Tips & How-Tos

Industry veterans, entrepreneurs and decorative concrete artisans reveal findings, divulge lessons learned and outline methods used to help advance the industry as a whole.

Polished concrete repair products used on this slab

Polished Concrete Repair Products can be Artsy, Functional or Both

Polishing concrete on the surface (ha-ha again) seems reasonably straightforward. Buy the right equipment, attach diamond tooling, turn on the equipment and “mow” the concrete. Do this one row at a time and repeat with finer grits. However, there are almost always exceptions. In this tip, we’ll discuss what to […]

Pre-grind Treatments Can Improve Polished Concrete’s Outcome

Polishing concrete on the surface (ha-ha) seems reasonably straightforward. Buy the right equipment, attach diamond tooling, turn on the equipment and “mow” the concrete. Do this one row at a time and repeat with finer grits. How hard can this be? Well, that just might be the first problem. How […]

Understanding Chemical Treatments for Polished Concrete Will Boost Business

In 2013, I introduced nine categories of polished concrete treatments at the Concrete Decor Show. Since then, some have ignored these nine categories of chemical treatments, while others have used them as game-changers. Today, commonly used treatments consist of densifiers/hardeners, grout and joint-fillers, and stain protection guards. In addition to […]

Business growth

Rework: Is it an investment or unnecessary cost?

When I’m wearing my teaching/training hat, I’m known to say, “when you go back for rework, you just forfeited your profit.” But recently, an owner required one of my polisher/clients to do some rework on a polishing job. Consequently, during our conversation, I saw another angle. I had thought of […]

Differential curing marks

Defective Concrete:
Coping with Curling and
Differential Curing Marks

Let’s tackle understanding what happens when slabs curl and why concrete has light and dark areas that never change. (We call these differential curing marks). These are two more common types of damage that wouldn’t exist if you technically mixed, placed and cured concrete. Knowledge is power. What is curling […]

Defective Concrete:
How to Deal with Plastic Shrinkage Cracks

Being proactive early can make or break the success of your project! It’s essential to educate your crew, so these questions don’t cause unneeded anxiety. Knowledge is power when the owner of a site asks the polishing contractor questions like: “Why did my concrete crack and how can you fix […]

craze cracks on a polished concrete floor

Defective Concrete: Craze Cracks Affect Appearance Not Performance

In this tip, you’ll learn about craze cracks. These common cracks wouldn’t exist if installers had properly mixed and placed the concrete and allowed it to fully cure. Craze cracks — sometimes called map cracking, mud cracking or spider cracks — all name the same thing. I believe you should […]