聽With spring just around the corner, warmer weather is coming, meaning outdoor projects are beginning to be planned; while indoor renovations are being done year round.
Four years ago Mike Waelchli, with support and assistance from his wife, Roxanne, mother-in-law, Dianne Ecklund, and his uncle, Tim Young, developed Dynamite Concrete and Renovation Specialists based in Arcola and has recently begun offering new services to southeast Saskatchewan after attending a workshop at the Decorative Concrete Institute in Temple, Georgia.
Mike first began working with concrete in Switzerland. He was born there and has dual citizenship, so with family welcoming him for the summer, Mike worked in concrete for three months here which opened him up to what you could do with concrete.
From then on he worked every summer, one more in Switzerland and subsequent years in Regina, in concrete.
鈥淚n Regina, it was a job, but I really enjoyed it,鈥� Mike explained. 鈥淚 could look at it and know it was something I poured, I built that. You could see the fruit of your labour and the efforts you put into it. It was just regular curbs, sidewalks, and a few small pads, but being able to see the roads after and how the water flowed, how the infrastructure worked because of what I did, I liked that a lot.鈥�
Originally Mike moved to the area after being offered a job by his uncle, Young, with Young Tech Ltd. in Carlyle. Mike and his wife had just had their little girl and were excited for the opportunity to move to a small town and become first time home owners.
鈥淚 needed to supplement my income at the time and my mother-in-law [Dianne Ecklund] convinced me it would be a good idea to put my years in Regina doing concrete work into something more than a hobby here,鈥� Mike stated.
With help from Young, Ecklund, and Roxanne, Mike decided to start the business.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been great supporters of me,鈥� Mike said. 鈥淲ithout their belief in my abilities and their support it wouldn鈥檛 have been as easy to take that leap into building my own company and I don鈥檛 know where I鈥檇 be without them.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e started small and people usually hear of me through word of mouth.鈥�
In fact Mike鈥檚 uncle continues to provide support through allowing use of trailers, a skid steer, and helps Mike find work. Ecklund also continues to assist Mike with the business as his accountant.
鈥淪he does all of my quotes for me, I鈥檒l do all of the measurements and let her know what I will all need to do the job and she breaks down the measurements and comes up with the quotes for me,鈥� Mike said.
Though he had been focusing on outdoor uses of concrete, Mike wanted to learn more and provide options to his customers in 麻豆视频east Saskatchewan. He and Ecklund attended a concrete course at the Decorative Concrete Institute in Temple, Georgia, last November where they learned from one of the best in the business, Bob Harris.
鈥淗ere I learned a lot of different things but concentrated on concrete countertops and skin coats,鈥� Mike explained. 鈥淗e really opened my eyes to a new level of what you could do with concrete and how you can make it look incredible.鈥�
鈥淏efore I took the course with Bob, I knew how to prep, place, and do some finishes, but there were things I needed to learn.鈥�
Customers in previous years had been asking him about stampcrete, concrete textured and coloured to look like brick, stone, or other various patterns. When Mike looked into finding someone to contract this out to for his customers he found the nearest available were in Yorkton, Moose Jaw, and Saskatoon.
鈥淭hat distance made it very expensive for my clients, so I wanted to offer them more options and the versatility of concrete is endless,鈥� Mike explained.
To reinforce this statement regarding concrete鈥檚 versatility Mike told The Observer about the benefits of concrete countertops, something many have never considered before.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the things people don鈥檛 know that concrete can do,鈥� Mike said. 鈥淕ranite is very heavy and has to be moved in sections, but concrete can be poured in place. You can be as elaborate as you want because I鈥檓 forming it right in place.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 unique because you can pour it in one piece and not worry about cutting this piece and that piece to make it fit. It鈥檚 durable and strong, and you can make it specifically fit anything that鈥檚 already there while making it dimensional. You could imprint seashells into it or melt down bottles which you can then cover with a coat and you have those colours and that texture built into the concrete.鈥�
Mike is currently working on concrete countertops in his own home and has been talking to a building company in Yorkton who have been showing interest in having him create a bar top in one of the showroom鈥檚 there because people are now beginning to inquire about concrete countertops.
Another way that Mike says concrete is unique is through the air brushing that can be done before the concrete is sealed: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e able to add your own personal touch to it. Bob [Harris] showed the different ways you can be creative when we were down there. There was a pool which had a concrete sidewalk around it, but the sidewalk had cracks through it. It would have been expensive to completely replace, so what Bob did was open the cracks a little bit, cut leaves in the concrete, and painted it in greens and browns. He was able to hide those cracks and turned it into something beautiful.鈥�
It鈥檚 these new techniques and skills that Mike is looking forward to using this year.
鈥淚 love my job, I absolutely love what I do,鈥� Mike said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a perfectionist and I take great pride in my work. I can鈥檛 do a shoddy job because it would bother me.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been blessed by my opportunities in life and I鈥檓 very grateful for them.鈥�
Having already begun to provide quotes to people this year in Estevan, Rocanville, and Carlyle, Mike is truly excited for the future.
鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of things I want to try and the opportunities are there for me right now,鈥� Mike stated. 鈥淲ithout the support I鈥檝e had, the workers, the equipment, and the community I have around me it would be much more difficult to be making my business work.鈥�
Dynamite Concrete can be found on Facebook through searching Dynamite Concrete, can be emailed at [email protected], or by phone at 306-455-2329.
