What Overlays are you guys using?
I have been resurfacing concrete with elite cretes micro finish for about 3 years now. Its a great product, but it costs waaaaay to much and takes to much time. We normally mix our own polymer modified scratch coat and squegee on two coats of it, then apply two coats of micro finish, then acid stain.
What Micro toppings are you guys using that work well and might cut down my material cost and time?
Thanks!
Austin
Materials cost isnt the main reason why I am wanting to find a new micro topping, just didnt want to do any complaining on here about certain things.
I am sure that elite crete is not the only company out there that makes good overlays...
I have been using Artcrete micro tops for a few years and have found them very easy to use and quite durable.I also use a company out of Aledo called Concreation.They make colored microtops that are great.
We have actually found Elite Crete overlay systems to be cheaper then other systems we have used (mostly Butterfield). With us, the main problem with Elite Crete is availability. It kind of gets to be a pain in the butt to have to go to Houston when we need something.
I've also used Elite Crete products for the last few years (very durable & reliable). No distributor locally - so I can't stop and pick-up product. No problem ordering though - both distributors I've ordered through have the product at my place ASAP! I've actually had a pallet of cement arrive one day after ordering! (Only downside is paying for the shipping).
- Andy
Austin,
For the most part, material cost is not typically an issue... hence the reason that we still apply Ardex products. Personally, I like the Ardex SD-M for a microtop overlay. We've used a number of other manufacturers over the years and I guess I just feel it a bit easier to sleep at night when I know we didn't use the least expensive product on the market. Not to say that we haven't had issues with their product as well... in fact we have. The difference is that when we did, they stepped up like no other manufacturer has for us before; this is what has made us a loyal Ardex applicator. Like Dr. J says, so long as you are charging the proper amount for your work, the material performance should be ONLY what you are concerned about - not material the cost.
Ardex is a high performance product that I have applied many times over the years, as is Mapei's Ultratop (comes in gray or white; gray formulation costs less) that I have also successfully applied. The thing I like about Mapei is that it costs less than Ardex without sacrificing performance/features/benefits. A great many contractors I know personally are now using Rapid Set Tue Self-Leveling (available from a vast number of local/regional decorative concrete suppliers).
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As DrJ stated, I too feel that to CYA you need to have readily available tech support (this is viatally important) ...the powers that be (manufacturer or independent contractor supply houses) should have the proven performance history that attests/supports/evidences their preformance properties, along with knowledgeable staff that have hands-on experience instead of being rah/rah salespeople that are cash register motivated and only mission is sell materials (ie: get them out of their warehouse).
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Personally I don't believe it is the highest and best use of any contactors time, as to taking off their applicator hat in order to put on that of a manufacturer ...what may be saved today will haunt you tomorrow, since achieving quality control from batch to batch is challenging and you will be "on our own" when/if you have any problems/issues which can be loney, vulnerable, and costly place to be.
ok the reason I said "material costs" where an issue was that I was driving 45 min to go pick up the other companies micro finish and then ontop of that the company was still charging me for shipping. On average I was paying $65 extra for shipping each visit even though I was driving to pick up the material and non of it was special ordered it was all material in stock.
If I am going to pay for shipping I would rather have it shipped in
I tried out surecretes micro finish last week and it worked very well.
ESR Decorative Concrete Staining
Here is a photo of the surecrete micro finish and acid stain
There were line item invoicing you for materials you purchased ... as well as charging you for shipping when you were making the trip to pick it up directely from them? This doesn't even make sense ...it would be like calling a restaurent to place a take out order, driving down to pick up your dinner, then them adding a 15% tip onto your dinner receipt (there was not waitress so there is "no tip" ... in your case their was "no shipping of materials from them to your location so what are you being charged shipping for, nor did you order some special material that they don't stock and had to special order in for you."
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Maybe you should turn the table ...since you served as your own freight carrier (making an 80 mile round trip) maybe you should bill them for you milage and time taken to pick your materials up (this would be just a ludicrous and absurb as them charging you for a freight service that they did not perform).
That's how elite crete does it. The regional elite cretes get product shipped from where ever the main place is.
They pass their shipping charges on to the installer even if the installer is picking it up. If the installer wants it
shipped they pay both charges main warehouse to regional then regional to installer location.
Brightlight, I charge a dollar a bag to cover my in house supply. Locals pick up a couple bags and it saves them money on a direct ship from HQ for a small order. Shippers have a minimum shipping cost and I order larger quantities to cut the per item costs down. Not seeing your thoughts here. Maybe you are talking about someone shipping from there place. If I were you, I'd have it shipped directly from HQ. gene ec-Indy
Hi Gene,
For an example : Thin Finish 39.50/bag from corporate plus frieght, if I pick up from regional 45.50/bag.
Thats me driving and picking it up. If I have my guy ship it to me it's 45.50/bag plus UPS. I dont have any stone to grind just citing facts. My regional is a great guy, EC products are super. Also I think one of the BEST things EC offers is concretelocator and your a big part of that.
yeah thats kinda how I felt about it lol
Looks like my pic when away. here it is again. Used surecrete micro finish and acid stained it.
Austin ... light bulb just came on 
Solomon Colors has a high performance, user-applicator friendly polymer modified cementitous overlayment and micro-topping, with a manufacturring plant in the DFW area (your own backyard). I'll email you contact information for them there, along with their location. Low competitive pricing, maximum performance.
Lindy
great! Thanks! I will check them out!
I was impressed by direct colors overlay. They have both a smooth and not-so-smooth.
You can put it on in one coat. With EC you need to first put the prime coat then a second coat.
Has anyone used any of the Scofield overlay systems? Availability/ delivery is killing us right now. We are trying to find a product that we can have delivered to our local concrete accessory supplier and not have to drive 90 miles to pick-up.
Hello: When you get to this level of professionalism in this trade the quality of the products we use is very similar. It really isn't the cost of the product that impacts your bottom line. It is what you charge for and what all is included in your price. This discussion has been had over and over on this and other forums. Instead of trying to find a cheaper product.... be realistic about your pricing. Go look at the price of tiles and the range of prices you get there. Go buy some carpet, look at the range of pricing there. You get what you pay for. I charge enough for the work I do so it doesn't matter who's product I use. The one I use is the one I like. Sometimes I use something else for a specific job but I will not make my own. I'd rather buy a new piece of equipment, than stockplie sand and cement, and polymer. I charge for what I know and what I do. my 2 cents worth.....