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Concrete hand tools have improved handles

Stanley has expanded and redesigned its Goldblatt line of concrete hand tools. The company’s magnesium floats, finishing trowels, edgers, and groovers have been redesigned for improved cleanability and function. New magnesium floats include a bevel-end cast magnesium float, an extruded magnesium float, and a round-end extruded magnesium float. The new […]

Accounting for Concrete Color Change with Acid Stain Application

Many comments, instructions, warnings, and confused looks surround the numerous ways acid stain colors can fluctuate from one concrete slab to another. Even under the tightest quality controls, concrete reacts with chemical stains differently every time. However, the sometimes-unpredictable reactions are exactly what produce the interesting and beautiful results one can achieve from acid stains.

Mapei introduces thinset topping and flow test kit

Mapei has introduced Ultratop, a self-leveling, abrasionresistant cementitious topping that can reach compressive strengths of 6,100 psi (42 Mpa). The material is supplied white or gray, and the white material can be integrally colored or topically stained. In addition, Mapei has introduced a Field Flow Test Kit to solve problems […]

Decorative Concrete Techniques: Stencils and Acid Etching

A surface-preparation product called The Profiler from Surface Gel Tek can be used to create an etched effect with stencils. In these photos, Dane Hantz of Dane Concrete Design in Prescott, Arizona, demonstrates the technique. The surface was a steel-troweled concrete floor in a home. Hantz wanted to create a 60-linear-foot border around the room.