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Local Experts Change Plain into Pretty
Times Daily
Concrete. The gray stuff. Hard, cold and ugly. Not anymore!
In recent years, coatings manufacturers have clued in on the consumers’ desire to do something different with concrete. As different stains, coatings, colors and techniques were developed, individual creativity led to artistic patterns and creative methods.
For the accomplished do-it-yourselfer, learning to use basecoats and topcoats with various tools to create a myriad of effects can be quite rewarding. For more complex projects, there are custom concrete contractors with a nearly unlimited palette of options to offer.
“We don’t just stain and seal concrete,” said Larry Richardson, owner of Artistic Concrete Designs in Muscle Shoals. “We can make it look like brick, tile, rock, granite or marble.”
Forms, templates, patterns and molds can be used to shape and texture concrete. Then, stains and sealers are used to give it the appearance of more expensive materials.
Tony Latham, paint team leader at Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse in Florence, advises careful preparation prior to starting any painting or staining project.
“You should always spend two-thirds of your time on preparing the surface and one third on applying the coating,” Latham said. “If the surface is prepared correctly, most problems can be avoided.”
Richardson agreed that surface preparation is important.
“Sometimes people with problem concrete don’t understand that before I can do anything else, I have to clean the surface down to the bare concrete,” said Richardson. “If there is previous oil, paint, stain or sealer, I may even have to grind the surface down.”
Special finishing techniques create the look of large ceramic tiles, when in reality the walls and floor of this shower are solid concrete.The idea of staining and sealing concrete may be daunting, but Latham offers consultations with any customer who has questions. He is well versed in the specifics of his products and can quote chapter and verse on their proper use.
“I try to help people understand what they are doing and to choose the right product for their application,” said Latham.
Stains are used to provide color and pattern to concrete surfaces, while overlays make the material look like something else.
“We can make plain cinderblock walls look just like brick,” Richardson said. “We can even make an asphalt driveway look like crushed stone or brick. Asphalt doesn’t have to be black anymore.”
Latham pointed out that stains come in a variety of colors and that many of the tools and techniques used in faux painting can be used with stains to create patterns or appearances of textures.
Plain concrete is made to look like ceramic tiles, simply by using stains and pigments.With the products and techniques available now, it is also possible for companies to have their logo overlaid on a floor. People are also eager to have sports teams’ logos applied to gameroom floors and walls.
“These products are almost indestructible,” Richardson said. “You don’t have to worry about anything being spilled on it. Clean-up is a broom and mop job.”
Because of the expense and mess, many people are choosing to have their concrete areas repaired and refinished rather than torn-out and re-poured.
“We can repair problem concrete, then seal it and stain it to a beautiful finish for about half the cost of tearing out the old stuff and pouring new concrete,” Richardson said. “Plus you don’t have the mess and bother of tearing it out and replacing it.”
Other than floors, Latham said people have started to catch on to using stains on their concrete birdbaths, fountains and statuaries. He said the colors and techniques available offer creative potential for those looking for something different.
Local Couple Returns To The Shoals
AND STARTS A NEW BUSINESS
Times Daily
Larry and Joyce Richardson have been gone from the Shoals Area for about 10 years but retuned recently to start a New Business. Both of them went to school locally and both attended UNA.
Their travels have taken them to places like Paris, France, Las Vegas, Nevada and all around the Carribeanian Islands. Through their travels they have met a host of interesting people, such as Steve Forbes, the Righteous Brothers, James Taylor, Al Bernstein, Jim Lampley, Carroll O’Conner, Vanna Lace, the Hills (writers and producers of The Young and Restless and son of Lister Hill), the Cousteau’s and they have witnessed a lot of different and beautiful sites and architecture.
The couple retuned to the Shoals Area because this is where their roots are and all their family members. They state “The Lord has greatly blessed us and our family and we wanted to be close to them due to family health. We have been able to see things and meet people that have both had an influence on our lives and we on theirs. We wanted to make a statement wherever the Lord planted us and we believe we have.”
The couple has started a New Business called “Artistic Concrete Designs”. “We saw this process used on many homes in Las Vegas as well as using it on our own home in Vegas. This is where we feel in love with what it can do for the home owner and the beauty of the house and landscape. This process can save home owners a lot of money and can add value to their home. We can restore old concrete, repairing cracks and make it look like new with designs and colors and it has a warranty as long as ten years. We can take different ages of concrete and make them all look new. It can be applied on patios, pool decks, driveways and walkways. The colors and designs are almost limitless and the beauty it adds to the home is unsurpassed with any other process. It can also be used inside the home on walls, floors and counter tops. There is also a commercial application that will withstand heavy traffic, even dollies, and when used in public restrooms, graffiti will not stick to it. It is simply wiped off.”
