Bomanite Cares across the U.S.A., Bomanite licensed decorative concrete contractors make a difference in their communities
Humanitarian, hero, and three-time heavyweight champion of the world, Mohammed Ali once said, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” Revered for his accomplishments in the ring and beloved the world over for his sharp wit and big heart outside of it, Ali’s legacy is that of The People’s Champion. David Edwards also enjoys a challenge and relishes the chance to give back. As the co-owner of Edwards Concrete Bomanite in Winter Garden, Florida, Edwards has been in the concrete business for more than 40 years. His firm specializes in decorative concrete applications and between the heat and humidity and Florida’s frequently difficult soil conditions, every job his firm does seems to have a few challenges.
“We do stamped concrete, exposed aggregate, polished, colored, and stained concrete,” says Edwards, who has been a Bomanite licensed contractor since 1989. His team of approximately 25 has been devising decorative concrete solutions across central Florida for four decades in service to theme parks, commercial contractors, and public institutions of all sorts and scales. “We don’t shy away from difficult jobs, and while I wear a lot of hats, I enjoy getting into the design side of the work quite a bit.”
When the COVID-19 shattered the world’s sense of normality in early 2020, Edwards was inspired to make a meaningful contribution to his community and quickly harnessed his team’s talents to put a little happiness in the lives of others. “My wife and I grew up in Ocoee, Florida and have lived here our whole lives,” says Edwards. “When the pandemic hit, we wanted to do something for the local health care workers who were putting their lives on the line for people in this community.” Edwards first approached Mayor Rusty Johnson about a charitable giving project he had in mind for the Orlando Health – Central Hospital in Ocoee, Fl. Once the seed was planted, Edwards and his team quickly conceived of a way to enliven the building’s entrance with a decorative token of esteem. In a group effort, Edwards secured material donations from his long-time local suppliers of ready-mix concrete, lumber, and metalwork to assemble the resources required.
The result is a beautiful patio garden next to the building’s staff entrance where health care workers can catch a moment of reprieve from the rigors within. A bold blue heart of Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Concrete in a glass finish is surrounded by blocks of Portland cement seeded with mother of pearl flakes and white chip granite. Strips of artificial turf segment the concrete sections to make the whole patio a refreshing pop of vibrant color that offers a warm welcome and a calm, quiet respite to the hospital’s healthcare workers. “We absolutely appreciate the healthcare workers on the front lines of this pandemic,” says Edwards with genuine satisfaction. “This resting area was meant to help them replenish themselves amid the stress and challenges of their jobs. We were fortunate to be considered an essential service in the early stages of the pandemic and wanted to show our support for the healthcare workers and our community.”
Tyler Balch is a second-generation owner of Texas Bomanite in Dallas. “Since the firm was founded in 1987, one of our core beliefs has been giving back to the community we serve,” says Balch of the firm’s operational foundation. Texas Bomanite employs close to 100 people and completes commercial architectural concrete projects across most of Texas from offices in Dallas and Austin. When the firm was approached about a small but significant polished concrete project for The American Fallen Soldiers Project in Addison, Texas, Balch knew immediately that their cause was worthy of charitable consideration.
A 501c3 non-profit organization, The American Fallen Soldiers Project honors and memorializes American military service members who made the ultimate sacrifice with an original, hand-painted portrait of the fallen that is presented to their family. The brainchild of artist Phil Taylor, each portrait is undertaken to provide Gold Star Families with a small token of comfort and compassion in their time of loss. When the organization leased a new office and gallery space in a suburban office park and inquired about a polished concrete floor, Texas Bomanite decided to do it at a discount. “They wanted a polished concrete floor with a black orchid dye to give the space a very high-end, museum-quality feel,” shares Balch of the scope of work. “Because of the condition of the existing concrete slab, the work involved a lot of patching and grinding to prep the floor to be polished. We felt this was a cause we would be proud to get behind, so we donated time and materials equal to about 28 percent of the total cost. With Bomanite you are getting the best of the best, so making this an affordable option for a very worthy recipient made everyone involved feel fantastic.”
In Aurora, Colorado Bomanite licensed contractor, Colorado Hardscapes, supported a feel-good project of a different sort. Founded in 1947, Colorado Hardscapes has been Front Range Colorado’s premier decorative concrete contractors since the industry’s inception. When they learned of a local effort by the Make-A-Wish Foundation to build a sensory garden and playground for a local 7-year-old boy, Colorado Hardscapes jumped on board.
