|
"Dan Cormier uses concrete as his
canvas"
By DONNA DAVIDSON
Features Editor, Charlotte Sun
July 14th, 2007 "Marketplace"
I went on a hunt to find ways to use concrete creatively in and around a
home. I asked readers to tell me if they were willing to step forward and
talk about their artistic uses.
The first one to e-mail me was Dan Cormier, owner of Solid Ground.
It is a decorative concrete company located in Deep Creek – licensed in
Charlotte County, but eligible to provide services to Sarasota and DeSoto
counties as well.
Cormier’s services include resurfacing concrete in a variety of artistic
ways, repairing and resealing existing decorative concrete, and concrete
repair and staining/painting.
Handcrafted Works of Art
The flagstone design is their specialty and right now flagstone is
extremely popular on driveways, pool decks, patios, and lanais.
“We handcraft some of the most authentic flagstone finishes you will ever
see. We consider ourselves craftsmen and artists. Everything we do is
hand-applied, as opposed to using spray-on techniques that can be less
effective, hard to keep clean and tend to have a shorter lifespan. We
oppose using stencils, simply because we think stencil patterns end up
looking like, well, stencil patterns.
“When people see our handcrafted work, they are more apt to say ‘Hey, look
at that flagstone driveway’, not ‘Hey, look at that imitation flagstone’.
“Our Web site www.SolidGround.biz contains many photos of our work,” Dan
said.
Customer Service
Aside from the craftsman element, Dan is proud of their customer service
and attention-to-detail. He takes time to educate his customers on the
process, the products involved and maintenance procedures.
He keeps a database of important information pertaining to every job he
does, from specific products used, to the installation date, to the
reminders set to let the customer know when it's time to reseal. He gives
the customer the guidance and opportunity to handle the resealing
themselves, if preferred.
Protect Your Investment
Dan feels these small, but critical bits of information can save the
consumer money in the future.
“Why not protect and preserve the investment? You would protect any other
work of art. The biggest problem that people experience years after having
decorative concrete installed is that they rarely can find the contractor
that did the original job. This is an ongoing problem that is getting
worse every day,” Dan warns.
His clients know if you have decorative concrete installed on your
property, it is critical that you record all product information
immediately and keep it in a safe place.
“Get the manufacturer, the product name, color names, type of sealer,
etc., because within a few years all of that information could save you a
lot of money, headache and heartache,” Dan said.
Maintaining Decorative Concrete
If decorative concrete is maintained it can last for decades. Dan claims
it’s easy to do, as long as you know how and when to do so.
“The most common problem with maintaining decorative concrete is that it
is not resealed in time and/or the right products are not used,” Dan said.
Often it is left up to the consumer to reseal his or her own or to hire
someone who will have to guess what products to use, which could be
disastrous.
“It is so important to keep decorative concrete sealed and sealed
properly. If your coated driveway has aged and is starting to fade, there
may be a way to bring back some or its entire original luster. That's what
a good clear sealer can do, if applied properly.
“You may get another 20 years out of it. Rule of thumb, coated driveways
should be resealed at least once every three to five years. A driveway takes more
abuse because of the vehicle traffic, leaky engines, lawn equipment, etc. If you wait just a little too long, you could be in for some
unnecessary repairs, especially if the surface was antique stained or has
a difficult pattern built into it. Once the original sealer completely
breaks down, the actual artwork becomes exposed and it can be damaged from
sunlight, oils, mildew, etc. A decorative concrete surface can last 30
years or more if properly installed and maintained,” Dan said.
Sealer
“A water-based sealer and a solvent-based sealer are two different animals
and you need to be careful that you do not seal over one with the other.
In some cases, if the original sealer is old or aged enough, it won't
matter. But in other cases you can create an irreversible mess.
“If people don't start to properly maintain their driveways, etc., it is
conceivable that within 10 years our neighborhoods will be riddled with
unsightly deteriorated concrete. It can be quite costly to tear up and
redo a faulty surface, so you can imagine how many people would
back-burner correcting their driveway issues, leaving an eyesore in front
of every other home. It can easily happen, but we can all help to prevent
it from happening with a little advanced knowledge and know-how.”
Beware of the Unskilled and Unlicensed
Warning! Always ask for references and ask to see completed projects
before selecting your contractor.
“A reputable contractor will always have several customers who are willing
to let them show the work done at their home to a potential customer or
have offered to be a reference to call if need be,” he said.
Solid Ground’s History
Dan Cormier, a resident of Deep Creek,
experienced first-hand the embarrassing reconstruction of Charlotte
County after Hurricane Charley had passed through.
“It was amazing to see how so many incompetent contractors, from all
fields, could humiliate and ruin the lives of so many residents here, all
of whom were extremely vulnerable at that time and at their mercy. I had
been considering getting into a new field and into a business that
would somehow make a difference in the community,” Dan said.
"And I wanted to make a statement in Charlotte County by renewing their faith
in humanity,” Dan said.
“The last thing on my mind was getting back into troweling ‘mud’, but one
day a good friend suggested getting into concrete resurfacing - and
the rest is history. I have 25-plus years of self-employment experience
and hands-on knowledge of the trowel trades. Most of those years were
spent in Eastern Massachusetts, serving upscale neighborhoods such as
Cambridge, Brookline, and Chestnut Hill, and for clients like Senator John
Kerry. That same level of quality craftsmanship is now applied to the
decorative concrete resurfacing of driveways, pool decks, patios, and
lanais,” he said.
“I had done this type of work dating back to my teenage years working for
my dad, George Cormier, a well-known ‘master plasterer’ in Eastern
Massachusetts. My dad taught me that if you follow the most basic business
practices and stay consistent you will succeed at whatever you do.
“With that being said, I founded C&C Plastering in 1983 and it soon gained
and maintained one of the best reputations for excellence in the Eastern
Massachusetts area. What are these mysterious secrets to success? Most of
it is basic common sense…. return phone calls, show up on time, educate
and keep the
customer informed, go the extra mile to satisfy, and most of all - stand behind your
work. Solid Ground was built on these basic principles.” Dan said.
For more information, please call 941-743-0030.
End
< Previous Page
|