“The process is chemical and fade resistant and will not be affected by freeze and thaw. It actually makes the existing concrete TWICE as strong. Simply put, our process is easier to maintain. Weather it’s mold and mildew that can turn concrete dark and dingy, or motor oil that will permanently stain normal concrete, our process is a non-porous system that keeps stains and chemicals at the surface. This means that most of the time, a hose and a little detergent are all that is needed to keep it looking brand new. Our system is salt and chemical resistant. Salt is one of concrete’s main enemies. Each year it causes pitting and scaling in countless square feet of concrete around the country. Our system stands up to salts and de-icing agents, as well as pool chemicals, and will not pit like normal concrete. Our system is also skid resistant. We apply a textured coating that can be as smooth or rough as you want. If you need a surface that will insure solid footing or you want something smoother for indoors or around your pool, we can provide the proper amount of texture to fit.” The company is State licensed and insured and they are members of the Shoals Home Builders Association.
Larry and Joyce state; “There is a trend now of stained floors in homes and businesses instead of conventional floors. Our process will not wear or accept unwanted stains like conventional flooring and it will retain its beauty for years, plus it will save the owner hundreds of dollars over conventional flooring. We can make you floors and counter-tops look like tile or granite, walls look like tile or stucco and we can even put borders or chair-railings on the walls. For the business owners, we can put logos and designs into the floors to help make a statement about their business. We can also put your favorite school or college logo down so people will know who you support. As you can see, the ideas are almost limitless. We are very excited about being back in the Shoals and seeing our friends and family members. We look forward to re-establishing past friendships and making many new ones.”
Larry and Joyce can be reached at 256-381-6058 or on the web at www.artconcrete.net. They offer free estimates on any work.
It's no longer gray and boring
By Ty West
Staff Writer
After Michelle Gonzalez had a swimming pool put in her backyard, she wanted something a little different than your average, run-of-the-mill-concrete.
Gonzalez wanted to add a Spanish or Tuscan look to the backyard of her Florence home to go with her new pool.
"We wanted to achieve a certain look, because we have a red brick home, and the back porch is stained red, so we wanted to pull that theme around," Gonzalez said.
To achieve her look, Gonzalez chose stamped and dyed concrete, an innovative new process that is becoming more popular in Alabama after originating in Florida and in the West.
"I watch a lot of Home and Garden network, and that's where I saw it," Gonzalez said. "I think it is an interesting technique."
So when workers pressured washed her new poolside to reveal her red stamped to look like Ashler slate, Gonzalez knew she had the look she wanted at only a fraction of the cost of stone like slate or marble.
"I'm really happy with it," Gonzalez said. "Everyone who has seen it has loved it."
Local contractors such as Florence's Warren Construction and Concrete Construction, which worked on Gonzalez's poolside, have begun offering the innovative process to-customers.
Stamped concrete allows workers to stamp a project with a pattern after the concrete is poured and smoothed out, which gives the concrete the look of laid stone like slate, granite or marble.
"But it costs a lot less than laid stone," said Robert Warren of Warren Construction.
Warren said slate or marble would cost several thousands of dollars, while the stamped concrete may cost a little more than twice the price of normal concrete.
At Artistic Concrete Design in Muscle Shoals, Larry Richardson uses a different process that also allows customers to pay for the low cost of concrete but get the same quality look of marble, granite or other stones.
After living in Las Vegas, Richardson began noticing the different types of concrete that workers were putting around pools, on decks and even inside homes.
"It became popular in Florida because of the hot temperatures," Richardson said.
"Then they started using it out west, also because of the temperatures."
Although it is a different process, Richardson's company creates concrete works of art that come in a variety of patterns, such as laid stone or even the logo of a customer's favorite sports team.
Richardson said business has been great since he moved to the Shoals in 2005 and opened shop in the spring.
"It's been wild," Richardson said. "It has been very well received."
Richardson said his company has completed many different types of projects since moving to the Shoals, including many indoor projects such as concrete floors and countertops that appear to be marble.
"We've done a little bit of everything, and we are doing more and more 'marble' floors because of the savings versus the cost of stone."
Gonzalez also chose to use dyed concrete on her poolside, which is another trend that is catching on in the area.
Warren said both stamped and dyed concrete took a little while to catch on, but have recently become hot items in the Shoals.
The process Warren uses is different from simply painting or coloring concrete, Warren said. In his process, the die is added before the concrete is poured, so the whole concrete slab is colored.
"I liked that it is colored all the way through, because if it cracks (whether it is one month or 10 years from now), it will retain some of its beauty," Gonzalez said.
Ty West can be reached at 740-5720 or ty.west@timesdaily.com.
