The 11th Annual Golden Trowel Awards took place recently at The Concrete Society; judges reviewed a fantastic range of commercial and domestic paving entries as well as a number of projects using decorative concrete for other purposes. See the full article published in the Concrete Society magazine issue 07 September.

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F
rom concrete furniture and artificial
rocks, to motorway abutments
and walls for flood alleviation and
skateparks, the scope of in-situ and
precast decorative concrete continues to
grow in terms of design, specification and
installation methods. Used as an alternative
to timber, natural stone, flagstones, rock
and block paving for a variety of reasons –
including, durability, strength, environmental
impact, weight and longevity – the
advantages of decorative concrete were seen
in the images reviewed by this year’s Golden
Trowel judging panel.
The panel were reviewing entries in
categories for UK pattern-imprinted
installations in both domestic and
commercial paving,entries from international
decorative concrete projects,and also a
category for UK decorative concrete projects
using patterned,textured or coloured concrete
and cementitious products.
Two judges were representing previous
winners of the Golden Trowel,namely Steve
Lamport,on behalf of Creative Concrete in
Martock,and Andre Tyrell of Pedratek.
From the ready-mixed concrete sector,
judges included Mark Norton from the
CEMEX Technical Centre at Southam and
head of special projects – who is currently
working on both the HS2 and the Thames
Tideway project – and Dave Smith,sales
manager at Concrete Services and Supplies.
The Concrete Society was represented
by Richard Day,head of technical services
at The Society,and independent consultant
Graham True.
Assisting the judging panel with
background technical and installation
information was John Linley,technical
manager at PICS for over 20 years,and James
May,the north-west regional sales manager
for PICS,and also a former pattern imprinted
concrete installer.John commented “It was
another good year for the Golden Trowel
Competition,with a diversity of entries
ranging from motorway abutments,through
the ‘normal’decorative concrete work,
which included some very well-thought-
out and planned commercial and domestic
installations to a ‘crazy’crazy golf park and a
Vietnamese concrete chair! Interesting stuff
and well done to all.”James May,assisting at
the awards for the first time,adds “A fantastic
year for a wide range of products. The level
of workmanship is extremely good. The
use of pattern-imprinted concrete never
ceases to amaze me – from the domestic to
commercial,the scope is never ending.A
huge thank you to all who entered and who
were involved this year.”
Andre from Pedratek remarks,“I saw
an impressive range of decorative concrete
installations – from outlandish designs and
sublime colour applications to quality stone-
effect jobs.”
Decorative concrete isn’t
just for paving
Above: Winner
of the UK
Decorative
Concrete project
category, Rob
Heap of RBH
Production.
The11thAnnualGoldenTrowelAwardstookplacerecentlyatTheConcreteSociety;
judgesreviewedafantasticrangeofcommercialanddomesticpavingentriesaswell
asanumberofprojectsusingdecorativeconcreteforotherpurposes.JohnGrantof
PICSreports.

2. Decorative
The winning entry in the UK Decorative
Concrete project, featuring examples of
a range of cement-based concrete and
render projects, was awarded to Rob Heap
of RBH Production from Willesden in
London, a theming expert originally
from Christchurch, New Zealand. His
creative installation of paving, walling
and rockwork at The Forgotten Garden
Adventure Golf Course at The Alnwick
Garden in Northumberland was inspired
by nature, and included a walk through
hornets’nest, toadstools, a wooden bridge
and a giant worm!
Second place was awarded to Gary
Gilmour and the team from Blair
Drummond Safari and Adventure Park
near Stirling in Scotland for their Wallcrete
rockwork around the California Sea Lion
enclosure.
Third place went to Bob Merrill and
Jason Davidson of Mollington Contracts
in Frodsham,Cheshire for an attractive
exposed aggregate driveway project.
There was a special mention for the floral
artwork entry created by Christine Baxter
of Artstone Garden Sculpture in Raglan,
Monmouthshire.
Commenting on the quality and scope
of these submissions,among others,Steve
Lamport stated,“It was a pleasure and
privilege to be a judge for the PICS Golden
Trowel Awards; the standard of entries was
very high and it was great to see so many
pattern-imprinted and other companies
showing so much pride and passion in their
work,and I personally wish them every
success for the future.”
Domestic
The UK Domestic Pattern Imprinted
Concrete category winner this year was
Eifion Morgan of Pattern Paving Concrete in
Ystalyfera near Swansea.His project,which
combined slabs of light-colour hardened
concrete slab-sized sections,gravel and
timber decking,appealed to the judges across
the board.Graham True commented,“It
is often the lack of falls and drainage that
can ruin an imprinted concrete project.It
was therefore inspirational to see how this
issue had been overcome in this installation
by laying rectangular flat slabs with gravel
infill,the gravel providing free drainage.
The outcome may look simple but it is the
forethought and layout that makes this
application an all-round winner.Much care
is required to ensure the formwork is rigid
and horizontally aligned.What might appear
simple is actually quite demanding in the
preparation.”
Second place went to a combination of
three different patterns and colours within
Third place in the UK Domestic Pattern
Imprinted Concrete category, Andy
Whiley of Brightside Homes.
UK Decorative Concrete project category runner-up,
Gary Gilmour for Blaire Drummond Safari Park
Runner-up in the UK Domestic
Pattern Imprinted Concrete
category, AdamYoung & Gavin Gill
of Concrete Creations.
Winner of the UK Domestic Pattern Imprinted
Concrete category, Eifion Morgan of Pattern
Paving Concrete.
UK Decorative Concrete project category third place, Bob
Merrill and Jason Davidson of Mollington Contracts

