The World at Their Feet

Illustrations of animals from around the world highlight the polished concrete floors in an Alabama elementary school.

Aug 13th, 2013

Fcp Africa Wing

Read the full story of the work Jeffco Concrete Contractors performed on the polished concrete floors at Big Sandy Elementary School in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in the article "The World at Their Feet."

Photos courtesy Barry Fikes Photography

CarbonCure is both a process and the name of a company, representing a new way of making concrete that injects CO2 into the concrete so that when it hardens, or cures, the injected CO2 is mineralized, incorporating it permanently back into limestone.

Setting C02 in Concrete Improves Its Strength

According to one company, CarbonCure, injecting C02 into concrete can increase the concrete's strength

Construction News Tracker: Housing Starts Surprise Forecasters with 6.4% Jump in October

News headlines include Dodge’s forecast of 4% starts increase in 2021, voters approved the most transportation-improvement initiatives in 20 years, horrific crash melts steel and asphalt of I-75 bridge over the Ohio River

Are your safety caps OSHA compliant?

Are your safety caps OSHA compliant?

Avoid fines. Invest in jobsite safety. Learn More by Downloading our Whitepaper.

With headquarters in Aurora, IL and a second location in Mooresville, NC (pictured), Factory Cleaning Equipment provides facilities managers, building owners, and janitorial professionals with high-quality American-made industrial floor scrubbers and sweepers, including its own private-branded product line, Bulldog.

Jon-Don Expands Offerings with Factory Cleaning Equipment Inc. Acquisition

Jon-Don, national supplier of commercial supplies, equipment, and chemicals, announces expanded offerings within the jan-san, restoration equipment, and concrete surface prep and polishing industries

When removing wooden floors, contractors should use a scarifier equipped with a cutting blade to make cuts across the surface.

How Does It Come Off? Tips and Tricks for Hard Goods Flooring Removal

Hard goods such as wood, laminate flooring, ceramic tiles and quarry tiles are usually applied directly to a concrete floor using adhesives.

In high-racking warehouses, factories, and industrial facilities, floor flatness and levelness (FF/FL) can be a make-or-break issue, affecting the very performance of the building for its intended use.

Floor Flatness and Levelness in Modern Construction

Performing floor quality assurance in house, rather than outsourcing, can reduce project wait times.

The Kennedy Center Expansion Project

Winners of the ACI Annual Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards 2020

The winners of the ACI Annual Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards 2020. Entries for the 2021 Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards are now open and accepted through April 19, 2021.

The winner of the 2020 WOW! Award was Superior Gunite, of Lake View Terrace. The use of shotcrete allowed access for placement as well as the ability to carve the wet concrete to match the look of the previous precast panels.

The 2020 Decorative Concrete Award Winners

The winners of the Decorative Concrete Council's Decorative Concrete Awards competition were recognized at the American Society of Concrete Contractors Annual (virtual) Conference on September 24, 2020.

The biggest challenge with edge work on a polished floor is achieving the same depth of cut and overall look as the main part of the floor.

Don't Let Bad Edging Ruin a Good Polished Concrete Floor

Edging is the key to a winning polished concrete floor, but you need the right knowledge, the right tools and the right attitude to achieve success.

First Place Winners of the Hardscape Photo Contest

Appealing Plans in Project Photo Contest

Winners of the inaugural Hardscapes Photo Contest by Keystone Hardscapes.

Adobe Stock 87146790

Research Says Self-healing Concrete Market Size Worth $305 Billion in 7 Years

A report by Grand View Research Inc. shows the global self-healing concrete market is expected to reach USD $305.38 billion by 2027.

The One South First (Domino Sugar) project was a 42-story commerical/residential building featuring punched window openings - demonstrating an important advancement in the use of 3D-printed forms.

The Winner of the PCI Sidney Freedman Craftsmanship Award

The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute announced the winner of the ninth annual Sidney Freedman Craftsmanship Award - The Gate Precast Company for Domino Sugar (New York City) project

When you mix high dosage levels of macro fibers in concrete, one of challenges is to achieve a good blending between concrete and fiber.

How High Dosage Levels of Macro Fibers Are Improving Concrete Slabs

Slab-on-grade floor and pavement panels shrink less and have almost no curl.

Brickform Refresh.

