ARTISTRY IN CONCRETE
TOM RALSTON
As a third generation concrete contractor, TOM RALSTON has 15 years of experience in structural, decorative, masonry, and specialty concrete. His primary focus is decorative and specialty concrete. His passion for decorative concrete developed when he realized that he wanted to get away from the plain broom finish concrete, which he found mundane. Ralston specializes in numerous techniques, including sand finishes, thin topping overlays, sear walls, blended acid staining, and embedding.
Ralston demonstrated the possibilities of cast-in-place concrete countertops—a decorative concrete medium that currently enjoys very high interest from concrete contractors and homeowners. He cast a small countertop before the demo started to show the possibilities of using color and special aggregates. He then used a hand-held planetary polishing tool with diamond cutting pads to put a high grit finish on the surface.