Concrete-FX:

Helping Clients Discover the Joys of Decorative Concrete

Juliet Farmer,ConcreteNetwork.Com Columnist

Tom Niemerow, owner of Concrete-FX, discovered his love for concrete at the age of six when he watched a contractor pour concrete at his parents' home. But it would be decades later before he built a business on his passion, after graduating from the University of Southern California's business school and getting into commercial property management, a job which, though he was good at, he eventually burned out of.

"I always disappeared when concrete was being poured at one of my buildings," he recalls. Eventually, Niemerow retired his business suit and went back to his boyhood passion, doing decorative concrete.

Concrete-FX now focuses solely on decorative concrete, and Niemerow is very active in the decorative concrete industry as well. He's a member of the American Society of Concrete Contractors, and he's also on the Decorative Concrete Council.

"It's great for networking and finding out what other people are doing," he says of his involvement in various professional organizations. "In addition to learning from others and networking, there's also the aspect of helping promote the decorative concrete industry as a whole."

Niemerow, who started his company in 2002, focused first on small residential jobs, but he says that now they take on "just about anything." Concrete-FX offers both commercial and residential stamped concrete and stamped overlays, stenciled and textured overlays; concrete coloring through the use of acid stains and penetrating dye stains to create patina and mottled looks; re-coloring concrete; epoxy coatings and granite-look epoxy coatings for garage floors and commercial establishments; and polished concrete through the use of specialized concrete polishing equipment.

"My goal is to be one of the top decorative concrete contractors in Southern California," says Niemerow. To that end, Niemerow says that he's taken on a partner, Mike Mosher from the concrete polishing world.

Now, Concrete-FX is ready for one of the biggest things to hit the decorative concrete world—concrete polishing. "People love the look," Niemerow says of polished concrete. "It's durable—the most durable flooring you can have. It works in an industrial setting because it creates a flatter and harder floor that is more durable than surface-applied coatings. And it works in residential and retail too, because it's can be so decorative and easy to maintain."

A polished concrete floor is a refined concrete surface that's grinded, honed or polished with specialized machines using diamond impregnated tools. Polished concrete floors are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also more durable and economical than typical floor coverings and coatings.

According to the Concrete-FX website, the way they polish concrete revolutionizes concrete floors. Using a patented process, they can dramatically enhance old or new concrete to increase reflectivity, unmatched aesthetically clean shine and significantly reduce long-term maintenance costs.

Additionally, their floors are certified by the National Floor Safety Institute as non-slip under wet conditions. Polishing can also repair any discolored, uneven or surface-coated floor and return it to a better-than-new exposed concrete finish.

Concrete-FX is located in Ventura County, Calif., and serves the entire Ventura County area, as well as northern Los Angeles County. Their business is the result of many sources, including word of mouth, concrete contractor referrals (from straight pourers), The Concrete Network, and the Concrete-FX website.

"People are becoming more and more aware of concrete's uses in interior, commercial, retail and residential settings," Niemerow explains. "By dying, staining, stamping or adding textured overlays, the look of existing concrete can be radically changed without having to rip out existing concrete."

For example, a recent Concrete-FX client spent $20,000 having another contractor re-pour her pool deck, and she wasn't happy with the result because the color came out very blotchy, so she consulted with Niemerow.

"She said she was so upset that she wanted to sell the house. When I came over on the initial consultation, she told me she wanted a stamped overlay," he recalls. "I offered to color the concrete instead, which was going to cost her less. She was so blown away by not only the final result, but also the fact that I didn't try to push her into a more expensive solution. She told me at the end that she decided not to sell the house because she loved her backyard."

"I like to educate my clients so they can make an informed decision," Niemerow adds. His website is full of informative details, and he says he also finds that by being up-front with clients, he ends up with even more referrals.

Among the recent projects Concrete-FX have completed are a condominium remodel, for which Concrete-FX provided stamped overlays for the exterior, and polishing jobs for both a market and a church.

As for the future of Concrete-FX, Niemerow is confident his mark will be left on the decorative concrete industry for many years to come. "My two teenage boys have competition from my nine-year-old daughter, who now trowels with me," he laughs. "She told me she wants a white concrete countertop with pink accents...She also told me she's going to take over the company when she's older."

"They say if you have a passion for what you're dong, the rest is easy," concludes Niemerow. "That's true for me. I wake up almost every day loving what I'm doing...I make things look better."

Concrete FX
Tom Niemerow
5737 Kanan Road suite 283
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
(818) 865-1198 Office
(818) 865-8838 Fax
Send Mail Now - Click Here
http://www.concretefx.net

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