It all started with a phone call. Jon Brenton, owner of Kingston-based JB Concrete Construction, saw that longtime client Scott Allen, a principal of star Seattle architects Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen, was calling. Probably wanted Jon to take a look at a new project in Kitsap County.
He was half right. Allen wanted Brenton to take a look at doing a new project all right.
In Hong Kong. China. Way out of JB Concrete’s normal territory, which does not extend much past Bainbridge Island.
Brenton, working with concrete since he was 17, has a reputation for quality work and straight talk business that has made him the go-to concrete guy for top Seattle area builders and architects, including Fairbank Construction and Allen’s firm.
“I was stunned when Scott asked if I would be interested in taking a look at a project in Hong Kong.” said Brenton.
“He told me it was a big house in the mountains above the city, the project included about 11,000 square feet of decorative colored and stamped concrete using a technique called seeded concrete, which is difficult to get right if you don’t know what you are doing.”
Allen asked Brenton if he was interested, and told him the owner wanted Brenton to come take a look all expenses paid.
Brenton was a little hesitant, then replied “I’ll take a shot at it.”
Jon Brenton’s shot got a rapid-fire response. Business class e-tickets were booked within two hours. Two days later Brenton found himself in Hong Kong.
“I called Jon because the owner did not want to take a chance that the driveway and decks would have to be torn up and redone if something went wrong,” said Allen, who has since left Olson Sundberg and now works from his Bainbridge Island studio. “The construction community in Hong Kong is geared to building urban highrises, not single family residences for owners who want every detail to be perfect.”
Brenton spent four days checking out the scope of the hilltop house with panoramic views of Hong Kong and the ocean. The owner’s instructions were concise and to the point. Everything had to be the best. Consistent, crisp, clean. No room for error.
The job would be to produce a seamless Belgium slate concrete hardscape stairs, driveway, guest parking, auto courtyard.
Back home in Kingston, Brenton assembled his select six-man team. Some of his team had never traveled out of the US and had to get their passports. Then it was back to Hong Kong, everyone in business class.
“We had to take almost everything we needed with us,” said Brenton. “Tools, special colorants and chemicals, everything.
“The Chinese are great craftsmen, but they were not familiar with the special techniques required to make seeded concrete turn out right the first time. The process involves maintaining tight control over set time and seeding the surface with aggregate at just the right time. They were great to work with, and caught on quickly. We left half of our tool packs behind.”
The biggest challenge faced by Brenton and his crack concrete team was the lack of rental equipment facilities.
“There is no rental or lease market for construction equipment and we could not get a heavy concrete pump to place the mix from the trucks to the site,” Brenton explained.
“All 11,000 square feet, err… 1,000 square meters, were taken from the mix trucks by wheelbarrow and placed by hand. Plus the mix trucks were antiquated and only had one little chute. I did not know this until I got there with the team. I told the general contractor we needed three guys with wheelbarrows right now.”
Quality control for the special mix designs was another challenge Brenton had to overcome.
“The mix formula for concrete for decorative stamp design is very different from the mix for regular concrete that’s used for footings and floors, “Brenton said.
“The first time I ordered concrete I went through the general contractor. The next time I took a 45-minute taxi ride to the plant and did the math, weights, and measures for the stamp mix on the way. Then I watched them make the mix, put it into the truck and followed the truck on its hour trip back to the site.”
Another challenge for Team Brenton was the set times for the concrete.
“In the States we use chemical retardants to slow the mix down so we have time to work with it once it’s poured.” Brenton said. “Those chemicals are not available over there. The way they solve the set time problem is to mix ice into the batch. Every morning, we waited for dump truck filled with ice to show up. It worked.”
JB Concrete’s Hong Kong adventure was not all work and no play.
“The owner was great. He put us up in one of the best hotels in Hong Kong,” Brenton recalled. “Every day when we were done, there was a driver with a new minivan waiting for us. He made sure his seats were covered with cloth protectors after the first day. Plus, he would always have ice-cold beer for the ride home.
“We got to see a lot of Hong Kong. And the food was incredible. Some of the guys were not so keen on eating what they saw in the live tanks in the markets, but we all had a great time and made new friends. The owner showed his appreciation when we were done by taking all of us out to the best restaurant in Hong Kong.”
The owner’s insistence on the best, from architectural design to concrete construction techniques, paid off.
Architectural Digest Magazine named the Hong Kong residence designed by Olson Sundberg as one of its Exotic Homes in the August 2009 issue of the magazine. They did not mention JB Concrete, but Jon Brenton and his team know their work played an important part in the project.
More photos of Jon Brenton’s excellent Hong Kong Adventure can be seen at www.jbconcreteconstruction.com. Scott Allen can be found at www.scottallenarchitecture.com.
