Tech Lightweight Concrete:Supplying Pacific Northwest With Warm, Beautiful Concrete Floors and MoreTech Lightweight Concrete's owner, Terry Borek, uses his company's Pacific Northwest location as a selling tool for radiant heated concrete floors. The area isn't known for its balmy weather—in fact, in the Pacific Northwest, rainy weather predominates from late September to June as a nearly continual succession of storms is spawned in the Gulf of Alaska. Rainfall associated with these storms can drench portions of the region with as much as 45 inches a year. Along the Pacific Northwest, precipitation may be recorded in many major population centers on more than 60 percent of the days from November to February, generally separated only by continued grey skies or a few hours of clearing.
It's no wonder, then, that Borek recognized the potential of the radiant heat market and decided to get into it. After all, what's better than a beautiful concrete floor? A beautiful, warm concrete floor. "There's a big market here due to the weather," Borek explains of the radiant heat concrete floors. "It's a cost-effective alternative to hardwood, tile—even carpet. And although radiant heat floors are an upfront investment, over time they are also cost effective." With offices in Washington and Idaho, Tech Lightweight Concrete serves several areas, including portions of Montana, Oregon, Idaho and Washington State, racking up an average commute of 110 miles per project. Terry says the majority of his work is located in the rural countryside of Oregon, Washington, and the mountainous ski resorts of Idaho and Montana. Tech Lightweight Concrete has 30 years of experience in thin slab, lightweight and gypsum concrete. For the most part, they pour 1 ½-inch concrete floors, up to 25 homes per month, for residential and commercial use. They offer colored concrete, concrete overlays and repairs, USG Levelrock Gypsum Concrete, lightweight concrete, radiant floor toppings, and stained and stamped concrete.
And the weather has little to no effect on the work. Borek says they have had nearly 100 percent success in avoiding cracks due to their water reducers, high strength reactive pozzolan, fiber mesh in concrete, crack control methods, and proper hydration (sealing the concrete). "I have to hand tool the joints for colored floors for crack control purposes," he adds. "It's very labor intensive to create a crack-resistant floor." "We're doing a job right now where the customer wants two-foot by two-foot squares," Borek continues. "We try to make our concrete look like a piece of tile, whether it's one-by-one or four-by-four. Most of the time, [contractors] will grout the joints so that it almost looks like granite, tile or slate. We have actually had people ask how we got the four-by-four slates in, not knowing that the whole floor is concrete." Among the many projects Tech Lightweight Concrete has completed are stamped and colored concrete driveways and flooring, which Terry says are "the perfect combination of beauty and durability."
He has also created 1 ½ -inch radiant floors in white concrete, which provide beauty, durability and the ultimate heating efficiency; acid stained concrete in colors such as adobe; and granite cleft stone textured floors for a log home in Bend, Oregon. The company also offers borders and arches to accent floors, elevated decks with natural transitions from interior concrete floor to exterior decking, and cut stamped and stained floors for everything from decks, to bathrooms, to rec-rooms, to closets. For the Pine Street Station in Sun Valley, Idaho, they created 1 ½-inch lightweight concrete over radiant tubes with colors such as ashlar slate/brown and grey. And for the Quinault Resort and Casino Ocean Shores in Washington, they installed lightweight concrete for casino hallways and a casino-level deck. Borek says he's seen some amazing places through his work. "[The] Sun Valley projects are for larger, more expensive homes...$3 to $5 million homes," he explains, adding that at a home in McCall, Idaho, the job site didn't get above 30 degrees outside, with lows in the 10s. "We had to make sure the inside was heated properly to get a good pour." Borek also attends seminars, stating, "I figure if I learn just one thing, I've gotten my money's worth." He says he also has mentors, such as Tom Ralston, and goes online to sites like The Concrete Network for information. "[You] have to keep learning," he adds. "It's actually fun to stay up on the industry." As for marketing, Tech Lightweight Concrete markets to approximately 200 heating installers. "Even if they don't use me, I like to keep a connection to them, keep the lines of communication open," says Borek. "Our marketing staff works closely with architects and designers to find the right look for their projects, whether they want a contemporary style or a more rustic look. We are sure that they will find something that satisfies their wants and needs." With more storms on the horizon, it's likely that Tech Lightweight Concrete will be busy for quite a while. Terry Borek Find a Concrete Contractor 23 Services in 200 Metros -- U.S. and Canada © 2008 ConcreteNetwork.com None of this site may be reproduced without written permission |
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