About How To Concrete

Hello, and welcome to my website.

My name is Luke and I am the founder of HowToConcrete.com.

I spent just under 15 years working as a concrete placer and finisher in New Zealand, and trust me when I say I have seen many concrete horror stories, as well as concrete projects finished to the highest of standards.

Just to give you some credibility about my experience, here is a simple rundown of my involvement with concrete.

I have worked on over 1000 concrete projects in my time in the field and for the first 6 years specializing in all of the following:

  • Feed Pads
  • Cow Lanes
  • Siladge Pads
  • Effluent Ponds, Enviro Saucers, & Separation Ponds
  • Stone Traps 
  • Heard Homes
  • Cow Sheds & Rotary Platforms
  • Wash Pads

Most of this dairy farm work was where I started my learning as a concrete placer. After the March 2008 recession, the dairy industry in NZ crumbled and brought with it a hold on farmers spending money on upgrades or new establishments.

We found ourselves very quickly adapting to any other areas of concrete work, and with this brought a whole new range and level of concrete skills, knowledge, and variety to the workplace.

At the end of about year 6, I found work with another company that soon upped my game in decorative concrete, especially exposed aggregate concrete.

The business thrived and had a keen crew that worked very hard to reach a high standard of finish.

Over the next 8 or so years, my concrete skills grew along with the business, and we were pumping out work in every direction. I also learned how to read blueprints and became a foreman for the last 5 years with this company.

I had my own crew and for the most part, all went very well.

During this time we had also expanded into placing asphalt and had grown the business to have our own diggers, tip trucks, emulsion truck, and chip spreader. 

With our focus now more directed towards urban living, new home buildings and decorative concrete my skills and workload consisted of…Including Boxing & formwork…

  • New Home Foundations…
  • Garage & Shed Pads
  • Driveways
  • Paths & Patios
  • Exposed Concrete ( My Specialty & Favorite )
  • Stamped Concrete ( Some but not loads ) 
  • Channel Drains/Slot Drains
  • Curb and Channel ( Council & Private )
  • Nib Walls 
  • Retirement Homes
  • Mall Complex & Larger Pads
  • Asphalt & Chip Seal Work.
  • Driveways and Carparks
  • Wash Pads
  • Herd Homes & Feed Pads
 

Why How To Concrete?

Having the ability to help others with the skills I have acquired during my time as a concrete placer, I have made this website to help others understand the process of placing and finishing concrete. 
To understand the basics of concrete and how it works, I will share with you my experiences over my 15 years as a concrete placer and show you many tips and tricks when placing and finishing concrete.
 

Since you landed on this website I assume you have found howtoconcrete.com through a Google search, and I’m guessing you or someone you know is about to start their own DIY Concrete project…

If this is the case I hope you gain some extra knowledge from this website, to help make your concrete project go that much smoother, and to a higher quality.

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