Exterior of your home

Concrete Arts encompasses every aspect of Interior and Exterior surfacing including one of the most important element to a home, siding.

Many common types of siding are going to be wood, vinyl, aluminum, brick, stone, stucco and a few more options. Another alternative is a Concrete Art product, Karvkrete. Karvekrete is going to have similarities of Cement Fiber Siding. However, there are many differences.

Karvekrete is a decorative, integrally colored concrete plaster finish for interior and exterior use. It creates an “old-world” look and emulates antique and textured stones. Concrete Arts finished a project a while back for a homes exterior. Take at look at the photos below and explore what Karvekrete is all about.

Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

Sandscape Driveway

I had an opportunity to check out a beautiful past project we did around White Bear Lake in MN a couple years ago. The project was a Revealed surface on a driveway. The project itself held a very unique element along with a gorgeous application process of a Revealed. The color and texture add so much subtle dimension to the exterior landscaping of the home.

How the driveway was laid out just shows how a little creativity can add so mush depth and beauty to a home. This home is truly unique because of this driveway. It allows for guests to wonder about the beauty that lies within the home when driving/walking to the home.

See the great pictures below.

Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

New Website is Finally Up!

This has been a long awaited moments. The new and definitely improved Concrete Arts website is up.

The new site was designed to allow the consumer to view as many projects without getting overwhelmed. With hopes to inspire new ideas for your home or work place, this site features elements that allow for minds to wonder with thoughts on how to create your new patio, walkway, countertop, driveway, Fireplace etc.

Browse through the site and let us know how you feel. Suggestions are always welcomed. http://www.concretearts.com/

Carly Dus
Concrete Arts

Cigar Shop - Stamped

We just finished up a great decorative stamping project here in Hudson, WI. A Cigar Shop owner came to Concrete Arts hoping to get help to improve his patio for the store. The space wasn't large but it did need an uplift. In the process of planning, an idea came about to simulate a cigar which then evolved into a cigar box. Needless to say, the Cigar Shop now has a great looking pattern that is customized just to them, their own cigar box patio.

To add to the overall effect and theme of cigars, Concrete Arts precasted a cigar stair that leads to the patio.

The back patio looks great and is definitely a conversation starter for those sharing in the fun.

Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

Outdoor Stamped Concrete

I personally love camp fires. Hanging out with Family and Friends, telling stories, eating s'mores. So after a long, joyous July 4th weekend at the lake, it only seemed like perfect timing to post a project we just finished with stamped concrete around a Fire pit as well as other areas around the house.

This project in Stillwater, MN encompassed many natural, unique elements with Concrete. We stamped a patio and fireplace, and precasted architectural landscaped stairs. The patio was an Old Granite seamless texture that complimented the homes focal point, an Arizona Flagstone stamped Fire pit. To get from the the fire pit to the patio, we precasted concrete stairs. These stepping stairs are 5 inches thick with a hand chiseled edge to match the retaining wall. These three concrete elements enhanced the homes architectural landscaping appeal. See the pictures below.

Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

Relaxing in the sun!

It seems this summer more than ever, homeowners have been putting emphasis on remodeling their pool deck. Maybe it's the gorgeous 90 degree weather we've been getting or just that fact that people are starting to realize all the different options available.

A while back I posted about pool decks and a few options.

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Today I want to expand those options into the EZ Top deck, Sand Cast, and Revealed options. These three options differ greatly in look from the patterned and seamless textured stamped concrete. However, besides the look difference, they are very comparable to stamped concrete.

With these three options, you have the option to integrally color the concrete which means you add color into the concrete before pour and you have the option to acid stain. As you remember about stains, stains react with the concrete to give it a mottled look. Below are pool decks of the EZ Top, Sand Cast, and Revealed concrete.

Sand Cast

Revealed

EZ Top

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Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

Digging Deep For Creativity At the YMCA

Would you ever think flooring like this would be salvageable?

The YMCA and Concrete Arts has had a long lasting relationship, and it works out great. We've been able to dig deep into our creativity in repairing some of the worst existing floors that we've seen.

We've recently did a polished floor up in Longville, MN at YMCA's Camp Olson. As you saw in the pictures above, the flooring was in tough shape. The edging of the tile was cracked for so long that the sealers and waxes put over the existing flooring left stains in the concrete base. The flooring also had random cracks throughout the base surface. To mask these problems areas, the floor was grinded down and cracks were repaired. We then put a precast edging around the floor edges to hide the stains. We also added in random decorative saw cuts to hide the existing cracks. Each area was filled in with a different colored dye to add dimension.

Below are a few pictures of the final phases at Camp Olson.

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Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/