Relationship marketing pays off for Evolution Architectural Concrete

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Jeff Girard

by Lane Mangum, VP Business Services, The Concrete Countertop Institute

Dave Magnano of Evolution Architectural Concrete in Essex, CT recently completed a nice project in a contemporary lake house: white concrete countertops for three bathrooms and a kitchen. The 90 square foot project went smoothly and brought in about $9000.

lake house

While there were some technical challenges in coordinating all the details of sizes, reveals, and interaction with the custom cabinets, this was a relatively simple project. Although it was nicely profitable, it was not a huge project. And, the slabs were all the same basic color. The results were beautiful in their simplicity:

Dave Magnano 114

Dave Magnano 101

Dave Magnano 105

Subtle details called for careful craftsmanship. For example, the marine edge on the bathroom vanities required a lot of hand work to look good.

Dave Magnano 104

Dave Magnano 112

Besides the fine craftsmanship, what made this project remarkable is the relationships around it. Dave got the project after he met the architect at a LEED certification course. That one short meeting, and followup with samples, resulted in a $9000 project.

The relationships don’t stop there. While doing the project, he met a builder, a kitchen designer, a custom cabinet maker and a decorative plumbing and hardware (DPH) store owner. He’s already planning a display for the kitchen designer’s showroom, and he is meeting with the DPH owner about a display soon.

This project illustrates how important it is to get out and meet building and design professionals. Attend courses. Call an architecture firm and present a lunch and learn. Take samples to a kitchen design showroom. And with any project, be aware of the relationships you are building and actively work those relationships to build more business.

This is what I refer to as “relationship marketing” and what I teach in my self-study course Sales & Marketing 101. I’m so proud of Dave for hitting the jackpot with this perfect example of relationship marketing at its finest!

Dave has received extensive training in multiple techniques from The Concrete Countertop Institute, attending Precast and GFRC training in 2009 and 2010 and Advanced training in 2011. He is also an active member of the Guided Success program which provides personal support directly from Jeffrey Girard, president of The Concrete Countertop Institute. Combined with Dave’s business savvy and quality craftsmanship, this makes Evolution Architectural Concrete one of the premier sources for concrete countertops in New England.

Evolution Architectural Concrete is a trade name of Trident Builders, LLC, and more information and photos can be found at www.TridentBuildersLLC.com. You can reach Dave at (860) 227-7325 or Dave [at] TridentBuildersLLC.com.

Dave attended initial training in May 2009 and advanced training in June 2011.

Pozzolan dosing for concrete countertop mix designs

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Jeff Girard

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I recently got the following question regarding my blog post “Mix design for cast in place concrete countertop in Cayman“:

Q: How much Bottle-Pozz can you safely add?

First, see my article on what pozzolans are and what they do.

Bottle-Pozz is a brand of pozzolan sold by Fishstone Concrete Countertop Supply. It is interchangable with VCAS.

The most common pozzolans for concrete countertops are Bottle-Pozz and VCAS. Metakaolin is also commonly used. Dosage of pozzolans depends upon the particular pozzolan selected:

Pozzolan	Dosage	Effects
Fly ash: Class C	15% to 40%	Increased workability. Early strength suffers with higher replacement doses
Fly ash: Class F	15% to 25%	Increased workability. Early strength suffers with higher replacement doses
Slag	25% to 50%	Increased workability. Early strength suffers with higher replacement doses
Silica fume	5% to 10%	Significantly decreased workability
Metakaolin	10% to 15%	Decreased workability
Bottle-Pozz or VCAS	5% to 25 %	Increased workability

The mix I used for the cast-in-place gazebo in Grand Cayman was based on a standard island 6-sack mix (564 lbs cement per cubic yard of concrete).

To this mix I added 140 lbs of Bottle-Pozz (BP) per cubic yard. This translates into adding about 25% BP.
When you add up the cement and BP (700 lbs), the equivalent cement replacement is 20%: There are 140 lbs BP per 700 lbs total cementitious material (cement+BP).
20% is a very common amount for glass-based pozzolans when used as a cement replacement (or 25% when used as an addition, like I did).

The use of pozzolans in concrete

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Jeff Girard

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Pozzolans are silicate-based materials that react with (consume) the calcium hydroxide generated by hydrating cement to form additional cementitious materials.

