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The new Termite XT from WerkMaster acts as seven machines in one. The Termite XT is an edger, grinder, polisher, sander, buffer, burnisher and floor stripper. It is ideal for floor prep and polishing What’s more, its removable handle makes it an effective solutions for countertops, stairs, landings and hard- […]
The Decorative Concrete Hall of Fame is pleased to honor its inductees for 2013: Ralph Gasser, Bill Stegmeier, Barbara Sargent and Byron Klemaske II. The Hall of Fame announced the group at the 2013 Concrete Decor Show.
Nufinish Corp. has released a new line of metal tools designed to remove adhesives. Available in a 20 grit and a 35 grit, they are capable of removing substantially thicker and more difficult VCT and carpet adhesives than standard tools of comparable grit size. They are also effective for all […]
Marketing activities exist in multiple forms. In 1960, marketer E. Jerome McCarthy identified four distinctive types of marketing, often referred to as the “four P’s”: product, price, place and promotion. This marketing mix provides a standard framework for a decorative concrete professional to communicate and deliver lasting value to customers.
Watch out for water, especially in climates where you get cold winters. Water is by far the biggest challenge you will face as a decorative concrete professional. Words like “spalling,” “flaking,” “pitting” or “chipping” are not what people making a living in concrete want to hear. and rarely do these words mean a satisfied customer a profitable month.
Surely you’ve heard the phrase “concrete jungle,” but what about concrete in the jungle? In this case, the jungle is the Rainforest Habitat at Discovery Place, in uptown Charlotte. The exhibit boasts wildlife ranging from birds and reptiles to vegetation such as palms and epiphytes.
David Seils’ master craft, wall relief sculpture, is an art form that dates back to ancient times, when civilizations carved designs into stone walls, buildings and columns. But instead of chiseling away material, the Asheville, N.C.-based Seils builds up his wall sculptures in layers using mortar, a mason’s hawk and a trowel.
Two months before graduating from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, Eric Boyd and two other students opened their own design-build firm. One of the first jobs they landed was a kitchen remodel where the client asked for concrete countertops, somewhat of a novelty back then.
Putting down a beautiful concrete museum floor that doesn’t distract from the artwork is, well, creating a work of art in its own right.
Inside, decorative concrete that resembles Venetian plaster is troweled on some walls while molded log tiles made out of glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) cover others. Huge columns shaped to look like intricately crafted wooden chair legs were designed with a CAD program, fashioned out of foam and chicken wire, and covered with troweled-on white concrete
