Tom Ralston Concrete has built quite a few very cool and interesting concrete and masonry pieces for Santa Cruz County. However I could make a strong case that to date the Chinese Monument that TRC built in 2014 in the Santa Cruz Evergreen Memorial is the most meaningful and significant.

There were many that contributed to the idea, the vision, and to the construction of the Chinese Memorial. The George and Emily Ow Family primarily funded the project. The Museum of Art and History helped to generate momentum and was led by Director Nina Simon. Nina's husband Sibley diligently worked with volunteers and organized labor to help pull the project together. The initial monument concept and inspiration was from Geoffrey Dunn and George Ow who met with me to begin brainstorming ideas for the memorial.

The Chinese that were buried in the Evergreen Memorial were immigrants that came to California and Santa Cruz to escape rebellion and civil war; but also to fulfill a dream of prosperity and to make a better life for their families. To paraphrase historian Sandy Lydon: the contributions that the Chinese made were fundamental to the region's economic development they were not treated as such. As history tells us many if not most of the Chinese settlers were treated like second rate citizens there are ample examples of gross prejudice.

Again from Lydon in his book Chinese Gold  "No Monuments, no prominent place names, no gilt "Chinese-style" buildings, and no large concentrations of Chinese people attest to the presence [and contributions made] in the Monterey Bay Region."

Now, with the Chinese memorial built in the Evergreen Cemetery, there finally is a place that people can honor and memorialize the Chinese settlers. Last year on April 5, 2014 the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History organized a funeral procession that started on Front Street near Old Chinatown and ended in the Chinese section of the Evergreen Cemetery. Along the way the procession was joined by Chinese "lion dancers" who provided a very colorful addition to the Chinese celebration.

My vision for the concrete memorial was carried out by TRC's dedicated and hardworking crews and were led by master carpenter Rex Nicoliason. The structure, which was all poured together with a special colored SCC (self-consolidating concrete), when fully cured will be in excess of 8,000 PSI. Regular concrete starts at about 2500 PSI. Sean Monaghan who has partnered with me on many creative projects over the last 2-decades cast some incredible solid bronze headstones that had names of Chinese actually buried in Evergreen. The headstones were originally made with simple wooden 2 x 12's which had the deceased names carved into them. Sean beautifully replicated the wooden headstones with bronze and had his student, Yue Yu, provide the translation and calligraphy for the headstones. Ralph Royer and Josh Roton of RCR fabrication made exacting Chinese characters that were later powder coated a brilliant red. The red characters played beautifully off of the charcoal colored concrete. The translation and poetry for the monument was provided by Professor Yuming Shang. Other local contractors that contributed to making this happen was Landscape Contractor Randy Quilici, Lewis Tree Service, E Clampus Vitus Branciforte Chapter 1797, The Landscape Company, Homeless Services Center, Y.E.S. High School and many other volunteers.

Sibley Simon who is the chairman for the Evergreen Cemetery committee for the MAH took the lead for overseeing construction and making sure that the Cemetery was cleaned up and ready to go for the Quing Ming Festival or "Tomb Sweeping Day". According to George Ow in Chinese folklore, "if something is not settled during a lifetime, you have hungry ghosts, like angry spirits." Barring a nuclear warhead striking the memorial with a direct hit the structure will stand for thousands and thousands of years, forever feeding and pacifying the hungry ghosts.

I will be forever grateful for being asked to create such an important and significant monument. My thanks go to all!

Tom Ralston

Located just next to the Santa Cruz harbor, this lovely home is the result of tedious and masterful decorative concrete work.

The Tom Ralston Concrete team was responsible for making this dream home a reality. Directly in the middle of the home there is a massive column with inset anchors that support a spiralling staircase. TRC molded and poured the 30 inch solid concrete column which spans all three stories of the home.

Marilyn Crenshaw, a.k.a The Green Architect designed the railing that caps off this functional and beautiful set of stairs. The railing is made of stainless steel, and is reminiscent of something you would find on a boat down in the harbor.

The different levels of the home have different blends of color hardeners - colors like oyster shell and golden sandstone. One level of the concrete floor was hit with an acid wash, followed by an antique amber acid stain - beautiful colors that exist naturally along this idyllic coastal California setting.

All in all, Tom Ralston Concrete is happy to share unique projects crafted from his years of experience in the decorative concrete industry. Check out his Master Q&A for expert advice and insight. 

Stay tuned for next month's featured project. Check out more of Tom Ralston's work here. Have any questions or comments? Feel free to contact us.
You can stay updated with the latest from Tom Ralston Concrete by following us on, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, or Houzz.

