The Ultimate EdgeYoung Decorative Concrete Company Has the Edge in DallasThree years ago, husband and wife Gayland and Cindy Hamm wanted to start a business venture — something they could do together. The path they chose is set in concrete — landscape borders, acid staining and countertops. Today, after he gave up his grocery store management position and she abandoned her career as a health care administrator, The Ultimate Edge, Inc., is leading the Dallas area in decorative concrete projects. "It's interesting to see your visions take off," said Cindy Hamm. The pair initially focused their attention to landscape borders. Theirs come in three styles — curb, decorative, and stamp. And they offer six stamping options — border brick, random rock, aussie slate, out back, tumble brick, and aussie cobble.
The landscape focus then expanded to acid-staining, which was the result of customer demand. "We were getting five to ten calls a week from people asking if we did acid-staining," Hamm said. "The lightbulb went on." Hamm said she proceeded to scour the phone book and realized that few concrete companies offered staining, so Ultimate Edge decided to add to its repertoire. What began as seasonal work with the landscape borders has turned into a full-time venture for the Hamms and their staff of five. "Acid-stained flooring is really taking off in Dallas," said Hamm. "It's the going rage. And countertops in the past six months have been increasingly popular." The demand has prompted the Hamms to prepare for more growth as they get ready to add another five-person staff devoted to acid staining. That, Hamm said, requires finding the delicate balance between growing the company and maintaining the family atmosphere by which their company is dictated.
The company's growth has translated into making the leap from residential projects to the larger, commercial-based ventures, a good sign for both Ultimate Edge and the concrete industry. "It's not just the homeowners going for concrete now. But commercial interests are going for concrete for its durability and the natural look it provides," said Hamm. One of Hamm's favorite projects involves a remodel of a 25-year-old office building. Carpet and glue was removed and the Hamms restored the concrete floors, transforming them into "one-of-a-kind floors that you'll never do again." Another favorite project — and a sign that concrete's popularity is soaring — involved an $899,000 custom home in which the builder, building a spec home, asked the Hamms to create concrete countertops for the bathroom, a surround for an amazing drop-in tub in the corner of the room, countertops in the kitchen, concrete borders outside, and acid staining on a balcony and in the utility room. "This builder really stepped out on a ledge — and went outside the norm," Hamm said. "This was a very high-end home. It shows the growth and confidence in concrete." But one of Hamm's proudest achievements is the creation of their video, Acid Stain Solutions, a how-to visual that explains the acid-staining process to builders, contractors and do-it-yourselfers. The decision to produce such a video came after a great deal of discussion and thought. "This was one of our biggest decisions," Hamm said. "The main question was 'If we put ourselves out there as trainers, are we going to take money out of our own pocket?'" The Hamms theorized that there will always be two types of customers — those who hire professionals to do their home improvement project and those who do it themselves. Hamm said she was receiving so many calls springing from her talks at tradeshows, from the company's web site, and from word of mouth. "So many people were asking how you do this yourself," she said. "There's not a lot of information out there about how to do it yourself." Drawing from her administrative background, she knew that visual aids are vital in the training process. From that the idea for the video was born. "We decided to make the move," she said. Their first mission — find "the floor from hell" to use as the project to videotape. "We wanted to transform the worst floor possible into the best floor possible," Hamm said. The Hamms found their answer in a 30-year-old house plagued with problems — the floors had been damaged from floods, there were structural problems, and cracks climbed the walls. The owner used the house as a studio. She wanted floors reminiscent of Old World Greece. The process was put on videotape using the Ultimate Edge staff and crew. Forty hours of tape was shot; 45 hours were spent editing. Hamm wrote a script. Her goal was to produce a video that could teach anyone — regardless of their background — how to acid stain a floor. Some local stores carry the video and local contractors have been duly impressed with the quality of the video, Hamm said. The video is also available directly from Ultimate Edge. More than 500 have been sold in less than three months. What's next for Ultimate Edge? "We'd like to open a showroom or design center in the Dallas area," Hamm said. "We'd really like to showcase concrete on a personal level." Hamm envisions an environment in which clients can come in with their builders or contractors and gather ideas and inspiration for their projects. "So many people still don't know what an acid-stained floor is or what a concrete countertop is," Hamm said.
Despite that, concrete is gaining ground in Dallas — some builders are even constructing concrete homes, Hamm said.
"It's the way we're going," Hamm said, explaining why she wants to create a design center to enable people to see decorative concrete for themselves. "Concrete's not going to go away," Hamm said. The Ultimate Edge Inc.
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