Decorative Concrete in the Carolinas

Juliet Farmer,ConcreteNetwork.Com Columnist

In Charlotte, North Carolina, two men have merged their talents to form Affordable Home Improvement and Repair. Daniel Hogan, who started in New York doing masonry in 1985 for a bricklayers union, eventually moved down to North Carolina and met Shawn Jakowczuk, who'd been doing successful concrete resurfacing for 10 years.

We combined forces and now focus on pouring and decorative overlays, explains Hogan. In short, Affordable Home Improvement and Repair provides quality home improvement and remodeling services.

As certified installers of SureCrete Design Products, they also specialize in decorative concrete and concrete resurfacing, including acid staining, stenciled concrete, stamped concrete, stamped overlays, pool deck surfaces, cool decking, spray texture, epoxy flooring, interior and exterior floors, concrete additions, and driveway and patio repairs. Located in Charlotte, they provide services to most of the southeast.

From a grey patio in Random Stone with charcoal antiquing, to a terra cotta entryway in Royal Ashler with charcoal antiquing, to a coral interior pool deck in Sandstone with coral antiquing, Affordable Home Improvement and Repair offers a variety of looks. The stamp system they offer, in many color choices, can be used for pool decks, patios, driveways, walkways, entrances and garage floors.

For a retail store, they created a dove grey floor in Slate and Cobblestone and used a jade chemical stain over the top. And for a recent driveway, Affordable Home Improvement and Repair saw cut and grouted designs before using a terra cotta chemical stain. The company offers chemical staining designed to fashion a luxurious floor coupled with Old World beauty. They specialize in transforming ordinary concrete to a stunning, multi-hued surface resembling marble or glazed stone thats perfect for pool decks, patios, driveways, walkways, entrances and garage floors.

Among the many stencil projects Affordable Home Improvement and Repair has completed, notables include a Brick Herringbone stenciled entryway in terra cotta knock down with dove grey grout lines; a pool deck in European Fan stencil with redwood knockdown and natural white grout lines; a driveway in Herringbone and Brick Soldier Course stencil with blue fog spray and white grout lines; a driveway in Random Stone stencil with antique white knockdown and white grout lines; and a driveway in Hex Tile stencil with a taupe bubble finish and white grout lines.

The company uses Spray-Deck, which renders surfaces non-skid and is perfect for pool decks, patios, and high traffic areas. Industrial flooring options include epoxy flooring, epoxy chip flooring, epoxy quartz, custom color sealed floors, hydro block and waterproofing, all perfect for warehouses, large businesses, heavy traffic areas, airplane hangers, garages and distribution warehouses.

The company recently finished 2,000 square feet of a flagstone texture over a driveway that was cracked. To remove the concrete and do a new pour would have been really expensive, explains Hogan. We filled the cracks with a special two part epoxy, and overlayed a flagstone pattern in dove grey with charcoal grout linesand saved the homeowner about $10,000.

For another homeowner who was looking at pavers or bricks for her patio, Affordable Home Improvement and Repair ended up saving the client money and giving her more than she originally asked for. We stenciled the patio in a color to match her house and did the patio, walkway and driveway with a border. We did the whole thing for much less than the bids she got for pavers or brick, adds Hogan.

Hogan says theyve also been helping their customers save money with the creation of a flagstone pattern that looks like a stamp but isnt. We actually freehand grout lines and can make stones in any shape the customer wants, he says. It saves the customer money and they can create their own lookWe can take a picture from a magazine and replicate the look for a lot less money.

Keeping up with curb appeal, Affordable Home Improvement and Repair has also been dying a lot of concrete lately. Thirty percent of our clients are now dying their driveways to match the color of the shingles on the roof of their homes, explains Hogan. It gives the homes a larger scale and added curb appeal.

Whether clients are coming to them through the Internet, via their own website or The Concrete Network, Hogan says people looking for alternatives to stone, pavers and brickbasically alternatives to more expensive work.

They find that concrete is durable, offers a wide range of color options and is flexible, Hogan concludes. It provides an opportunity for unique looks at affordable prices. And thats Affordable Home Improvement and Repair in a nutshell.

Daniel Hogan
117 Education Dr.
Indian Trail, NC 28079
(704) 622-8201 Office
(704) 821-5733 Fax
Send Mail Now - Click Here
http://www.nchomeimprove.com

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