ACE Concrete has been handling all of our concrete work over the last few years! Armen and his crew have been out on many of our projects to do sidewalk blocks, curbs, driveway aprons, staircases, patios, and shed pads. Scheduling concrete work can be tricky due to weather, but ACE Concrete always comes through to provide beautiful work and make sure we deliver our projects on time!
ACE has officially been in business for a little over 2 years now and they’ve really niched down on concrete flat work as their specialty. Armen started out his career as a general laborer and has been a concrete finisher for 6 years now ever since an especially hot day in 2018. “I was working as a laborer and got put on a concrete crew. We had an extremely hot July day and the concrete started to get hard fast. The foreman was scared that the job was going to get away from them, so they quickly set me up with some hand tools and gave me brief instructions. I got down and started working. To everyone’s surprise, I was doing pretty well for my first time. Word got back that I helped the guys get out of a jam and they started teaching me more. I kept putting the work in and they made me a concrete finisher by the end of that season.”
A concrete job done by ACE Concrete is a job done right. They take their prep work seriously, they use a quality concrete mix, and they take great pride in the finished product. What Armen enjoys the most about his work is the art of it. He loves doing decorative finishes for his client’s patios and walkways. “It’s like painting a picture to me.”
Armen suggests that if you are looking to get concrete work done that you choose a concrete contractor that you can trust. “Give the contractor an idea of what you want and let the professional be a professional. Take suggestions and try to be flexible. There are things that you ‘can‘ do with concrete, but that doesn’t always mean that it is a good idea. You definitely don’t want to use a contractor that will just say yes and give you exactly what you asked for even if that means that the work will fail quickly.”
Have you ever accidentally stepped in wet concrete? I know I have. The guys at ACE get to see it all the time… “One of the funniest things I’ve seen on the job is one day we were doing an entire street corner in South Philly. We just finished the job up, it was Friday, and everyone was feeling good. The job was completely barricaded off with the exception of a 1.5-foot section. Needless to say, someone on an electric bike went right through that opening and rode through nearly 15 feet of freshly finished concrete. When he realized there was nowhere to go, he just stopped and fell over. The rider was horrified. He picked up his bike, walked away, and we were left with concrete that had tire marks in it as well as his body print. We got the tools out and got back to work. We still joke about that.”
Armen’s biggest inspiration is his dad. “Growing up he always worked hard to provide for us. Today, it’s my duty to do that for my daughter and my fiancée.” When he’s not working, Armen enjoys watching the Flyers, spending quality time with his family, and cooking.
Contact Information: Armen Elia, Owner
610-570-4707
