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Adventures in concrete
Bill Stokes demonstrates a custom decorative concrete coloring technique.
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wner Bill Stokes, Increte of Houston and S Concrete, was brought up with great discipline. His father was an Air Force Senior Master Sergeant. While his father was deployed in Hawaii, Stokes began working at his first real job. “I drove a three-wheel Cushman to sell ice cream on the beach for an ice cream business,” Stokes said. “We lived on the North Shore of Hawaii for five years. “Selling ice cream on the beach was not a bad gig. I packed the ice cream trucks and ate all the free ice cream I wanted.” After spending his college days at
Sam Houston State University, Stokes met his wife Barbara and they moved to Houston in the early ‘80s. He started S Concrete, a full-service concrete company in 1982. S Concrete provides turnkey concrete solutions to both residential and commercial customers. “In 2005, I expanded the business to include decorative concrete and other construction services,” Stokes said. “Increte of Houston was born out of the demand our customers expressed for us to bring additional options to them.” Increte of Houston specializes in the installation of decorative driveways, pool decks, patios, pergolas, shingled patio continued on Page 13
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Volume 13
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Number 3
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MARCH 2015
A miller’s skill
Montalbano Lumber president Michael Montalbano at the Houston Avenue yard.
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ontalbano Lumber reaches its 115th year in business in 2015. The family-owned and operated company is the oldest lumber retailer in Houston. The company prides itself on keeping the family business, well, in the family. “Being family-owned and operated just makes this company much more personal to us,” said Joseph Montalbano, the company’s director of administration and great-grandson to founder, Francesco Montalbano. “You just tend to take care of folks in the way you would like to be treated. A lot of our customers and employees have been with us for many years and they are like an extended family to us.”
The company’s history begins in the last decade of the 19th century when young Montalbano’s great-grandfather Francesco left his native Italy in search of a better life in America - the land of opportunity. In Italy, Francesco had worked in a flour mill and was hoping to continue his trade in the United States. As he went through the immigration process in New Orleans, Francesco was asked about his previous work experience. “My great-grandfather’s English was very limited, so someone told him to reply “mill” in response to the immigration officer’s question,” Montalbano said. “The officer assumed he meant a lumber mill and directed the young immigrant to continued on Page 12
Bank on it
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orking on the recognized historical site of “Old Harrisburg,” Teal Construction Co. completed the Frost Bank Harrisburg location in 30 months. The owner is Front Bank. Project manager Mark Baumguard says the 1,675sf ground up construction project consisted of a bank building with a lobby, teller work area, office spaces and a three-lane drive area. “The Frost Bank Harrisburg location project was unique for many reasons,” Baumguard said. “It is one of the main resources for the Frost Bank Houston location with all daily transactions being accounted for here.“ The original bank building had to be kept open until an adjacent building could be renovated to accommodate the operations of the bank. Baumguard says logistic and site specific safety plans were required to ensure that the construction area and tasks
were not conflicting with the day-to-day operations of the bank. “Once the operations could be moved into the renovated building we were able to start construction on the new facility, which began with demolishing the existing building,” he said. “Heavy remediation had to be completed in the existing building prior to the demolition. “With due diligence done in the beginning stages of the project and a seasoned superintendent, we were able to overcome any obstacle in our path while keeping all associated parties and stakeholders abreast on the construction tasks.” The exterior primary construction materials included limestone veneer, stucco, aluminum storefront and Alucobond metal panels. The interior of the The Frost Bank Harrisburg location
continued on Page 13