Local
couple bringing new look to concrete CTi
features new technological advances By
Kristen Torgerson News-Argus
Staff Writer Bringing a new look
and style to Central Montana, Deb and Scott Petersen have laid a
fresh chapter in their lives. In June, the Petersen’s
purchased Big Sky Cti (Concrete Technology incorporated) and have
found themselves building a new and solid frontier. The Petersen’s
story began when they were visiting some of their good friends in
California. "Our friends
had a paving company and when they retired they decided to go into
Cti," Deb told the News-Argus. After they had shown
Scott and Deb some of their work, how it was done and what was needed,
the Petersen’s thought it might be a nice side business for
them. "Scott has always
been a hands-on person and he enjoys doing labor-type work,"
Deb said. "So we decided we would give it a try." In order to be an
authorized dealer, both Scott and Deb attended a school in California. Scott said that since
beginning of Big Sky Cti, he and Deb have been busy but are definitely
enjoying their new business venture. "It is a lot
of work," Scott said. "But it is the type of work that
I can bring my family along with
me and it works for our schedule." The Scott and Deb
Petersen family includes their two children, seven-year-old Brad
and three-year-old Kelcy. "They really
help us out," said Scott chuckling. "Really it is fun
to be able to have the type of work where they can travel along
with you." Scott and Deb purchased
the Montana distributorship with another man who is based in Missoula.
He is responsible for the western portion of Montana while Scott
and Deb have the eastern portion of the state. "Basically what
that means for us is we are responsible for supplying new dealers
with the product," said Deb. "We are also responsible
for recruiting new dealers and training them." Deb and Scott took
their Big Sky Cti business recently and went to Missoula where they
had a training session for 18 prospective dealers. "It is a lot
of fun too," said Deb. "You can’t imagine how great
the product is and how quickly people are using it." Scott said they believe
in the product enough that have used it on their home. "This is a great
product for both residential and commercial properties," he
said. "We are very pleased with the results we have done so
far." Some of the local
projects Big Sky Cti have completed include the front of Flaments
Office Supply, Doug and Jill’s house entrance, the entryway
of the Yogo Inn, Petro Depot, Centennial Plaza, Dan and June Newton’s
patio, Steve Balster’s home and Denise Thompson’s home. "We have a wide
variety of colors and tone from which people can choose," said
Deb. "They have 20 stock colors but if you want a specialized
color they will make a color-tone to match. All we need to do is
send them a paint chip of the color you would like to match and
it’s done. The Petersen’s invite
any interested or curious persons to look at the front of Flaments,
the Yogo Inn and Centennial Plaza. "We are proud
of our work and we are sure that people will be impressed with this
new product," said Deb. "You and even
give Scott and me a call and we will show you our home. We have
taken pictures of each project we have done and we will be more
than happy to sit down and show them to you." The Cti motto is
"Bringing design and beauty to concrete". "What we do
is go over the top of spaulded or cracked concrete or even new concrete,"
said Deb. "When we are working with cracked concrete we don’t
just go over the cracks we repair and rebuild old concrete ensuring
a strong base. "The main thing
is to make it decorative." Deb said they have
the ability to do logos. "We need templates
to do those types of projects," she said. Scott mentioned that
currently he and Deb are learning how to use the product indoors
for kitchens and bathrooms. He also mentioned that the Cti system
is a strong and durable. "It provides
a stain resistant, heat resistant freeze/thaw resistant surface." Cementing
a fresh look By
Deborah Garofalo News-Herald
Business Writer In today’s "throw-away"
society, Classic Cti of Northeast Ohio offers money saving repair
options for homeowners and corporations by renovating damaged concrete.