“The City of Aurora teamed up with the Make a Wish Foundation and a whole host of others to develop a fully-accessible playground with a sensory focus at Red-Tailed Hawk Park near the child’s home. We knew right away this was something we wanted to be a part of,” says Project Manager, Christy Bol. The child’s wish of wishes was simply to go to the park to play and laugh with other children and making that dream come true was a joy and honor for all involved.
The 8,000 SF site features a sensory wall composed of a tactile composition of shapes, textures, and colors, a wavy walk that undulates like a roller coaster, and swings, spinners, and slides of several sorts. A Bomanite Topping Systems – Micro-Top XT was used to make the sensory wall pop with color, while a Bomanite imprint texture mat added a high-touch surface to the rising wall. Bomanite Con-Color was also used to stain the concrete to add swooshes of whimsical flair to flatwork surfaces.“We donated the materials and labor to do the wavy walk and stained concrete design throughout the park and did the vibrant, textured seat wall at cost,” says Bol. “We were also able to secure a donation from our concrete supplier, Aggregate Industries, for all of the concrete we installed.” Beyond the giving back, Bol shares that the project called upon Colorado Hardscapes’ artistic capacities. “There was only a sketch to start with, so our team got to be creative in conceptualizing the parts and pieces of this one-of-a-kind sensory wall.”
From functional to fantastic, these projects explore the many interesting and innovative possibilities in the world of decorative concrete while illuminating a common bond between Bomanite’s nation-wide network of licensed contractors. “From our perspective, we feel like we have been blessed to be a part of this great community-enhancing project,” finishes Bol. “Charitable giving is a great way to give back and show our commitment to the people and places our projects serve in a long-lasting, meaningful way.”
Written By Sean O’Keefe
When Rockford School district needed a new school constructed, they specified decorative concrete flooring that was at a reasonable cost but, just as important, durable, and beautiful. Eureka Elementary, located in Eureka, MO, and part of the school district, was recently built by HOF Construction. The project designer, Dickinson Hussman, selected Bomanite licensee Musselman & Hall Contractors to tackle the intricacies of the challenging design. Challenging projects done within the time allotted, even if shorter than optimum, are a forte for Musselman & Hall and they were a perfect match for this project.
Musselman & Hall used Bomanite Custom Polishing Systems with Bomanite Renaissance to complete the 22,500 square foot project. The project required four colors of Bomanite Renaissance poured in contact with each other in a geometric pattern of bands, then ground and polished as one slab. They placed 2-inch-thick topping slabs in four different integral colors. The Bomanite colors used were French Gray, Natural Gray, Sand, and Coquina. The latter required the use of white cement, which was a challenge of its own, because white cement sets very quickly.
The layout of the four colors made it crucial that both the formwork and the placement of topping slabs be installed with absolute precision to achieve sharp construction seams and maintain even aggregate exposure throughout. The schedule required their crews to begin grinding and polishing in the first areas they placed before they were even completed with the slab installations. The crews then ground and polished, as one slab, to a satin sheen and full aggregate exposure.
Bomanite’s Custom Polishing System, Renaissance by Bomanite, provides a lustrous finish to floors made with Bomanite’s premium Bomanite Integral Color. Color-saturation, the hallmark of Bomanite’s integrally colored floors, is unsurpassed with this one-time finish. For rich color at a reasonable cost, this is the perfect finish for any newly designed surface. Other features and benefits of Renaissance by Bomanite are good abrasion resistance, a range of aggregate size is possible with various exposure levels, as well as a natural appearance.
The primary benefit of Bomanite Renaissance is the simplicity of installation and durability of color. With no topical dyes or products needed to achieve color in the floor, the process is much like polishing uncolored concrete. The Bomanite Renaissance system incorporates Bomanite Integral Color into the decorative concrete prior to placement and finishing of the flooring. Once cured the concrete is ground to expose the desired amount of aggregate, then polished to the required gloss level and treated with a Bomanite stain resist. Renaissance by Bomanite is intended primarily for new construction or major renovation projects.
Musselman & Hall Contractors earned the 2020 Best Bomanite Custom Polishing Systems Project Honorable Mention Award for this gorgeous project. When complexity of design meets the expertise of a well-trained Bomanite decorative concrete crew, the results are something that both the client and Musselman & Hall can justifiably be proud of. Challenge met and job well done, Musselman & Hall!