Welcome to Volume 8 of the Master Q&A. In this installment Tom Ralston fills us in on how to create functional and beautiful concrete work integrated into any hillside. Structurally sound and pleasing to the eye, that is the definition of decorative concrete. Read on and do great work!

When is concrete the right choice for holding up a hillside?

TR: Any walls that are designed for retaining a hillside are adequate. There are block walls, segmented walls, rock walls, it becomes a matter of preference. If a hillside warrants it, an engineer needs to be involved and they will specify what size and type of wall is the best option. At the end of the day it really is up to the client, their budget, and what the hillside calls for.

What are some of your favorite solutions for functionally controlling erosion that results in a beautiful product?

TR: When we talk about erosion usually we're talking about the soil that is around a particular hillside.
A wall will help with erosion, but there is also bio-structural erosion control. It is essentially the use of vegetation and it is ecologically friendly.

My favorite choice is to use plants and vegetation because you can really see the beauty in the plants. It can be both the most functional and beautiful choice, especially using native or indigenous plants.

Do you have any stories of exceptionally difficult hillsides or slopes to troubleshoot?

TR: I've had entire hillsides cave into our form work and into our footings. One was at the Coast Guard Building in the Santa Cruz harbor. The other was the Boys and Girls club up in Pescadero. Both collapeses were caused by rainstorms that came through before we had the walls backfilled, so they were very vulnerable.

We had to dig out our forms and reconfigure the rebar all at our own expense.

How does lighting play a part in a finished decorative concrete hillside walkway or wall?

TR: Lighting can sometimes be downplayed or overlooked, that is a huge mistake. Lighting makes any hardscape on a hillside look exceptionally dramatic and beautiful. Hardscaped walls, stairs, patios, and even trees can exponentially enhance the hard and softscapes.

For someone looking to hold up a hillside with concrete, what are some important things to look for before getting started? Some best practices when assessing how to move forward?

TR: You have to have a design and then you can get some kind of a grasp on cost. That's where everything starts, how much is this going to cost. So, you need some conceptual plans. After that hire a soils engineer and civil engineer to make drainage plans and any other factors that need to be addressed prior to starting construction. Then the structural engineer comes and figures out the footing and wall size. Best practice is getting the right people involved so you know what you're up against.

Any other advice for balancing function and artistry?

TR: It just so happens that I published a book called, "Sculpting Hillsides With Decorative Concrete". There are many points made in there about balancing function and artistry. You need to establish function first, and then the footings and walls need to be specified so they can last beyond a lifetime.

It's all about the right blend of concepts. Carving into a barren hillside to produce walls, stairs, patios, and firepits can be one of the most beautiful hardscape creations there is.

-Alright folks, that's it for this month's Decorative Concrete Master Q&A, join us next time for more stories and knowledge from decorative concrete master Tom Ralston. We post these Master Q&A's on the first and Friday of each month.
Submit your own questions here, and to find more information check out Tom's books on decorative concrete. Also, we'd love it if you'd come over and say hello on one of our social sites. Follow us or like us for more expert decorative concrete knowledge on Houzz, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram.

Aruba is a small island in the southern Caribbean. It is a tropical getaway for travellers seeking sunshine and crystal blue waters. In 2012 Tom Ralston was invited to consult on a building project located on this idyllic island. 

The 8000 square foot modern home, designed by Architect Gary Ostermann was no small task. Started in the fall of 2013, they finished the project on Easter Sunday, 2014.

Tom Ralston and the crew took on the massive project and after working hard all day, they'd cool off and dive along the world class reefs that lay just beyond the deck of this ocean front home. A little perk to the job site. 

On top of the 8000 square foot residence, an additional 8000 square foot exterior, including a gorgeous lap pool with an endless edge, was added to the overall project. The house and surround has an incredible modern architectural flair that is light bright and serves homeowners and guests extremely well.

The upstairs library and study, bedrooms, and guest rooms have a blend of color hardener that is different from the lower concrete floors while the pool deck and exterior have another blend of color and texture. All in all, the project is simply stunning.

Tom remarked that the project came together due to his rock star crew, tedious preparation and planning everything out well in advance. He would also like to thank the client for being a positive and knowledgable person to work with. 

Tom shares some of his stories, insights, and advice about the Aruba project in the question and answer session below. See more Q&A sessions with Tom in the Master Q&A blog. 

Aruba Project Q&A

How Did You Get Connected with the Client for the Aruba Project?

TR: The client is the CFO for a state of the art concrete plant in Aruba called ATCO. It happened that a representative from Granite Rock, our concrete plant here in Northern California, was connected with the client and his company ATCO. When asked about who to call for concrete floors, Granite Rock mentioned Tom Ralston Concrete as someone who does a lot of decorative concrete floors in California.

