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bout a week after having my fourth child, I received several kind comments and gestures from people across our industry. But two in particular stuck out. The first involved a residential client and the second was from a commercial general contractor. The interactions made me ponder the pros and cons of residential construction versus commercial.

Honestly, I cringed going into it. Throughout my career, I’ve been warned many times not to go “fix” other concrete contractor’s mistakes because it only leads to trouble. The concrete contractor who placed the basement floor did a great job. However, like in most construction, something got missed and additional plumbing had to be run through the floor. So, a portion of the floor was removed and replaced.

nderstanding how moisture moves through concrete is critical to successful flooring. It helps you reduce the risk for future moisture-related flooring failure during installation. It also helps you identify and assess the cause of moisture-related issues that have already occurred.

hen someone calls us for a quote about sealing their concrete, it’s usually a driveway, sidewalk, patio or pool deck. Sealing exterior concrete surfaces that get exposed to Mother Nature 24/7/365 with her summer heat and winter snow and ice makes sense to customers and contractors alike.

However, when it comes to garage floors, most clients lean toward epoxy flake flooring, while for basements they typically request epoxy or acid stained floors. Many suffer from sticker shock when they find out how expensive epoxy is and few realize how strong an odor it emits.

elcome to the ninth installment of the Concrete Decor Show, a now biennial event put on by the folks from Professional Trade Publications. It’s being held Monday through Thursday, Oct. 28-31, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas, with lodging accommodations at the nearby Arlington Sheraton Hotel.

The show — dedicated wholly to those whose livelihood centers on the business of decorative concrete — begins at 7 a.m. Monday with a presentation titled “Safety Comes First” at the center’s Show Floor Four.

Moderated by Chris Sullivan, the decorative concrete specialist for the American Society of Concrete Contractors/Decorative Concrete Council and a regular columnist for Concrete Decor, the early morning tailgater will address how you can build a job site environment that’s safe and free of hazards while winning the support of your co-workers. Doughnuts and coffee will be served.

s there value in having a dedicated trade show for the decorative concrete industry? The short answer is yes. There’s tremendous value in having an industry-focused show. While there are decorative-devoted pavilions at other shows, they are just that — areas within other events.

I get that money talks. As a small business owner, I understand return on investment and the ability to recoup expenses are critical. My company has exhibited in three of the eight shows to date, and we will have a booth at the upcoming ninth show in Arlington, Texas. We make the decision to attend based primarily on where the show is located and the “bang for the buck” we anticipate.

Lee Ann and Bob Harris (pictured below) decided the time was right to dazzle their students with Venetian-inspired saw-cut and colored floors in their new DCI training center in Temple, Georgia. The floor pictured above is in the warehouse.

ob Harris had wanted to tackle replicating the breathtaking floors of the Santa Maria della Salute, commonly known as La Salute, ever since he first laid eyes on them. The founder of the Decorative Concrete Institute and senior decorative concrete consultant for Structural Services Inc. had visited the Catholic basilica in Venice seven or eight times and had studied the cut marble floors in detail. He thought how cool it would be to pay homage to the 15th-century Venetians by recreating their artwork in his own backyard.

ompressive strength — the ability of a material to withstand being compressed or pushed together — is often used to determine mortar and concrete’s quality. This makes sense for floors and overlayments as the primary forces applied to them are downward, compressive loads from traffic, equipment or anything affected by the force of gravity.

However, when it comes to decorative overlayments, which are typically installed between 3/8 and 1/2 inch thick, crack resistance is also critical. When addressing cracking concerns, it’s important to understand how cracks result and how different types of strength can contribute to crack resistance and durability.

exas-based VLK Architects is no stranger to being recognized for its outstanding accomplishments when it comes to designing public schools such as the monumental and expressive Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center.

“I’d give it an A for sure,” says Sloan Harris, a partner with VLK Architects, about the sprawling 165,000-square-foot CTC that’s being heralded as the flagship campus for the Arlington Independent School District.