Decorative schmecorative.

Some of you who focus on commercial construction may be sick of hearing about decorative concrete. Let's face it, decorative work is not complex, the materials and tools are simple, there's little technology or equipment used, and the jobs are small. Get on to something interesting, you may

But I see decorative concrete as important for this industry for a couple of reasons: creativity and visibility. Concrete has always had a justifiably industrial and utilitarian image--gray and cold--and decorative concrete is smashing that image as decorative craftspeople show their creativity with seemingly unlimited colors and patterns. And second, decorative concrete is so appealing that it is being used in completely new applications, like interior residential floors and countertops and hotel lobbies. Although these uses add up to a tiny fraction of the concrete used or the dollars spent on concrete construction, the impact is much greater. People are getting to know concrete, literally touching it in ways they never thought they would, so their impression is changing. Once people get used to the idea that concrete in their kitchens is both useful and beautiful, the next thing you know they'll be building a concrete home.

Which brings me to an announcement. In June we will launch a brand new magazine, RESIDENTIAL CONCRETE. Starting with two issues this year, bound into CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION, we fully expect this magazine to take on a life of its own within a year or so. The use of concrete and masonry in residential settings has been creeping up, from 3% of above-grade residential walls in 1993 to 15% in 2003, according to the Portland Cement Association. And with the recent formation of the Concrete Home Building Council by the National Association of Home Builders, we feel that residential concrete has reached a critical mass and that this trend is becoming self-sustaining.

RESIDENTIAL CONCRETE will focus on all applications of concrete in residential construction, from basement walls to countertops, which brings us back to decorative, since a lot of the decorative work being done today is in residential settings. Part of the justification for this new publication is our belief that many residential concrete companies seem to have poor knowledge of concrete and few options for getting the education they need. We will, as we do with CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION, take a very educational, how-to approach. And we will even be trying to get this magazine into the hands of residential architects and designers so they can begin to understand that concrete is no longer just useful and ugly but rather open to endless possibilities.

William D. Palmer Jr. / Editor in Chief