Why is consuming calcium hydroxide a good thing? Calcium hydroxide (lime) accounts for up to 25% of the hydrated Portland cement, and lime does not contribute to the concrete’s strength or durability. Pozzolans combine with the lime to produce additional calcium silicate hydrate, the material responsible for holding concrete together. By consuming the excess lime:

The strength of the concrete is increased
Its density is increased
Efflorescence is decreased
The propensity for alkali-silica reaction (reaction with glass) is decreased, or even virtually eliminated

Typically pozzolans are used as cement replacements rather than cement additions. Adding pozzolans to an existing concrete mix without removing an equivalent amount of cement increases the paste content and decreases the water/cement ratio. In other words, adding more pozzolans to a mix changes the mix proportions. Replacing some of the cement with pozzolans preserves the mix proportions. Pozzolans replace cement pound for pound.

Depending upon the particle size, chemical composition and dosage, different pozzolans will affect the concrete strength differently and at different times during curing.

pozzolans pca Left to right: Class C fly ash, Metakaolin, Silica Fume, Class F fly ash, Slag, Calcined Shale. From the Portland Cement Association

Typical pozzolans include:

metakaolin
silica fume
fly ash
slag
VCAS (vitreous calcium aluminosilicate)
Bottle-Pozz, a brand of pozzolan from Fishstone Concrete Countertop Supply

Of these, silica fume is the most reactive, with metakaolin being close to silica fume in terms of reactivity. Fly ash is less reactive, especially during the first few days of curing when less calcium hydroxide is generated.

Generally the finer the pozzolan particles are, the more reactive they are. Silica fume is the finest with most particles averaging 0.3 µm (microns), metakaolin averages about 4 µm, Portland cement averages about 15 µm, and fly ash about 70 µm.

Many pozzolans are waste products from industrial processes. Fly ash comes from coal-fired power plants, and silica fume and slag comes from some steel refineries. As such the color, quality, gradation and properties can vary and are not controlled.

VCAS, Bottle-Pozz and metakaolin are purposefully manufactured pozzolans. Quality, color and other characteristics can be controlled, so product consistency is greater. There may also be different grades available.

Most pozzolans are used individually, but blends of two or more different pozzolans can be used to take advantage of the characteristics each pozzolan offers. Typical examples are fly ash and silica fume blends, where the fly ash increases workability and particle packing and the silica fume helps with early strength and total strength development.

Using different mixes in a single concrete countertop slab

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Jeff Girard

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I recently got the following question regarding my blog post “Mix design for cast in place concrete countertop in Cayman“:

Q: Is it possible to use gray cement for the core and white cement as an outer layer?

White and gray portland cement are very similar to each other, and can be safely blended together. You can use one color cement for a core mix and a different color cement for a shell mix, provided the mix designs and the water/cement ratios are identical.

However, I would hesitate to use a gray cement core with a white cement “shell” for aesthetic reasons, especially for projects like the cast-in-place gazebo I did in Grand Cayman, and for regular precast “wet cast” projects. The simple reason is that it’s very impractical to pour a core mix without contaminating the form surfaces, contain the core mix so that it stays where you want it, and to pour the visible shell mix and still end up making good concrete without voids or weak zones. The minor cost savings in cement (white cement in Cayman is about US$20 per bag, vs gray cement at US$10 per bag).

The exception is when an ultra-expensive pigment is involved. In that case it is sometimes worthwhile in cost savings to take the extra trouble to use the pigment only in the outer layer. I call this “buttering”. It is easier to do with a hand packed precast method, somewhat easy with GFRC, and hardest with wet cast precast or cast in place. Be aware, however, that some exotic pigments could affect the properties of the mix to the extent that you have issues with the 2 layers bonding.

Tips for “buttering”:

The first layer should be well compacted, of even thickness and fairly smooth. Loose, clumpy or uneven concrete will create weak zones that could lead to cracking or delamination.
The second batch of concrete should be the identical mix (but without glass or stone if used in the first mix).
It’s very important to use the same water content, and merely add more superplasticizer to make the second batch more workable.
It’s important to place the second batch before the first becomes hard or dries out.

For the gazebo job I did in Grand Cayman (8000 lbs of concrete), the extra price from using all white cement added up to only about an extra $100 in cost. Consider the need for 2 separate mixers, the extra labor and time needed to wrangle two mixes, and it’s easy to see that at times it’s simpler to bite the bullet and pay a bit more up front to make things simpler, and in the end, better and less expensive overall.

Here’s an example of a GFRC piece done with red outer shell (mist coat) and white core (backer). This was done just for illustration purposes. You can see in the second photo that some of the white showed through when the mist coat chipped.

gfrc red mist white backer