Saia Hola Construction Inc.: Creative Work Using Concrete Solutions

Juliet Farmer,ConcreteNetwork.Com Columnist

Saia Hola, owner of Saia Hola Construction Inc., located in North Logan, Utah, is hooked on something, and it might not be what you think. What he's hooked on is a product that allows him to create virtually any look he wants to on concrete, all while creating concrete projects that will withstand the toughest weather conditions.

But Hola's journey really began with his father, who was also in the industry. "Concrete was not in back then," Hola laughs. "I remember in the early 80s we got involved with a concrete house project, and I still wasn't impressed with the material."

In 1994, Hola started his company, initially working on constructing buildings. "I've done concrete all my life...doing both commercial and residential," he explains. "But never before had I pushed any product while doing resurfacing."

The reason was simple: Hola had mixed results with the products on the market then, and says he wasn't happy with the options out there. But last fall, he spied a neighbor using Concrete Solutions, which changed everything for Hola.

He now uses Concrete Solutions exclusively, and offers concrete services including complete resurfacing, stamped concrete, staining and epoxy. Hola says he's fixed a lot of existing commercial work with epoxy and polymer, and that cinched the deal to use the products offer by Concrete Solutions.

Hola and his men had to take a training course through Concrete Solutions to become certified to use the products, but that only made him like them more. "I'm impressed with the chemical properties of the product," Hola says. "It works well with the properties of concrete."

The Concrete Solutions line includes a liquid release agent and integral and antiquing pigments for coloring. Their stamped concrete sealer preserves and protects new stamped concrete applications and restores color and gloss to aged, weather-beaten, old stamped concrete. For interior stamped concrete applications, they have a floor care system to safely clean and preserve beauty.

Their Spray-Top is a special, polymer modified cement that can be applied thin like paint using a special spray gun and equipment. It provides a coating of cement in a uniform color, which is applied so thin that the existing texture of the surface is preserved. Spray-Top can be used for re-coloring or restoring regular or stamped concrete to a like-new condition. Spray-Top can also be colored with acid stains over smooth or textured floors or walls. Additionally, their Color Flake System provides a decorative imitation granite or terrazzo look for garage floors, parking garages and other applications.

Because the area weather is harsh, the Concrete Solutions product line is all the more valuable to Hola. "(The weather here is) murderous on concrete," he says. "Blue ice is used here in some places, and it's not too harsh on concrete but it's expensive...most people still use rock salt, plus rock salt is used on freeways and common streets and roads."

Hola says that the problem is people drive on rock salt and then park on their driveways and the rock salt eventually melts off onto the concrete. The concrete then gets flaky as a result. The solution, says Hola, is Concrete Solutions. "Once our products dries it's waterproof and durable," he explains. "The product will wear down over time, but it won't wear like concrete."

Thanks to the Internet, Hola says he has received inquiries from Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Currently, Hola is bidding for projects in both Nebraska and Kansas, as well as covering the Utah area splitting his time equally between residential and commercial projects.

"I had no niche before," Hola explains. "But now with Concrete Solutions, I have a niche. Now, every job we do we get at least four referrals from." Which keeps Hola's crew of four (including himself) very busy. Especially since he oversees all projects to ensure accuracy.

Three of those projects include a woman who wanted a cobblestone-looking walkway with a hint of purple leading inside her house; an artist in Idaho Falls who stencils designs, including a life-like magpie, and wants Hola to help her with a shop she's opening this summer to showcase her work; and a church floor that Hola protected from heavy foot traffic.

Hola says his goal is to show people what he can do for them. "I know the product so well I know the inside of the chemicals," he explains. "So when I talk to architects, I speak their language because I understand engineering. I change the language I use depending on who I'm talking to so they understand."

No matter who he's talking to, Hola's passion about his work and the products he uses is sure to translate.

Saia Hola Construction, Inc.
Saia Hola
1083 East 2200 N.
North Logan, UT 84341
(435) 753-6876 Office
(435) 760-9961 CELL
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