Previous events
If anyone wanted to learn to construct quality concrete countertops, this was the class to be in. On September 22-23, the maestro, Doug Bannister of The Stamp Store in Oklahoma City, shared his wealth knowledge and experience with both pre- cast and cast in place techniques.
The class got a heavy dose of hands- on concrete countertop experience – covering all the required skills from proper forming methods using the enForm and Stegmeier forms, integral colors, mix design with the enCounter concrete mix. Project pieces included everything from benches, and tables to both pre-cast and cast in place countertops along with all of the little tricks to do it right. The final day was jam packed with Doug sharing a cornucopia of incredible color techniques – utilizing both Brickform acid stain and the Stamp Store’s “Rainbow” water-based stains and then finishing off the process with the enPoxy clear application. Everyone left with “A Piece of the Action” as we raffled off all of the enCounter products left over from the class as well as the finished work created over the past two days. Great Class !!!
On June 16 and 17, students worked through an exceptionally hot Southern California day to transform a homeowner’s old, ugly concrete. This real-world, live jobsite experience challenged the students in dealing with hot weather conditions, tired ugly concrete with multiple sins, and a fussy customer.
In spite of it all, the group got through the project with flying colors—leaving with the practical skills of installing a quality job along with the practical knowledge of how and why with stamp overlays. Hats off to Greg Lamm and Randy Kelsey of Xcel Surfaces, and Marty Meewis, owner of Colors on Concrete for sharing their experience and knowledge and giving the extra effort to make this a great learning experience for all.
Talk about a “hands-on” learning and training experience! The most recent class in the Frank Lewis Decorative Concrete Series on stamped overlays definitely fit the description. Held May 12 and 13 in Upland, Calif., the class covered pre-site considerations, substrate preparation, tools and equipment, mixing-gauging-stamping, accents and borders, color methods - integral -stains – antiquing, decorative scoring, sealing and maintenance.
Rather than demonstrate and train on boards in the controlled environment of a building, this session went out to a residential backyard where the attendees experienced a real world situation, which included Mother Nature and some pretty gnarly concrete. Trainers Clay Olson, Rich Kutscher, Marty Meewis and Randy Kelsey did a fantastic job of putting the attendees in teams where they all experienced the complete process of making a quality stamped overlay installation, while the homeowner watched with a critical eye.
On April 14 & 15, students learned the latest techniques in decorative flooring with Colormaker. When presenter Gary Jones holds a Colormaker Wild Workshop, hold on and let your imagination go wild! This latest decorative flooring class covered the full realm of Colormaker Systems - from surface preparation to Pentimento and Sgraffino micro overlays application on day one. Things really got going on day two with incredible color applications with Patina stains, Decographic and Someru dyes capturing the full range of the rainbow. Every combination of color and type were experienced by the attendees. The students experienced a wide gamut of practical information for installing a quality decorative floor as well as picking up tricks of the trade that will make them more successful on their future jobs.
If you ever have the opportunity to enroll in one of the Colormaker classes, it will be time and money well spent training with one of the most talented and charismatic people in the exciting industry of decorative concrete. This class will be scheduled again later this Fall, so don’t miss a chance to learn and train with Gary Jones. It will be an experience you won’t forget.
On March 31st and April 1st, students created custom countertops with presenter Marty Meewis, owner of Colors on Concrete. They learned about determining the design and features of the countertop, functionality and backsplash options, forming including block outs and edge treatments, mixing including integral color and admixtures, reinforcement and finishing.
On February 24 and 25 in Upland, California, students had the opportunity to learn about and create concrete countertops using the revolutionary EnCounter Countertop Mix with Doug Bannister of The Stamp Store and Marty Meewis of Colors on Concrete.
Attendees got their money’s worth building quality concrete countertops, covering every aspect of the process- from forming, reinforcement, mix design, finishing coloring and polishing and clear application. The class produced eight incredible concrete countertops that were cast on vanity cabinet bases.
December 9 and 10, in Orange, CA, students had the opportunity to experience a wide range of decorative concrete flooring systems. This included concrete polishing demonstrated by HTC Corp., reactive concrete stains using Brickform products, vibrant coloring techniques by Colormaker in the hands and creative mind of Gary Jones, and concrete engraving with Marty Meewis demonstrating the Engrave-a-Crete tools.
Kirk Stokes laid out the dazzle of Key Resin metallic epoxies, while Smith Paints provided an awesome rainbow of colors using their water-based stains.
November 4 and 5 in Orange, Calif., students learned every step of concrete countertop-making from Jeff Girard, P.E., president of The Concrete Countertop Institute and pioneer of engineered concrete countertops
This groundbreaking two-day class provided the first in-depth, engineering-based concrete countertop training on the West Coast. The class included training about both precast and cast-in-place countertops, and information about forming, correct reinforcing, how to deal with faucet and sink holes (including undermount sinks), mixes, proper curing to prevent cracks, finishing for a smooth, beautiful surface, and high-performance sealing.
July 29 and 30, 2005 in Orange, California students learned
to improve their concrete countertop skills.
This
two day hands-on Countertop Class included both studio
cast and cast in place techniques and was presented
by The Stamp Store’s Doug Bannister. EnCounter
Counter Top Mix was used by the students in hands-on
training. Attendees used Stegmeier Countertop Forms,
FossilCrete’s reusable form liners and Buddy Rhodes’ Edge
Forms and Sink Molds. Attendees learned about sink and
range block outs, backsplashes, reinforcement, mixing,
admixtures, special effects, and sealing.
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