Wednesday 30th July
We are working hard on getting our new range of concrete moulds up and running. Our new wall cladding moulds are looking terrific starting off with a cobblestone series then ledge stone and Gosford sandstone. We are introducing this new series with a low cost DIY entry point with PVC plastic moulds before following up with the premium PolyU rubber moulds for the professionals
The pavers have 3 new types to put up on the web in both plastic and PolyU while the tiles are available only in PVC at this stage.

Our new concrete stencils will be available hopefully next week complete with all the colour hardeners and sealers required. Adam is finalising these products while Joseph is setting up the new www.moulds4concrete.com.au web site to give better exposure to these new lines.

All these new products will mean that concrete will be one of the most interesting products to consider for an additional source of income let alone a new business opportunity.

The beauty of concrete is that you can start at home before making the plunge to rent a factory and employ staff. We intend to help beginners with all the product and technical information required to make it easy to enter this exciting field.

For the far sighted the opportunities in the concrete industry are far greater than those that existed in the hobby ceramic industry nearly 25 years ago when we helped set up hundreds of small studios operating from homes around NSW. Concrete will not be subject to the dictates of fashion or the competition from China.

Concrete has been seen for years at markets and fairs in the form of garden gnomes and figurines and will continue to fascinate . The new products will only expand on this existing market. Pavers are already proving a great success as new attractive designs can be introduced to compliment the plain stepping stones on sale at the garden centres. Concrete tiles have not been seen yet will be just as interesting to develop the natural bush look.

Wall cladding and stamping will take longer to develop as new skills are necessary but will prove to be well worth the effort of learning for the small business person and entrepreneur. Out of habit I typed "business man" but overseas women are showing the pace in many of these new fields as is proved by the fact that women far outnumber men in purchasing moulds from us as sources of additional income. Jewellery for just one avenue.

Will keep you posted. Stan

How to colour pavers

Question
How do I colour the pavers that I am producing with the ABS plastic moulds? Jim


Answer
The paver itself can be coloured by adding a metallic oxide base colour to the concrete mix before placing it in the mould. Additional colour or colours can be sprinkled into the mould before casting through a sieve to give a contrasting face colour to the base colour of the paver. Stan