Product of the Month: RenuKrete brings pool decks into alignment with Corcoran Management Co.’s commitment to quality

February 07, 2020 - Owners Developers & Managers

Weymouth, MA As one of the country’s leading residential management firms, Corcoran Management Company, Inc., of Braintree, Mass., is always looking to add appeal to its properties to help keep residents satisfied and prospective tenants enticed. The company takes great pride in providing residents with an opportunity to enjoy a quality lifestyle in high quality facilities that are thoughtfully planned and tastefully decorated, and supported by excellent service and maintenance practices. That goes for indoors as well as outdoors.

When it comes to attracting new tenants and making existing tenants proud to call a building home, curb appeal means a lot. Corcoran’s properties are known throughout the greater Boston area, New Hampshire and Rhode Island for their luxuriant landscaping and, at many properties, outdoor pools.

Pool Decking Before

With buildings ranging anywhere from brand new to 1960s-era architecture, there’s a wide variety of pool decks of various ages on Corcoran properties. Anyone who manages a pool knows that there is substantial maintenance involved, not only with the pool itself but adjacent to the pool on the deck. Time and weather, especially New England freeze and thaw cycles as well as overhanging trees that drop sap and debris, can turn a concrete pool deck surface into an unattractive and possibly dangerous eyesore if cracks and buckling should occur.

No compromise on aesthetics: Corcoran’s property managers tried many of the common solutions for concrete deck repairs but management found none to be the ideal answer to their problems. Breaking up cracked sections with a jackhammer and then replacing them with new poured concrete resulted in decks that were inconsistent in appearance and aesthetically unappealing.

Similarly, pavers posed their own set of problems. While pavers and interlocking pavers are suitable for lots of installations around apartment properties, installing them as decking alongside a pool is quite another story. While pavers seem stylish and a good choice upon installation, they quickly can become uneven, dirty, weed infested and moss covered; none of which Corcoran wanted ending up in or around their pools. 

Consequently, Corcoran’s existing patched pool decks were not helping to improve the marketability of their properties. All of the work and expense the company had invested to create a welcoming atmosphere with updated chairs and umbrellas was lacking because furnishings couldn’t hide the underlying problem: The decks looked old and tired and prospective tenants noticed.

Finding an exceptional working solution with RenuKrete. After receiving a promotional mailer, Brendan Corcoran, project manager at Corcoran, called RenuKrete to discuss their engineered concrete flooring (ECF) technology. RenuKrete, with headquarters in Bridgewater, N.J., and offices in Mass. and Long Island, specializes in transforming existing concrete decks into natural looking stone in colors and shapes including granite slate and hurricane slate, two styles that have been used at several Corcoran pools.

“Achieving an aesthetically pleasing pool deck after repairs was a challenge for us prior to using RenuKrete,” Corcoran said. “In the past our concrete repairs never quite matched up with the original pool deck and it began to look like patchwork.”

Unlike decorative overlays and concrete stamping that can ultimately chip and peel off, RenuKrete ECF is sculpted from the existing concrete deck and crafted into stone formations resembling natural flagstone and slate tile. Even decks that are fractured with cracks and uneven expansion joints can be made to look new as if the wear and tear never existed.

A durable, economic alternative that is more pleasing to management and tenants. Corcoran’s portfolio of owned and managed properties includes both market-rate and affordable communities with diverse populations and varied amenities across the spectrum. One thing that is common at almost all of Corcoran’s locations are swimming pools. With so many pools to maintain and some decks in need of immediate repair, RenuKrete ECF proved to be a cost-effective solution that saved Corcoran dollars per s/f. RenuKrete is also particularly well-suited to decking areas where low maintenance is a prime requirement of management. 

Tenants impressed. Prospects intrigued. One of the key benefits of the new decks is the increased appeal they hold for tenants and those seeking apartments. According to Cynthia Buckley, who is the director of sales and marketing for Corcoran, the revived pool decks have enhanced their residents’ experiences and improved the marketability of the properties where decks have already been restored. “Leasing agents now make the pool area a focal point of their tours where they are proud to show off what we have to offer,” Buckley said.

Corcoran said, “RenuKrete helped to make our pool decks a focal point of outdoor activities. And they did it in a cost-effective manner. We immediately updated our website with new photography.”

 Before and after photographs show the stark differences. RenuKrete’s ECF reveals concrete’s true decorative possibilities by using cutting-edge technology, skill and craftsmanship to sculpt a distinctive natural stone installation design right into the existing concrete. In addition, RenuKrete’s carbon imprint is also less when compared to the carbon output and emissions that are inherent is demolishing a concrete deck, hauling it away, and replacing it with a new one. 

Residents have noticed and appreciate the improvement to the properties. “When you compare the old deck to the new one, it’s hard to believe that it was created from the concrete that was already here. It was showing its age but now it looks great,” said one resident of the Corcoran property in Weymouth. 

“Needless to say, our management is thrilled to have a cost-effective solution that can restore the appearance and integrity of our old decks,” Corcoran said. “RenuKrete’s benefits have exceeded our high expectations.”

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