Concrete Encounter:

Blending Great Customer Service, Proprietary Mix and Super Seal Sealer to Create Unique Countertops

Juliet Farmer, ConcreteNetwork.Com Columnist

Concrete Encounter, LLC, located in Fairfield, Connecticut, focuses on customer service while producing high-end products including concrete countertops (available with integrated drains, cutting boards, and anything else imaginable), vanities, sinks, and fireplace surrounds for both new and existing residential and commercial customers. The company currently delivers products to Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey, and they ship products nationwide.

Owner Jeff Kuryluk started out like a lot of other decorative concrete contractors; he experimented on his own house. He explains, "I was remodeling my kitchen and I didn't want an ordinary countertop. We always loved concrete, so I tried it myself."

"When they were installed, people would marvel at my countertops and talk about them so much that I saw the opportunity of making them. I did a lot of research and saw this was a niche to get into," he continues.

From there, Kuryluk says he experimented with mix designs until he got what he wanted, a proprietary mix with over 11 ingredients that exceeds 10,000 PSI. Then he sought out an industry-leading sealer that doesn't stain, and the result is Super Seal.

Super Seal will resist staining from citric acids, wines, oils and most anything you can throw at it. Product testing even shows no marks after 24 hours of a hydrochloric acid solution. The sealer is good for no waxing and does not need resealing for five years. Super Seal is also available for purchase by calling Concrete Encounter directly.

As for why he wanted his own concrete mix, Kuryluk says, "None of the stuff out there was up to my standards, most eventually cracked or had high porosity. I wanted to offer the highest quality structure and finish, and our products deliver. At a price and performance similar to granite, you are now able to have a unique look in your new space, something your neighbor is unlikely to have."

Concrete Encounter is a full-service concrete countertop designer and manufacturer offering conceptual, design, manufacturing, and installation services for their concrete countertops, sinks and fireplace surrounds.

Their proprietary concrete mix yields a countertop that is strong and durable, and each is a unique sculpture crafted by skilled artisans. Concrete Encounter products are not only for kitchens and baths; they work great for any surface including outdoor kitchens, tables and bath surrounds.

Super Seal, Concrete Encounter's proprietary sealer, conquers the problems of staining and acid etching on concrete. The sealer is not an epoxy coating, which can make countertops look like plastic, but rather the most innovative sealing product to date.

"Our sealer is a big part of the selling process," Kuryluk notes. "The perception with concrete countertops is that they will stain, but our sealer makes them maintenance free. Your concrete will look like new for a long time."

Kuryluk adds that call backs from customers have been virtually eliminated. "No matter how many times you tell a client that their counter may stain, they would always call a week or two after installation to have us come back to look at a stain. Ever since we started applying Super Seal on our concrete, we have yet to get a call back."

Among the commercial work Concrete Encounter has completed is the restaurant Ole Mole in Fairfield, where Kuryluk created a red 18-foot-long curved bar top with a 4-inch faux front and ΒΌ-inch stainless steel logo and motifs inlaid into it.

Kuryluk explains that for the bar top and two custom concrete bath sinks he created for the restaurant, he did variation grinding on the surface to compliment the hand-made tiles that also decorate the bar and bath areas.

In Westport, Conn., Concrete Encounter created a 250 pound custom sink, complete with a slot drain, that's cantilevered off the wall using floor-to-ceiling steel and concealed brackets. "You could put 1,000 pounds on the sink without any movement, it's very sturdy," Kuryluk adds.

Because Concrete Encounter offers custom colors, Kuryluk says he often jokes with his clients that he "only does 1,500 colors." Among the custom colors he recently created is a brown that looks like a Coach bag.

The future is bright for Concrete Encounter, which will be featured on Ron Hazelton's House Calls (check your local listing) this spring.

"We're taping at the end of March," says Kuryluk. "We'll discuss our mix and how a pre-cast concrete countertop is made, all while doing a vanity for Ron's house."

Kuryluk says he's also contemplating producing reusable sink molds at affordable prices to sell to contractors so they can include sinks in their line.

For now, Concrete Encounter is busy with builders and architects, focusing on customer service and offering a quality product. Adds Kuryluk, "We give 100 percent customer satisfaction and a product to back that up."

Concrete Encounter
www.concreteencounter.com

More Contractor Features

Site Sponsors