Ministry Concrete in San Diego:

Romeo Martinez, owner of Ministry Concrete in San Diego, Calif., runs a small company that specializes in residential custom concrete and masonry work, as well as some foundation work. But more importantly, Ministry Concrete is a company based on doing things right without cutting corners.

Martinez, who has spent half of his life in the concrete industry, started working at the age of 15 with his father on the weekends. "Having worked for my father at a young age allowed me to learn many aspects about the concrete trade, such as the business side," Martinez explains. "In addition, this opportunity helped me understand how to best deal with customers and situations that may arise on the jobsite. I feel that the customer and contractor should have excellent communication on what needs to be done as opposed to just assuming things are going to be done a certain way."

Adding that good communication is the key to having a job done right and satisfying the customer, Martinez says, striving to provide the customer with knowledge about materials, method of application, cost effectiveness, colors, time frames and scheduling. "If something cannot be done or should not be done, then the situation is explained to the customer and together we will arrive at an alternate solution," he says of his approach to working with customers.

Martinez uses his 17 years of experience in concrete to create decorative concrete for every need and unique desire, and he offers custom texture, color and finish all standard as part of his quality craftsmanship.

From San Diego all the way up to Oceanside, Martinez has been working on outdoor and interior staining, outdoor barbecues, and stamp work with rock patterns, random sandstone and ashlar slate. Ministry also offers colored concrete, driveways, patios, sidewalks, pool decks, steps, concrete benches, demolition and hauling, and some foundations and footings for room additions. Finishes include stamped concrete, colored, acid washed, stained, exposed aggregate and lacquer sealing.

Priding himself on being fair and honest with everyone he comes in contact with, Martinez explains he is very careful not to overcharge in his bids while providing the best materials and workmanship for his customers' money. "Ministry Concrete is not always the lowest price in town, however we will be fair and honest with the work we do". "It's not always wise to go with the lowest bidder because in the end you do get what you pay for."

"I try and give my customers the best job possible so as to give them their hard-earned money's worth," he adds. "But I will not compromise the quality of the job by cutting corners." For instance, Martinez says he uses steel rebar reinforcement as opposed to wire mesh; he pours normal flat work at 3-1/2 to 4 inches thick as opposed to 2 inches; and when sealing he uses a superior lacquer based sealer with slip-resistant additive as opposed to a cheaper acrylic sealer that will start to peel in about a month.

One such project Martinez just finished was a patio in Santee. The patio was stamped with a small sandstone pattern, thenMartinezused a Baja red release color. He also created an outdoor barbecue for the customer.

Martinezalso likes to discuss all the possible scenarios with his customers. "I personally like to inform and educate the customer on how we can best deal with cracks and what materials and/or methods we could use to better avoid them," he says. "Unfortunately, there are no guarantees that concrete will not crack since no one can control the earth's shifting. Therefore, we always carefully plan to cut stress joints wherever necessary...also, steel reinforcement throughout the entire slab plays a big role in strengthening the compressive strength of concrete."

Martinez says he studies why and where problems will occur and how to best deal with them so as to better avoid common flaws in the business of concrete — such as those relating to method of application, weather, chemicals, proper sub-floor preparation, etc. "All these factors play a large part in getting the job done right," he adds. And getting the job done right is his number-one goal.

Ministry Concrete
Romeo Martinez
1188 S. Orange Ave 19
El Cajon, CA 92020
(619) 579-0347 Office
(619) 579-0347 FAX
(619) 726-1057 CELL
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www.ministryconcrete.com

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