The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
This posh campus of office and parking structures, located in the western Los Angeles neighborhood of Playa Vista about one mile from the Pacific Ocean, contains polished concrete floors and board-formed concrete walls and pillars, but that’s just a taste of what decorative concrete has brought to the 15-acre campus.
A very noticeable trend with decorative concrete over the last decade is that the end users and the design community have become much better educated, not only on the types of finishes and products available, but also on how they are installed and what to expect in terms of long-term performance.
When your country calls you to do a job, how much should you charge? That was the predicament Dick Krach, CEO of Sundek of Washington, came face to face with when his secretary fielded a call from someone at a “white house” concerning a pool deck that needed repair and some sprucing up.
Close your eyes. Think of your business. Imagine you operate in a world without competitors. Imagine you’re the only one that customers can hire to install decorative concrete. Visualize yourself winning bid after bid without anything or anyone to stand in your way. Now, open your eyes. Welcome back to reality.
The decorative concrete industry is driven by fascination. Inspiring this fascination in customers is only possible when you connect first and foremost. Unfortunately, this is the number one aspect I see missing within our talented artisans today. Just like your ability to create with color and concrete, there is an art to connecting with architects, designers and owners.
U.S. Concrete has introduced new and innovative concrete technology with Aridus Rapid Drying concrete. Aridus is a ready-mix concrete solution for preventing floor-covering failures.
Decorative concrete makeovers make ideal pro bono projects. A recent press release from Concrete Coatings Inc. describes a perfect example, in which contractors donated time, labor and materials to improve a northern Utah retreat camp for kids facing challenging circumstances.
When Steve Moore, a retired escape artist and Harry Houdini historian, went looking for someone to help restore a damaged bust from Houdini’s grave, Bart Sacco’s was the first name to come up.
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.
