Coming home to creative concrete

Wayne Fry wasn’t ready to give up working when he retired from his veterinary practice.

The truth is that retiring from his first career paved the way for Wayne to return to his roots in craftsmanship by specializing in custom concrete countertops. Having grown up in a family of carpenters, the chance to pursue his passion as a creative craftsman in his second career felt like “coming home.”

That’s when Wayne turned to Jeff Girard at The Concrete Countertop Institute for industry-leading training in both concrete countertop technique and how to launch a financially successful concrete countertop business.

Wayne took the five-day intensive training at The Concrete Countertop Institute in 2017.

“The biggest takeaway from that week of training is the detailed precision in everything we did,” Wayne explains. “The computer-generated formulas allow repeated precision for each project, with no guess work.”

CCI training also helped Wayne launch his business. “Lane was very generous sharing the business information I needed to grow our business when I returned home,” Wayne says. “Everything was nicely detailed. I would not be where I am today without their knowledge because doing quality work is just not possible without a good base of knowledge.”

Wayne continues to want to learn more techniques and what works for other concrete countertop professionals. He took a course in Spring of 2019 with another concrete countertop trainer and valued what he learned from his fellow students in the hands-on class.

Wayne says, “But that foundation that Jeff laid made it really easy for me to take information from another trainer and run with it, because Jeff had already given me the background on how the engineering and chemistry worked.”

While Fry Home Solutions is the premier kitchen and bathroom concrete countertop company serving Northwest Missouri, Wayne also designs and installs concrete countertops in restaurants and offices. And Wayne recently added custom concrete indoor and outdoor furniture to his business.

Wayne quickly built a stunning portfolio. Here are a few sample pieces that show why Wayne’s craftsmanship, attention to detail, and exceptional design aesthetic are in high demand.

Kitchen island concrete top with 4-inch drop sides in blended white and bisque colors.

Restaurant concrete countertop in natural gray with black accents. 4 1/2 inch drop edge.

Custom concrete table

Lastly, Wayne reveals that another benefit of his second career in concrete countertops is that he didn’t have to give up his passion for animals completely. The university veterinary hospital persuaded Wayne to come back to work part-time. “My business gave me the freedom to say ‘yes’ to veterinary medicine in addition to concrete.”