The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
The right tools and equipment can be the winning combination for a successful project.
Seven years ago, Mike Menendez, a veteran in the decorative concrete overlay business, was presented with a franchise opportunity for detectible warning systems, which signal terrain transitions to pedestrians. After evaluating the products, he felt that he could create a better one. The end result was SafetyStepTD.
Since concrete’s makeup differs from region to region, it will vary in hardness and density. A pick set can be used to test both aggregates and cement paste to determine a concrete surface’s hardness.
Thicker pads will last longer, but are stiffer and commonly prone to cupping when they dry out. Cupped pads don’t wear evenly, and often the outer area doesn’t actually make contact with the concrete. Photos courtesy of The Concrete Countertop Institute
Sometimes the solution to a problem is only an imaginative thought away.
One of the most basic yet important steps in finishing concrete, floating is as much of an art as it is a science. After the heavy lifting and digging involved in preparing a site for pouring concrete, floating it contrarily requires precise tools and a light hand.
Bob Harris, president of the Decorative Concrete Institute in Temple, Ga., is offering an innovative product to make decorative contractors’ lives a little easier.
Learn how walk-behind trowels can improve an operator’s comfort, control and flat finishes.
Vibrators for concrete can be used to move air out of the mix come in all shapes and sizes from ultra portable to versions for the countertop.
If you’re using a 21st century form product, such as plastic, then it probably makes sense to use a 21st century form-release system, as well.
Cutting lines, grooves and control joints with diamond blades is nothing new for concrete contractors, but enterprising craftsmen have been putting their creativity to the test by using the blades to produce decorative borders, graphic designs or V-shaped grooves that look like they were hand-tooled.