Neil Talevski and
Tom Lauretta opened the business, which is a sister company to Classic
Carpentry, owned by Talevski. The two businesses share the same
theme of designing, repairing and remodeling. Talevski wanted a
partner for his new venture and turned to Lauretta, a friend since
second grade. They lived within a half mile of each other growing
up and attended the same elementary and high school. They shared fun, mischief
and punishments as well as their love of creating and working with
their hands. Along with their families, both are now Willoughby
residents. "When I was picking
up this side of the business, I wanted someone I could trust,"
Talevski said of Lauretta. So far, their friendship
has withstood the stresses of starting a new company. While new to Ohio, cosmetic
restoration of concrete has been an established practice in 1991
when Cti (Concrete Technology Inc.) opened in Largo. Renovations as well as
new applications are done with a color integrated, sand, cement
and acrylic mixture that offers a 10 year warranty for residential
applications and two years on commercial. The Florida manufacturer
is branching out by selling dealerships both in and outside the
U.S., giving companies sole rights to advertising. "We’ve had
a great response so far," Lauretta said. A promising outlet for
customized concrete is inventory and warehouse storage. Rather than
using painted lines and numbers on concrete, graphics can be implanted
in the surface with Classic’s process. "Unlike painted
lines that last three to four weeks, the product we put down is
so tough, tow motors can pull 1,000 pound skids over it and the
numbers and lines are not damaged," Lauretta said. With resistance to 6,000
pounds per square inch, "it is twice as strong as concrete,"
he said. With a wide range of
colors and designs and the opportunity to upgrade property value,
Talevski said he hopes residential use with be just as popular as
commercial. Concrete has no guarantee,
he said, but their product comes with a warranty against structural
problems, staining and mildew. According to Talevski,
maintenance is as simple as soap and water and the process is USDA
approved for the interior and exterior of restaurants. "The process totally
seals the concrete," Lauretta said. "It’s no longer
porous." Other markets open to
custom designed concrete include company logos on walkways and in
showrooms as well as school logos on sidewalks and in stadiums. "We have a non-slip
surface and our product is 40 percent cooler on your feet when it
gets hot," Talevski said, adding that it is ideal for public
and private swimming pools. The non-slip surface
attracted Tom LaPuma of Chester Township to have a ramp resurfaced
at his home. "It came out nice,"
LaPuma said, adding that he was very pleased with the look. He had his home sidewalk
done in a cobblestone finish and he is considering having the logo
of his Mayfield business, LaPuma Fine Pastry, designed into the
sidewalk there. Both owners attended
school for two months at the Cti headquarters in Florida to learn
the application process and structural repair of concrete.. Differences
in applications techniques allow for changes in surface texture,
color and design. "We’re concrete
restoration specialists," Lauretta said. "Our main goal
is to repair the concrete. Our product is only as good as the concrete
it’s on top of." With endless customization
options, Lauretta said, they can match any décor. "I’ve created
all kinds of designs," he said. "One I got from a picture
in a quilting book." CTI’s
Filling In Cracks, Paving The Way, & Bringing Design & Beauty
To Concrete By
E. Kimker "This business
has been real rewarding," remarked Forest "Rex" Pingleton,
Dealer of Unique Surface and Design, LLC, with Concrete Technology
Incorporated (CTI). "It satisfies customers; really makes them
happy." Pingleton is referring
to a system which resurfaces and designs concrete by utilizing a
modified acrylic resin, cement spray coat combination (a color integrated,
modified acrylic mixed with portland cement and polymer, that is
activated with a modified acrylic resin). This process is
excellent for covering areas such as: driveways, walks, pool decks,
balconies, vertical surfaces, as well as commercial and industrial
floor restorations where industrial topcoat is required. In addition,
logos for businesses can be created. CTI’s systems
achieve a texture and color of any type stone or look you require.
A base coat is applied that fixes any imperfections in the original
concrete. A design is then laid over it and a hopper gun shoots
a textured layer over that. A final clear coat is put over the system
that is nonporous and protects it, as well as makes it very easy
to maintain. Mold, mildew, motor oil, etc., can be used to remove
though or repetitive latencies. In repairing cracks
that often arise in concrete, Pingleton explained that "first,
the concrete is pre-washed, and repairs are made to the cracks and
any spoiling; second, a thin, skim coat is put down that absorbs
into the concrete; third, the desired pattern that the customer
would like to have (stone, brick, etc.) is taped out; fourth, the
concrete is sprayed with polymer and resins mixed with Portland
cement (a high-grade cement); fifth, an acrylic sealer is applied
for protection; and then it’s done. This system makes the concrete
twice as strong." Pingleton went on
to state that a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty is offered
against fading, delamination, and regular product failure. He firmly
stands behind all of his work. Pingleton, the CTI dealer for this
area, has always had satisfied customers. "We do a really great
service to them." If you replace your
concrete, you will be paying the cost of rip-out, removal, forming,
and pouring concrete. This takes larger equipment than the CTI Concrete
System, which usually causes damage to landscaping. When completed,
you will have new concrete that will stain, absorb oil stains, can
be damaged by salts, and have a strength of about 3,000 to 4,000
PSI. Repairing concrete
with CTI Concrete System will strengthen the existing concrete to
7,000 PSI, resist stains, oil spills, and salt damage. Additionally,
it can be designed and will add value to your home, while making
an attractive presentation of your concrete surfaces. An average job will
take one to three days, depending on the condition of the concrete.
If new concrete is poured as part of the repair or enlargement process,
the CTI Concrete System cannot be applied for at least seven days. The cost of the CTI
system is normally 20-25 percent less than the cost of removing
cement and pouring new, and is much better looking and much easier
to maintain than the original cement. Also, CTI offers 13 standard
colors and 13 highlight colors which allows for different color
combinations to choose from. The CTI manufacturing
facility has been producing resurfacing products since 1968. Acrylic
Resurfacing has been in use since the early 70s. Polymer was added
to the process in the 80s, to provide a superior bonding process
to add strength. In 1997, CTI was listed as number 419 out of the
500 fastest growing companies in the United States, and are now
expected to reach into the top 100. CTI---"Bringing
Design and Beauty to Concrete." |
