Success Stories

Brad Dykema of Artistic Concrete Expressions in Hamilton, MI, started out in tile. In 2006, he was doing tile projects in high end homes. Wanting to get into more kitchen-related projects, he became aware of concrete countertops and attended World of Concrete. There he met Jeff Girard and was inspired to try concrete countertops. He experimented on his own for a while, then decided in April 2007 to get formal training in precast concrete countertops. Having 20 years of experience in high end tile work, he didn't need artistic training. He recognized the importance of avoiding quality problems like staining and cracking, by learning the structure and theory behind concrete countertop construction.

After class, he got started right away, working in his 42' by 40' barn. In December 2008, Brad attended the GFRC class, and by July 2009 had expanded his business enough to move into a 4000 square foot shop. The new shop has a room for wet polishing and a room for spraying sealer, making it an ideal workspace for quickly producing high-quality concrete countertops.

Brad has carried his vision and passion for quality design and execution to the concrete form of art, and Artistic Concrete Expressions now fulfills that vision in the Grand Rapids and Lansing areas and throughout western Michigan.

Matt Carr of Allegheny Cement Studio in Pittsburgh, PA has had a successful decorative concrete business since 2005, creating patios, driveways, walkways and pool decks with concrete overlays, dyes and stains. However, he felt his decorative concrete work was not using the full potential of his creativity and fine carpentry skills, not to mention the seasonality of outdoor work in the Northeast.

Matt decided in early 2009 to add concrete countertops to the mix, as a way to express his creativity and do more indoor work. He attended CCI’s concrete countertop training class, Intensive Precast Countertops and GFRC for Countertop Pros in March 2009. “I left the class feeling very comfortable. It was very thorough, unbiased, and well-rounded,” Matt reports.

Matt’s comfort level came in handy when he was faced with a large, curved bartop 11 feet long. Just flipping and transporting this behemoth presented challenges, but Matt was confident that his mix and reinforcing were correctly designed.

Without worrying about technical problems, Matt was able to focus on the client’s needs. He created multiple samples for the client, who originally wanted black, but later decided on white. The client was certain of one thing: She wanted an environmentally friendly countertop. That meant incorporating a lot of post-consumer recycled content, which Matt accomplished by sourcing glass from a local processing plant.

Just over a year after training, about 25% of Matt’s business is now concrete countertops, using only word of mouth to advertise. With projects like the curved bartop, his business is poised to grow even more in 2010.

Steve Davies was interested in learning about concrete countertops. He knew before he signed up for anything, the class had to be the most technical teaching available. After much research, he found The Concrete Countertop Institute and registered for the Intensive Precast Countertops 101 course. Shortly after completing the course, Steve was prepared to start his own concrete construction company, Newstone Concrete, with his partner Pete Halladay.

Their first project was to create a 50 foot kitchen countertop with uniform color. Steve used all of the technical information gained during the course to insure that everything was correctly reinforced and the seams were correct. They wanted their first project to be done right and lead to more projects.

Along with the Intensive Precast Countertops 101 course, Steve purchased the Sales and Marketing 101 and Project Management 101 self study courses. The techniques acquired from the courses were quickly applied to an everyday business routine. "We used the sales and marketing techniques as guidelines to contact clients. I also used it to keep track of jobs and limit errors, making us more efficient. "

Martin, Claude and Pierre Bouchard were in search of new products for a business venture in the construction industry. They discovered the concrete countertop industry, which was not well-known in Canada, and decided to find out more. Through much online research, they found The Concrete Countertop Institute and decided to sign up for the Intensive Precast Countertops 101 class. Shortly after, they started Beton Art-Design.

One of their projects was for a residential homeowner who wanted them to construct a new, modern loft with a 13ft x 4ft white island with a 4-inch width grey counter.  In addition to the island, the team designed black concrete stairs. The Bouchard brothers were able to take everything learned from the CCI Intensive Precast Countertops 101 class and apply it to this project. They completed the project, along with many others, with great results.

"We have never had to re-do a job because we apply the techniques we gained in the course" said Bouchard. Prior to completing the class at CCI, they knew nothing about concrete countertops. They learned about materials and additives, and explored why they react and how. Their company, Beton Art-Design Inc., is doing very well and they plan to return to take GFRC for Concrete Countertops 201 soon. You can see more of their work at www.betonartdesign.com.

Bob Bridgham has been in the stone and tile industry for many years now and was looking for something a little different to add to the business. Over the last 5 years, he has been interested in decorative concrete, and the idea of using it to build concrete countertops, fireplace surrounds and functional furniture. After a couple of years of researching the industry he attended The Concrete Countertop Institute in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Bob's first concrete project was a 46 square foot, radical blue kitchen countertop along with three basic gray bathroom vanities. By using his experience and the new skills he acquired at CCI, the project was a complete success. The added value of concrete countertops to their stone and tile services allows for more cost-effective solutions for residential general contractors. After the classes, Bob also purchased the Sales and Marketing self-study course. The self-study proved to be an excellent value. He and his wife, Tereasa, are the operations team. Bob handles the fabrication and Tereasa the marketing. It is an ideal situation for them using, of course, the marketing tips provided by CCI as a guide for their own business and marketing structure.

"At CCI, I gained the confidence to make concrete countertops with a quality mix from scratch. Eliminating the lengthy learning curve of a self-taught concrete fabricator allowed me to focus on a more effective marketing of the concrete countertops."

Jim Scheetz with Endless Concrete Design had been making countertops for a few years. After receiving a request for an outdoor countertop requiring a glass mix the Mixes 301 class was perfect timing.

The project involved a salmon color with distinct glass colors showing. A bag mix would have exposed the aggregate rather than the color of the glass.

The course gave a better understanding of the chemistry of the mix so local sand and local aggregates can be used to create personalized mixtures quicker. This saved countless hours of developing an individual mixture through trial and error.

"I apply the knowledge of chemistry I learned in the CCI class to my overlays, offering better performance to my customers."

John Sanders was working in renovations. He found CCI through a forum and saw the beautiful products they were creating. Sanders saw that once you have engineering, you can do anything with countertops and CCI offered classes on the techniques he needed.

Sanders would need all of the information he learned from CCI for a project he had committed to. The project entailed a 70'x3' bar with a ½ inch lip front and stet designed for comfort. The beer taps were molded in along with a built in variegated stain proof finish for durability. The final result came out as beautifully as he hoped and was less complicated by applying knowledge gained during the Intensive Precast Countertops and Sinks 102 class.

"I've taken the mix designs and hand packing Jeff taught us to create layers. Then, continue on with the mix and finally, mold it. Everyone likes the more variegated style. Now I want to see what Jeff is doing with GFRC so I plan to register for another CCI class soon."

John not only attended the CCI GFRC class, he was featured showing how to make GFRC on a Chinese TV program that aired in Canada. The concrete countertop portion of the show begins about 2 minutes in, and there is some English narrative by John.