Even more serendipitously, the client's architect, Gary Ostermann, is from Berkeley. So Gary came down to Santa Cruz to discuss the possibility of the Aruba project. Soon after we flew down to Aruba to interview with the client and put a proposal together. Things went well and we got the job.

The client ended up being one of the most enjoyable and informed clients I've worked with. It is always a treat to work with someone like that - clients like him are often hard to find.

How Do Your Years of Experience Play into Completing a Job Like This?

TR: The Aruba project was project management on steroids. There are so many things you have to consider ahead of time. You have to do an extreme amount of planning - if you forget anything, any specialty tool, any material, any piece of equipment you might need - you're out of luck.

My office manager Rachel Chatham was very instrumental in helping me put this project together. Without her aid, I don't know if we could have done this - of course, having a reliable and professional crew is crucial to the success of any project.

The reality is that things become much more complicated when you're working in such a remote environment - Aruba is something like 4,000 miles away from Santa Cruz as the crow flies. Difficulties include the fact that you're working in a foreign country, on a remote island, in a place that is known for high winds and hot temperatures.

One of the difficulties we had was dealing with the wind, the sun and the heat - we had to pour in the dark when it was cool and less windy. We even had a t-shirt made up that said, "Team Aruba: Pouring at Dark-Thirty".

We had to tarp the entire expanse on the exterior everytime we poured to protect the concrete from the sun. A few times the wind almost blew over the tarps, but we did a very good job of securing them. The company from Holland named ALBO, were tremendous in their efforts and their help.

Another difficulty was the continued planning and strategy that was necessary every single day as the project moved forward - how we were going to tackle the next day's pour, how we were going to get everything done in the timeframe that we had. We went down there 5 times for ten-day stretches. We had to pack a lot of work into those time periods. Basically, we poured 16,000 square feet in that time - there was a lot to consider. There was blending color hardeners - three different colors to blend in order to get the color that was desired. Every expanse - lower floors, upper floors, exterior decks - all had different blends. There were different blends of color and they all had to kept straight and consistent. It was a challenging project in that way as well.

What Are Some of The Enjoyable Aspects of Taking a Project Like This On?

TR: One of the enjoyable aspects is meeting new people - meeting all of these Dutch construction workers from this company, ALBO. Also, getting immersed in the culture of Aruba, the culture of the Caribbean. We were blessed to have great accommodations - the house that we worked on was right on the beach with a stellar ocean view. It had an endless-edge lap pool.

One of my favorite parts of specialty projects like this is getting so much appreciation from the locals and from the Dutch construction company - they loved what we did there and we all appreciated each others' work and involvement. That's always a great feeling. My guys that I brought with me were kind of like rockstars over there - we ended up giving t-shirts back and forth with everyone involved. You know, the relationships were great, the island was exceptionally nice - it's one of the most popular vacation spots in the world with beautiful beaches.

It just so happened that right in front of this 8,000 square foot home is one of the most pristine diving areas in the world. In fact, every day it had 20-40 people that were dropped to dive and see all the beautiful ocean life.

We would go out diving after work some days and enjoy it ourselves.

Do You Have Any Other Thoughts or Advice from Taking on the Aruba Project?

TR: One thing I would mention is that, if you ever decide to take on a project as large as this one that TRC did in Aruba, you have to be very detail-oriented with what you are going to need, what kind of crews you'll need. You need to do a vast majority of the work ahead of time. Do as many mockups as it takes to get to the final product that you will be providing to the owner. For the Aruba project we did a lot of mockups and color examples with the architect.

Any Story that Stands Out?

TR: There was a little area that we had to do a skim coat on. It only needed to be about a 10 millimeter thickness and it had to match another complex color blend. What we had to do was sift our color hardener, which was sands and cement and pigment, so that we could sift the sand out so that we could make this very thin skim coat. I needed something like a strainer to sift it in, and I couldn't find a strainer anywhere! None of the paint stores had any strainers, and typically that's where we get our strainers here on the mainland. So finally I decided to go to a women's hosiery shop and asked if they had any nylons. And the woman who spoke some English said, "For You?". And I said, "Well of course!" - and we got a good chuckle out of that.

All in all the Aruba project was an amazing experience, and I am always excited to work with international clients to create challenging and rewarding projects.

Stay tuned for next month's featured project. Check out more of Tom Ralston's work here. Have any questions or comments? Feel free to contact us.

You can stay updated with the latest from Tom Ralston Concrete by following us on, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, or Houzz.