Wayne Rodgers of Batch & Trowel in the Denver area took hands-on training at The Concrete Countertop Institute in February 2017, and nearly ten years later his shop is building pieces most fabricators would turn down.
In an interview with VoyageDenver, Wayne described how he got there, and his story follows the stages we see in nearly every successful creative concrete professional:
- Inspiration: “For some reason, I thought I wanted to start a company that had something to do with concrete… I googled it. I got excited.”
- Training: “(I took an) in-depth class on concrete countertops. I learned how to do it, and went straight back home and made stunning countertops for my house right in the garage.”
- Obsession: “I couldn’t sleep because of all the thoughts running around in my head.”
- Practice: “The amount of troubleshooting and divining I’ve done to get the process nailed and streamlined is painful to even think about.”
- Mastery: “We’ve reached the top tier in our niche industry where we can make anything you can draw on a piece of paper.”
Mastery in Practice: A Precast Concrete Sofa
That last claim is a bold one, and Wayne’s recent work backs it up. His showpiece is a poolside sofa built from precast concrete sections that weigh about 800 pounds each, sit on adjustable feet, and is being wired for lighting. As Wayne put it, “If we can make this, we can make anything!”
The project started as a 3D rendering of a U-shaped sectional, with raised blocks at each end that serve as both armrests and side tables.
Wayne built each mold from melamine as a negative of the finished section and placed the concrete against it, so the smooth mold surfaces became the finished faces. (If you want to understand the thinking behind molds like these, our free training on advanced molds is a good place to start.)
The demolded sections came out with crisp, square edges, and at roughly 800 pounds apiece they traveled on wheeled dollies around the shop and on a braced flatbed trailer to the site.
Installed on the pool deck, the sections sit on adjustable feet and are being wired for lighting, with custom cushions and covers on the way.
Wayne’s path started with hands-on training. If you’re ready to learn not just how, but why, the next Creative Concrete Mastery workshop is February 18-20, 2027 near Raleigh, North Carolina, and class size is limited to six students so every student works directly with Jeff. Reserve Your Spot
More Work from Batch & Trowel
