Kitchen remodelers turn to concrete creator

By J.N. SBRANTI
Friday, January 26, 2007

Beautiful concrete.

That's what Mat Rogers makes in his studio.

He converts concrete, a mundane building material, into custom creations that grace mansions, corporate headquarters and commercial buildings.

Colorful counters and vanities, dramatic fireplaces and fountains, tubs, sinks, showers and more are molded by hand at Flying Turtle Cast Concrete.

Rogers can produce them in countless colors and infinite shapes.

"People don't even know it's concrete when they see our product," said Rogers. "They fall in love with the soft, shimmering look of it. It has these kind of smoky lights and darks."

It's smooth, too, unlike common concrete sidewalks and driveways.

"Clients are always amazed when they touch his pieces. They're as smooth as granite," said designer Chris Johnson, who has hired Rogers for dozens of projects during the last decade.

Beyond their look and feel, Johnson said Rogers' work is popular with designers because he can cast concrete in any shape, size and color.

"I can give him a piece of fabric, and he can match the color exactly," Johnson said. "He's done some amazing colors, like hot pink."

His shop is finishing a large counter for IBM in that company's famous shade of blue. Rogers has done chocolate brown pedestal sinks, copper-colored kitchen counters and light green fireplaces, too.

"He's pouring a red table for us right now," said Chris Reed, a Modesto designer who began using Rogers in the late '90s for work in one of her own homes. "He's a true artist."

Rogers said he uses 80 standard colors, then mixes them to create custom colors.

Each piece can be given a unique look by embedding items or designs in the concrete. Rogers said he's mixed in pieces of glass, coins and even computer chips to suit clients' tastes.

Reed recalled one job in which Rogers embedded glass hearts in the vanity for a little girl's bathroom.

Recently, he placed small fossilized shells in a fireplace that will be installed in a house. He also is working on a bathroom vanity containing a white leafy design to match a wallpaper pattern.

Unlike granite, which is limited in how much it can be shaped, Rogers said concrete can be cast in any form. A concrete counter, for instance, can curve seamlessly around a wall, over a rim and down to form a basin.

"We can cast it with a thick edge to give it a substantial look," Rogers said. "But it's not really as heavy as it looks."

That's because his casting technique uses bottom glass fiber-reinforced concrete, which enables it to be strong without being thick.

After picking a design, Rogers' seven-member crew must make the mold, mix the color and cast the concrete. Then they fill, sand and polish it. They must let it cure 2 1/2 weeks, coat it with a finishing process, and then let it cure some more.

"It's a lot of time and work," Rogers said. "You have to have skilled craftsmen, a lot of equipment, and you have to know the materials well."

To create and install one of his typical bathroom vanities, Rogers charges about $2,500.

"Our counters would be very similar to what a high-end granite would cost," Rogers said.