3. Winner of the UK Commercial Pattern Imprinted Concrete
Award went to Mark Lockley of Creative Driveways
18 www.concrete.org.ukconcrete
GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDS
a driveway,installed by Adam Young and
Gavin Gill of Concrete Creations in Yeovil,
with third place going to Andy Whiley of
Brightside Homes in Nottingham for his
European Fan cobblestone design driveway.
Commercial
The UK Commercial Award for pattern-
imprinted concrete work went to a previous
Golden Trowel domestic project winner,
Mark Lockley of Creative Driveways of
Lancashire.His pedestrian cobble pattern
project outside a retail unit development
impressed the judges.Richard Day said
that “understanding the need to integrate
the individual elements available to the
contractor with the existing surrounds is
paramount to ensure harmony with the
environment in which they are placed.”
Second place was awarded to the Ferrovial-
Lagan Joint Venture for its use of pattern-
imprinted concrete on the M8 extension in
Glasgow,where a team newly trained on-site,
were able to carry out a difficult installation
underneath the bridges using a crazy paving
effect slab on a steep gradient.
Third place went to CD Designs of
Ramsbottom,for its extensive installation of
a textured imprinted skin finish at the new
Alpamare Waterpark in Scarborough,for the
Spanish Aspro Parks group,who run over 40
attractions in eight countries.
A special mention was made of the Seaton
Jurassic visitor centre logo,created by Adrian
Turner of Creative Concrete in Martock,
another previous commercial award winner.
Mark Norton was surprised at the level of
detail involved in the judging process to assess
Second place in the UK Commercial Pattern Imprinted
Concrete Award went to the Ferrovial-Lagan Joint Venture.
One of the many excellent entries this year.This one
from AdrianTurner Creative Concrete in Martock.
Third place in the UK Commercial Pattern Imprinted
Concrete Award went to CD Designs

4. www.concrete.org.uk concrete 19
GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDS
the winners,and stated,“I was impressed by
the quality of the submissions and the range
of how concrete uses and finishes.”
Dave Smith was impressed with the
entries and adds,“These awards prove
the versatility and decorative qualities of
concrete.It doesn’t have to be grey and
flat,but even that,given the right design,
can look fantastic. The quality in the UK
continues to improve every year.”
International
This year, the International Decorative
Concrete category included submissions
from Algarve Home Improvements with
their office walling which was created
using a decorative render; Decor Beton
from Vietnam showed a selection of
polished flooring, concrete furniture and
sinks; and Masterscreed UK’s contracts
division installed a coloured concrete
skatepark for Trinity Skateparks in
Adelaide, Australia.
Congratulations to the winners of the
category, Custom Driveways from the
Republic of Ireland,with its selection of
high-quality domestic installations from
Alvydas Tiknius and his team.
The judging panel also selected a number
of project examples that were of particular
interest,proving that the world of decorative
concrete is continuing to evolve and improve,
and that it certainly makes sense to consider,
specify and install decorative concrete on an
ever-increasing number of projects.■
Furtherinformation
To enter the 2018 Golden Trowel Awards or for more
information about any aspect of decorative concrete
design, installation or materials, e-mail:
golden.trowel@picsuk.com
Another excellent entry was from Decor Beton from Vietnam.
Winner of the International Decorative Concrete category Award went
to AlvydasTiknius of Custom Driveways from the Republic of Ireland
(above, and below left).