007, a concrete business that specializes in concrete countertops, innovative lighting and metallic epoxies, as well as faux wood and stone.
The design for the project evolved during a couple of visits to the site and four or five different sketches for a two-tier patio, plus a lower seating area, on the Krepskys’ sloping yard.
Unique Concrete is true to its name. Like many decorative concrete contracting firms, it constructs pool surrounds, patios, sidewalks and driveways. However, unlike other contractors, it also specializes in laying concrete on top of decks.
As with most things in life, a decorative concrete installer faces many choices when it comes to the products and processes he or she uses on a job. Unfortunately, the choice is often made to take the path of least resistance or buy at low cost versus favoring long-term performance and the quality of the project.
