The world's foremost magazine on decorative concrete
Industry veterans, entrepreneurs and decorative concrete artisans reveal findings, divulge lessons learned and outline methods used to help advance the industry as a whole.
Mark Celebuski, general manager of Pinnacle Cast Concrete, wants to share some of his hard-earned wisdom with the readers of Concrete Decor. He has developed a list of 10 tips he thinks will help concrete countertop makers in particular improve their businesses.
If you’ve been in business for even a short while, you’ve invested your time and efforts in identifying bid opportunities. You diligently filled out all the necessary documents, put the insurance and bond requirements in place, met the time restrictions, obtained the correct license and so on. Then you sit back waiting to hear if you were the one who was awarded the project.
Sprayers can be a real pain in the neck when they don’t work right, so I’d like to share a procedure that has worked well for us through the years. This was developed after throwing away a mountain of spent sprayer cans!
Concrete countertops need protection from everyday abuses. The acids in vinegar and lemon juice can etch the surface, and the strong colors in tea, red wine and mustard can cause stains. While sealers are not a total guarantee, they can go a long way in ensuring a concrete countertop retains its “like new” appearance for a good long while.
Compaction of each thin layer of backer is a critically important step in the fabrication of GFRC.
There are many molding compounds available, so it’s important to get one that’s appropriate for the application at hand.
Self-consolidating concrete (SCC), also known as self-compacting concrete, is an amazing and special type of concrete that is highly flowable and resists segregation. It is the perfect product to use for creating concrete countertops.
Custom rock features and hardscapes built from glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) are high-end features added to landscapes at luxury homes or commercial developments.
Identifying some of the basic building blocks of polishing and examine them in terms of “myth” or “accurate perception.”
School flooring has long been the domain of carpet and vinyl.
That’s changing. Officials who run elementary and secondary schools (and even colleges) are becoming aware of concrete flooring as an option. And concrete flooring professionals have begun to notice schools as a market.
