Interview with Jeff Yoder on the skate park

I am having too much fun with my Flip Video! This time I tried to mix it up a little with an interview with Jeff Yoder about the skate park. I also got some video of a couple of our guys working. We joked about having proof now that they really do work! That video will be saved for a later post...

Usually on Wednesday mornings I play the part of vice president at the Logan County Business Networking International (BNI) meeting. However, yesterday there was a scheduling conflict so I had to make a quick decision to attend the Champaign County Safety Council instead. I hated to miss BNI, but I am glad I went to Safety Council - we received two awards! Very exciting. We had no lost time accidents last year - great job to all of our employees for keeping each other safe!

Tonight I am attending the second class in a three part series on Social Media Networking. The workshop is being held at Ohio Hi-Point in Bellefontaine, OH and being given by Shane Haggerty. The first class was very helpful and great fun. I look forward to learning more about reaching our customers via the internet. If you have any suggestions on what I should post or questions about concrete, comment or email me and let me know! I might use them on future posts.

Thank you to Chris who emailed us a tip on making the skate park better for the skateboarders.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend! Be safe and be blessed.

Concrete volcano at the skate park

Good Monday morning! It was chilly this morning, but the sun is shining and will be a great day to do concrete work!

I got pictures of the volcano in progress from last week. A slight scare as we thought the camera was missing, but it was in the truck right where it was supposed to be. Much better than buried under a pile of dirt as was suspected.

I went to the Coffee Depot Friday night after the Relay for Life opening ceremonies. There were a lot of kids there; it is a nice hangout. I saw a few skate boarders there just waiting for this skate park to open! It sure will be nice for them to have a place to go instead of trying their tricks in the middle of a busy parking lot. I went again on Sunday afternoon to teach our four year old how to roller blade. It was slow moving on wheels, but a fun time, nonetheless. Our sixteen year old did circles around us on his blades! They got fruit smoothies and I got a frozen vanilla latte, and we enjoyed the sunshine and the afternoon.

Skate Park Model photo

Skate Park Model Photo - TGIF! It looks like it is going to be a great day.

Here is a still photo of the skate park model for you to see at your leisure. Even though I have to admit the video is pretty great, it makes it difficult to really look at the overall model. So here it is.


Last night Jeff and I went to the Urbana Country Club for his graduation from the Leadership program. He has been attending class one day each month for nine months to learn more about Champaign County, what it has to offer, and how to be a better leader within the county. We were served a very nice meal of salad, chicken cordon blue, asparagus and potatoes and a yummy dessert-an ice cream ball with pecans and hot fudge. Then we were entertained by Mrs. Dawn Allen, a principal at Graham Elementary, who spoke about how she is using her teaching skills to inspire and lead other teachers to make the learning experience fun and eye opening for the kids. She was a great speaker - I wish she would have talked more. I am sure she was a great teacher for the kids and I know she is becoming a great leader for the school district. I know we sure appreciate what she does for the band program.

Speaking of the band, this evening is the Relay for Life walk at the Champaign County fairgrounds. The Graham Dancin' Band from Falcon land will be performing around 5:15. Come out and support the cancer walk and watch the Dancin' band in action! If you see me, make sure you say hi and let me know you saw our blog. I will be wearing my Yoder Concrete Construction t-shirt. Also visit the skate park progress at Melvin Miller park while you are in town, but remember to stay OFF the concrete as it is still curing. And stop at Lost Nation Boardsports downtown. They have the real model to view. I think they are open until 8pm. Have a great weekend!

Ok, I know it isn't Friday, which is when I usually post an update, but I got these pictures from Kevin from Lost Nation Boardsports and had to share them with you. Plus, between you and me, I am taking a class at Ohio Hi-Point to learn more about social media, and our homework is to work on a blog. I thought this little video might get me extra credit! Just don't tell Mr. Haggerty that my sixteen year old son helped with it (just a little. ) No, I don't typically listen to The Offspring, but I have heard it enough to know it would make great background music for the skate park.

I finally got to see what a Euro gap is. Some of these I could have figured out - pyramid, stairs, ledge... not too difficult to label. There is a volcano, too - you can see it in the first picture of the whole model. And they actually poured the real concrete volcano this week. Jeff took some pictures, so as soon as I get them, I will post them for you to see. Let me know what you think of this project. Tell your friends about it. Plan on visiting this summer to try it out. But stay off of it until we say it is okay. The concrete isn't cured hard yet, so we don't want to mess up the edges or it just won't be the same for everyone to enjoy.

Have a safe week! God bless.

This week's update on the skate park

Welcome back to the Urbana Skate Park progress update. We got a lot done this week compared to last week. You can really see it coming together. There are stairs, rails and a Eurogap - whatever that is - I am not knowledgable in these things! I'll have to come out when it is done and have a skate boarder tell me what the elements are and show me how they are used. I think I'll leave my skate board at home, though!

The spring rains are welcome for the farmers, but they are getting us behind schedule. We can use some help if you know of someone who has experience placing concrete and would like to be a part of creating this exciting and challenging project. They need to have a positive attitude and be proud of a job well done. Have them call the office for an application at 1-866-466-8614.

Now hiring!

We are looking for two concrete workers to help us get the skate park in Urbana done by the June deadline! Do you know anyone? We want 1-4 years experience in concrete work, good attitude and good work ethic. Call me for an application! 866-466-8614

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-news/skate-park-rolls-toward-june-opening-88566.html

Re-sealing your concrete

Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day...Unfortunately I don't have an update on the skate park in Urbana. It has rained all week, and I never got out there. I am not sure they even poured much, although they might have gotten a pour in today. Hopefully I can get an updated video on here next week.

Today I want to talk about resealing your concrete. If you have decorative concrete and have had it for a few years, it would definitely improve the look of your concrete if you reseal it. It is an easy do-it-yourself project if you have the right equipment and use the right sealer. Here are the steps:

• Powerwash the concrete with 3500 psi or more to ensure all dirt and debris are removed.
• All the concrete to thoroughly dry
• Re-seal the concrete with a quality sealer using a sprayer or paint roller. We recommend using Super Diamond Clear by Euclid. You can typically find this product at your local concrete ready mix plant. You will not find it at your average hardware/lumber company. This sealer is not cheap, but it will also not yellow like some off the shelf brands.
• Tip - two thin coats of sealer are much better than one thick coat! Don't put it on too thick.
• We recommend you seal your driveway every couple of years to protect it from the road salts in the winter. Sidewalks, patios, and porches can be done every 2-4 years depending on their exposure to the elements.

For colored concrete, you will be amazed at the improvement once you reseal it. It may appear that the color is fading, but in most cases, that is not what has happened. Once the sealer is applied, the color will pop right back to where it had been when it was new.

I hope this gives you an easy project to spruce up your concrete for spring and summer. If you have any questions, or if you would prefer to get an estimate for us to come out and reseal it for you, give me a call or shoot me an email. I would also love to hear from you if this worked and improved your decorative concrete. Let me know how it turned out!