Construction Equipment Owner

Over the last several months I’ve seen an increasing interest in concrete polishing throughout the industry. Contractors have been processing and polishing concrete for many years, but with polishing’s low-maintenance and “green” benefits, its popularity has exploded. Many of the contractors I spoke to or have written about lately are involved in concrete polishing and want to learn more, like Beyond Concrete and CSolutions/Middle Georgia Concrete Constructors, or are looking to get into this growing niche. One helpful resource I recently learned about is the Concrete Processing Technical Institute, an educational resource that offers training and accreditation in concrete polishing. Other polishing training resources include Bob Harris’s Decorative Concrete Institute and the manufacturers who sell grinding and polishing equipment. You can also learn more about concrete polishing in this overview of concrete processing or this story about concrete and LEED certification.

Today’s Chicago Tribune ran an article on concrete driveways. With Spring approaching (or already present in most parts of the U.S.), many homeowners will be looking for contractors to do various jobs around their homes like driveways, grilling patios and walkways. A little research and smart marketing can help concrete contractors grab some extra dollars on these types of projects. Got a homeowner who wants an estimate on replacing a concrete driveway? Give them a three-tier estimate — the plain concrete, colored concrete with a stamped border, and a fully stamped drive and stained concrete. You’ll be giving homeowners options they might not know about or know they wanted. A homeowner might not be able to afford a fully stamped and stained driveway, but a stamped pattern at the end of the driveway or a stamped border around the edge will give them some decorative flair and you some extra dollars.

I recently received a press release announcing an agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) to develop and promote environmental management tools to help ready mixed concrete plants comply with their Clean Water Act obligations. This is one of many positive steps the concrete industry has been taking in the green direction. In addition, the NRMCA has a webpage that brings together all its “green industry” resources, and recently made available a CD-ROM containing reports and articles about sustainability and concrete. The “Research in Support of Sustainable Development.”CD is available through the NRMCA’s research and education arm by contacting Jennifer LeFevre at 240-485-1151 or at jlefevre@rmc-foundation.org.

Come on, Spring, let’s get a move on! It snowed today in Madison – more white when I’m looking for a little green on the ground and in the trees. So I spent some time looking at the website for Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island in Canada for a little Spring fix. But I wouldn’t blog about the pictures of the colorful flowers in bloom all year round if it didn’t have a concrete connection. The gardens are housed on the grounds that once belonged to Robert Butchart, who manufactured portland cement near his home in the early 1990s. His wife, Jennie, started the gardens in an exhausted limestone quarry. A little ingenuity in turning an empty pit in the earth into a beautiful floral garden — I’m feeling a little better!

The Chicago Tribune recently ran a fun article on using concrete in your garden. It touts decorative concrete for use in large or small garden projects, and talks about concrete’s versatility and longevity. Have you seen an increase in customer requests for outdoor decorative concrete applications in gardens, outdoor kitchens and the like?

Skin safety should be on the minds of all concrete contractors. When you don’t properly use gloves, boots, eye protection, and long-sleeve shirts and pants when working with concrete, you risk cement burns or other skin problems brought on by cement exposure. And if your employees aren’t following proper procedures to protect themselves from cement exposure, you risk worker’s comp claims and increased insurance costs. Take a look at this new guidance document from OSHA, “Preventing Skin Problems from Working with Portland Cement.” Do yourself and your employees a favor by jeu de poker francaisjeu flash poker gratuitesjouez au poker gratuitementlogiciel texas holdempro poker tourpoker tour,jeux poker tour en ligne,poker tour compoker descargade juegos de pokerplay poker omaha freepoker para jugarjugar poker omaha en lineacaribbean poker portal webpoquer webpoker on line gratisreglas poker omahaworld series of pokerjugar poker en internetjuego de poker online gratis,poker online gratis,juegos online gratis pokercartas onlinedescargar pokerjuego poker eroticojuego de poker para pcjugar poquer onlinejuego omaha pokerset pokerdados poquerdescarga gratis juegos pokertexas holdem descargapoker flashholdem poker gratispoker descarga gratisprobabilidades texas holdemjugar poker online gratisjuego seguro portales internetpremios pagina internetjuego casino internetcasino pagina internetjuegos apuestas pagina webcasinos virtuales lineapremios dinero portales webjugar keno en lineajugar al instante webjuego lineavideo poker portal webganar dinero verdadero portales internetjuegos azar portal internetjuego gratis lineacasinos descargas pagina webadvanced video pokerblackjack online printing it out, making everyone a copy and taking the time to read it together. Make sure everyone is following proper procedures to avoid skin safety problems around cement-based materials.

