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On February 3 2007 the Tennessee Concrete Association held a banquet at the Embassy Suites in Cool Springs in honor of the 2007 award winners.
Among the 2007 state award winners were Sloan Construction Services of Dickson, Tn. for " Best Finishing Residential Decorative Exterior, Large Producer Award Presented To Sloan Construction Services For the Spook Spann Estate Project ".
In an essay required by the TCA for entry Anthony Sloan writes:
Sloan Construction Services established in 1977 produces custom in-ground swimming pools in the Middle Tennessee area. A major design contribution is their unique ability to visualize concrete decking concepts that set their work apart from other competitors in the industry.
Having vast amounts of technology and experience at hand, Anthony Sloan co-owner of Sloan Construction Services uses his artistic abilities to create stamped concrete hardscapes that are unique as well as elegant.
We will focus on one particular project finished earlier this year. This project began with an excellent backdrop for the 5000 square foot pool design having distinct architecture and ample space. The enormous home itself was completely constructed with solid concrete walls and finished with synthetic stucco on the upper levels and artificial stone on the lower levels.
The stamped concrete decking design would consist of a stamped Ashlar Slate patterned into the main field being flanked by boarders stamped with a Roman Seamless Texture mat. Rings with keys were intergrated into the design that provided function as well as elegance. The rings were positioned so that control joints could be established to relieve undue stress to the concrete slabs that would cause cracking otherwise.
A total of eight rings would be fabricated, the majority having a diameter of five feet while one unit would have a diameter often feet. The rings would each consist of four radius legs and four keys. Each leg and key would be poured individually on site into a form fabricated for the exact shapes. Some of the individual components would weigh in access of two hundred and fifty pounds and would be positioned for grade and location prior to pouring the main fields.
The stamped concrete would need to match the exterior stone that had been laid on the house so a light buff color hardener was used in the Ashlar Slate stamped areas. Liquid release agent was used before the stamping process to create a bond breaker between the wet concrete and the polyurethane stamping mats. The liquid release was tinted with chocolate brown powdered release to aid in the color depth of the finished product.
After the completion of the stampwork the design would be brought to life by the introduction of a water based color wash. Four differing colors were used to detail each and every individual stone in this massive pool deck. “The color wash lends natural variations to the field and creates the realism that we try to achieve”. When doing stamped concrete jobs that have a stone theme, we don't want someone to walk up and say that is a nice stamp job, we want to hear them say “Wow that stone work is tremendous!”
It takes a great deal of thought and planning to have a project execute to perfection, as was the case here. Cad drawings were developed in-house by Sloan Construction Services for the project and ran on site for much of the layout. This project had many variables that would need to work out to the “T” in order to provide adequate drainage for the vast layout.
View the article at the Tennessee Concrete Association website
Anthony and Tena Sloan offers an alternative to pavers, tile or brick
Dickson County- In the world of decorative surfaces, engraved concrete is a fresh idea.
Home improvement retailers stack ceramic tiles, stones and pavers floor to ceiling.
Most folks who spiff up their driveways turn to decorative overlays or rip up the concrete and start over with bricks or pavers.
So...engraved concrete?
Anthony and Tena Sloan, owners of Sloan Construction Services (SCS) in Dickson County, insist it’s new world art awaiting an audience.
It could become the next big thing in home improvement, like concrete countertops.
For 50 years, beautifying your concrete driveway meant painting it, staining it or applying a thin layer of tile or simulated brick, like veneer.
Then, along came a new technology, engraved concrete. Anthony Sloan, a longtime concrete worker figured out how staining concrete and engraving deep grooves to simulate mortar joints produced remarkably realistic results.
Anthony and Tena make concrete surfaces look like brick, tile or stone potentially saving money for homeowners. More importantly, the technique has opened doors to elaborate custom designs and shortened the time it takes to decorate driveways and sidewalks.
They learned how to cut tight circles and simulate tile and cobblestones. Their machines and template system can carve practically any design - all using existing concrete. Aged, severely cracked driveways become "flagstone" and other rustic surfaces.
"You design it so the joints follow the cracks," Anthony says, pointing out that most concrete surfaces will have some sort of cracks.
"We see people from all over - United States, Italy, Japan, Germany," who have already utilized this new technology of concrete engraving. Aged concrete has always been an eyesore for many people. Usually all they can manage to do is give it a fresh coat of paint. Now we have a permanent fix for this problem which will not require any future maintenance," Anthony said.
The process can be completed in a couple days: Clean the concrete and patch any cracks, stain it, engrave the designs. While all of this sounds fairly simple, alot of time can go into the preparation and layout of a design. "You need artistic ability and knowledge of architectural balance to create a appealing design. The concrete is the palette for us to crete our work of art," Anthony said.
Templates used in the engraving process are designed by Anthony and converted to digital form. Then the design is cut out of thick plastic sheets on CAD/CAM machines. The template is then aligned on the concrete and engraved by the use of high power pneumatic equipment. The engraved joint is approximately the thickness of two pennys.
The company maintains a web site - www.SloanConstructionServices.com - where you can find more information on decorative concrete.
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