Precast Inc. - March/April 2008 - (Page 51)

Courtesy J&M Lifestyles There are embedded fiber optics not only in the surface of this sink, but also in the back-splash and wine bucket. D ecorative concrete contractors can add an exciting new technique to their repertoire that always elicits a “wow” reaction from clients: embedding fiber optics in concrete countertops. Imagine peering into a telescope at the clear night sky. With fiber optics, that scene can be replicated on a gleaming, polished bar top. The tiny points of light can form star patterns, a company logo or even an outline of Mickey Mouse. “It’s certainly dazzling for customers, even if they don’t end up choosing it,” says Lane Mangum of the Raleigh, N.C.-based Concrete Countertop Institute. In the CCI showroom, for example, a huge array of color samples is displayed on what she calls the “rainbow wall.” While clients are impressed by what’s available, they’ll often end up with gray or another low-key color. The same is true for fiber optics. While the effect may not be for everyone, producers who master the technique can give themselves a competitive advantage. It demonstrates skill, patience, innovation, creativity and an attitude that they’re not afraid to try something new. And it definitely attracts attention. Elizabeth Maurer, who owns Liquid Stone Concrete Designs with her husband, Gerry, brought a countertop embedded with fiber optics to a bath and kitchen trade show in Valley Forge, Pa., recently. Twenty people at a time crowded into the booth, crouching under the countertop looking for drill holes and asking how the bulbs are changed. Maurer brought a child’s toy – a wand with a spray of glowing fiber-optic tips – to explain that the points of light are the tops of those fibers, which are as thin as fishing line. Instead of drill holes, all that’s seen from the underside of the counter is one black cable. The light source is placed elsewhere. There’s no electricity running through the countertop, and no fancy maintenance program is needed. “It’s a lot less complicated than they think it is,” Maurer says. The key to figuring it all out was a class offered at CCI last summer by Robert Sapp of Coastal Concrete Counters, she says. MARCH/APRIL 2008 | WWW.PRECAST.ORG 51 http://www.precast.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Precast Inc. - March/April 2008

Precast Inc. - March/April 2008 Contents Technically Speaking Concrete Repairs Return-to-Work Programs Marketing in a New World Building Confidence Risk Management Culture Bloquea La Energia – Es Tu Vida! Lock It Out – It’s Your Life! Fiber Optics in Countertops MCPX Wrap-Up Product Profile People & Products Advertisers Index NPCA Calendar

Precast Inc. - March/April 2008

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