Green building, sustainable design, carbon footprint … buzz words you’ve undoubtedly heard a lot of in the last year or so. Concrete’s contribution to energy efficiency in building and a host of other “green building” benefits are being recognized more and more by the architectural community and building owners. That’s why I’m looking forward to attending the Concrete Technology Forum in Denver in May. Sponsored by the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the 3-day event offers educational sessions on topics such as pervious concrete systems, concrete’s impact on urban heat islands, the carbon footprint of concrete, sustainable development initiatives, and optimizing recycled content. In addition, a product expo will be open during the event. To learn more about the Concrete Technology Forum and registration, visit www.ConcreteTechnologyForum.org or call (240) 485-1152.

If you tried to get an after-work caffeine boost last night at one of the nation’s 7,100 Starbucks, you were out of luck. As detailed in a New York Times article, the company closed all stores from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm and gave employees a retraining on the finer points of coffee. Employees were encouraged to examine the color of each shot of espresso and reminded to use their ears in determining when their steamed milk is ready. Starbucks executives are trying to make coffee No. 1 again at their stores, reminding themselves, employees and customers that it was excellent coffee brewed with care that brought them success in the first place.

It’s interesting to see a huge company take the time to retrain employees like this. It shows the importance of customer satisfaction, and relates to any other business — including concrete.  No matter how big your company gets and how much money you make, you have to remember that it’s all about your customers and the concrete.

I’m looking forward to my $600 rebate check coming in May – ”Bush Bucks”!  Tax rebates are a fairly straightforward and surely the most talked-about part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, which President Bush signed on Feb. 13.  But Congress also included a depreciation bonus in the plan, allowing companies to increase their tax deductions on equipment and lower their short-term tax bills.  The depreciation bonus, similar to one allowed in 2002, was added in hopes of encouraging business growth and creating new jobs.  Were you planning to buy new equipment in 2008 before you heard about the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008?  Did the announcement of the depreciation bonus change your mind in any way?  

I live in Madison, Wis., and yesterday we (or shall I say “Mother Nature”) broke the all-time record for annual snowfall. So far this year Madison has seen 77.3 inches of snow (I do not have a snowblower). And last weekend I was skiing in Wisconsin’s north woods, braving a 20-degrees-below-zero night with negative-50-degree windchills in a tiny cabin with an outhouse (the cold woke me up about four times in the night, reminding me to put wood in the stove). What does this have to do with pervious concrete? While pervious installations have been increasing in popularity across the South, Southwest and many warm clients, it hasn’t been so quick to catch on in states like Wisconsin where many people are skeptical of the application’s abilities to hold up to the climate I just described — feets of snow, extreme cold and freeze/thaw conditions. A recent study, however, has found pervious concrete to perform well in freeze/thaw conditions with little maintenance required. The study also found that pervious concrete actually increases safety in parking lots and roadways by reducing icy conditions as melting snow runs through the pavement rather than re-freezing on it.

So, skeptics, here’s your proof that pervious concrete is a viable option in cold-weather climates. Of course, proper design and installation is important in ensuring a pervious concrete is working up to its expectations. To learn more about pervious concrete, attend one of the NRMCA’s educational seminars on pervious, or be aware that the PCA is offering free PDF downloads of its handbook “Hydrologic Design of Pervious Concrete” until March 31.