Brickform Refresh

Recolor and restore concrete with Brickform Refresh. Brickform Refresh is a solvent based penetrating, polysiloxane stain with excellent water repellency to be used for re-coloring and sealing exterior concrete surfaces.

SASE Trifecta Diamond Pads.

SASE Trifecta Diamond Pads

SASE Trifecta Diamond pads mount to a high speed burnisher to restore shine or burnish in guard.

Pecora-Deck HB1000 Series.

Pecora-Deck HB1000 Series

Pecora’s full line of traffic coatings protect wearing surfaces like concrete or plywood from vehicular and pedestrian traffic abrasion.

Ameripolish SmartFloor Refinement System.

Ameripolish Smartfloor Refinement System

The SmartFloor Refinement System concept is engineered to provide a high-aesthetic floor that is an easy and economical way to utilize any polishing machines, including power trowels.

Rockett's glass overlay.

Rockett's Glass Overlay

Rockett’s Polished Overlay is a patent-pending process creating high-impact, enduring decorative polished concrete floors and installations.

Smith FS351 DCS Electric Self-Propelled Scarifier.

Smith FS351 DCS Electric Self-Propelled Scarifier

Smith's FS351 DCS series of heavy-duty, self-propelled drum scarifiers are designed to tackle the most demanding removal and surface preparation jobs.

Make sure you have a marketing plan in place to help focus your marketing efforts, suggests L.M. Scofield's Cam Villar. Whether in depth or simple, make sure to at least include the market you want to serve and who your target audience will be.

Marketing Polished and Stained Decorative Concrete Floors

When it comes to marketing polished or stained decorative concrete floors contractors should focus on promoting the benefits as well as the aesthetics.

Pictured here is a warehouse/distribution center application using a lithium siliconate densifier.

Densifiers Demystified

A concrete densifier is a chemical solution that, when applied to a concrete surface, increases surface density by sealing pores.

A critical element in creating Pacific Point Preserve, which resembles a fishing wharf along the Pacific Coast, was incorporating a home for the Asian small-clawed otters.

Creating a World of Fantasy, Fun Through Pre-Blended Stucco

To bring realistic animal habitats to life and build seemingly unimaginable park rides, contractors have turned to advanced formula pre-blended stuccos.

Homeowners who build on concrete slabs can now achieve the look of wood thanks to Kasella's artistry. Grain design for each plank is applied by hand.

Polished Concrete Plus Creates Wood Grain Finishes

When placing concrete began to take its toll on Jeff Kasella’s body, he found a way to add beauty to the slabs others placed.

The Moscone Center improvements, specifically with regard to the polished concrete scope, in San Francisco, California is a lesson to specifications that don’t always meet owner expectations and how a great general contractor, great architect, and an experienced concrete subcontractor can communicate and come together to drive the project in a successful direction for all parties.

The Gestation of a Polished Concrete Project

The Moscone Center improvements, specifically to the polished concrete scope, is a lesson to specifications that don’t always meet expectations but how communication between parties can drive the project in a successful direction for all parties.

Scaling, above, and premature surface wear typically occur when contractors mix bleedwater into the surface or trap bleedwater and air directly beneath the surface.

Avoid Surface Defects on Exterior Slabs

The proper finishing techniques will help you avoid defects like premature wear, scaling, mortar flaking and plastic-shrinkage cracking.

When slabs on ground are polished, non-uniform exposure of aggregate is a result of high spots cause by slab curling. Deflection of many suspended slabs exceeds the upward movement at curled slabs, so polishing may result in even larger areas that exhibit such non-uniform aggregate exposure.

Why Polishing Suspended Concrete Slabs is More Likely to Disappoint Customers

Polished-concrete specifications are based on experience with slabs-on-grade, so contractors must help project owners understand how results will likely vary when polishing suspended slabs

In order to achieve the desired polished concrete finish on this lobby floor, Concrete Flooring Solutions used CTS Cement Rapid Set TRU Self-Leveling product to bring an overpoured floor back to its specified recessed depth.

Self-Leveling Topping Corrects Concrete Floor Overpour on Polishing Job

CTS Cement's Rapid Set TRU Self-Leveling topping helped a contractor bring an overpoured concrete floor back to specification in order to achieve the desired polished-concrete surface