And the winner is… Decorative Concrete!

JOHN GRANT, PICS LTD

PICS recently presented the photographic entries for the 2007 Golden Trowel Competition to the judging panel at The Concrete Society in Blackwater.

The panel consisted of Richard Day from The Concrete Society and John Glasgow from CITB Construction Skills, with Graham True an independent concrete consultant. Alongside them were two experienced pattern imprinted concrete installers, Andy Read of ReadyPave from Whitchurch in Shropshire and a former winner of the Golden Trowel, Jim McKinley of Premier Print in
Chesterfield.

All photographs showed projects installed in the UK during 2007. The competition was open to all UK installers of Decorative Concrete, using any source of decorative concrete materials and concrete supplier.

During the last three years, the quality and range of decorative concrete installations submitted has impressed those judging this growing showcase for quality work within the industry. Richard Day comments, “From the range of entries it is obvious that installations are moving away from just being an imprinted surface to replace an old rectangular driveway or patio, to providing curved landscaped
features that are functional, durable and decorative. The ability of the companies represented to plan the project with due regards to existing structures and subsequent planting arrangements, and to display subtly in technique, is encouraging.”

The majority of the 2007 entries show installations of domestic driveways and patios using commonly recognised pattern imprinted concrete and stencilled concrete techniques, a direct reflection of the work carried out using colour surface hardeners, release agents and chemical stains across the UK and indeed worldwide on a daily basis.

Entry levels increased again on the previous year and the photographs were judged in three categories covering domestic, commercial and bespoke decorative concrete features.

A number of photographs demonstrated a combination of decorative concrete techniques, textures and finishes within a single project. This was a noticeable increase on previous years and impressed the judges. Some of the most interesting entries were domestic projects where the layout and design was clearly planned and executed, and with the installers on the panel able to determine the degree of difficulty and practical application, it helped the panel to reach their decisions based on a range of judgements.

Andy Read says, “It’s great to see such solidly designed and executed work being installed around the country. It must all help to raise both the standards of knowledge and workmanship along with increasing customer awareness and confidence in such a versatile and durable product.”

Jim McKinley was, “very impressed by the standard of the workmanship and the thought that went into the all the work was also of a very high standard. The use of colours, patterns and the angle the work was looked at on the winning photo was very impressive. The subtle use of stains and the overall layout was excellent.”

The Golden Trowel 2007 for the Domestic Installation category was awarded to David Faunt and Paul McKee from Classic Driveways (see Picture 1 below) of Swinton in Manchester for their photograph of a patio project. This project used a number of pattern imprinted concrete textured printing mat styles, with an attractive use of natural stone edging and the use of chemical stain to add further colour to a standard ashlar slate design.

Second place was awarded to a photograph of an attractive royal ashlar designed patio, from Pete Davies of Creative Driveways (see Picture 2 below) in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Third place was awarded to Nick King of Direct Drives Midlands (see Picture 3 below) in Cannock, Staffordshire for an impressive wet-cast stencilled-design driveway photograph.

Special commendation was felt to be justified for a photograph submitted by Darren Skillen of Superior Driveways (see Picture 4 below) of Haslingden in Lancashire for another impressively well-planned and executed patio design.


The Golden Trowel 2007 for the Commercial Installation category was awarded to Darren Yates of Decorative Concrete Floors (see Picture 5 below) in Wakefield for a new decorative concrete floor at the Cottingly Primary School in Leeds for Education Leeds. This replacement of an original terracotta tiled floor involved a hand-cut design to be applied to a new concrete slab, which used an imprinted textured border design and was then chemically stained to achieve an attractive combination coloured finish.

Second place was awarded to Robert Burns of Traditional Paving (see Picture 6 below) in Faringdon, Oxfordshire for a photograph of a rainbow-coloured imprinted concrete design at a school playground in Lancashire.

Special commendation was made to Colin Cowan of Transform Driveways (see Picture 7 below) in Merseyside for an impressive but difficult 1000m2 bus lay-by installation project for Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council along the East Lancashire Road at Knowsley on Merseyside.

In the Bespoke Decorative Concrete Features category, no award was made to an individual photograph. However, the judges were impressed with the entry from Paul Thompson of Newcon Concrete Décor (see Picture 8 below) featuring a patio using different levels, built in lighting and textured skin finishes. Graham True comments on how impressed he was with the increasing standard and originality of the work presented, “The imagination and effort exhibited are a reflection of the workmanship involved in providing a quality product.”

Concluding remarks
The 2007 competition clearly shows the depth and range of decorative concrete projects being successfully undertaken. Quality contractors are increasingly using design and installation techniques, which offer the client the quality and durability of decorative concrete, combined
with aesthetic appeal and individuality of design.

Environmental impact and lifetime costs are becoming increasingly more important issues affecting paving systems, with flooding and drainage concerns high on the planning agenda. It is clear that decorative concrete contractors can answer concerns about drainage issues and provide long-term solutions for replacement of failed or unsuitable paving, allowing the specifier to choose decorative
concrete with confidence.

Our thanks go to all the installers who submitted their entries for the 2007 Golden Trowel Competition and we would encourage all decorative concrete contractors to start taking the photographs that could win them the Golden Trowel for 2008! For any enquiries regarding any aspect of the design or specification of Decorative Concrete and the PICS Golden Trowel competition please contact us at: info@picsuk.com

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