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WANTED: The Best Cambridge Pavingstones Projects From Professional Pavingstone Contractors For Upcoming Multi-Media Cambridge Marketing
Keeping In Touch
Higher Learning: Tricks Of The Trade When Installing Cambridge 8 in. And 12 in. Bullnose As Pool Coping
One Tool At A TIME
A World Of Products And Tools
For Our Distributor: Time For A Product Knowledge Refresher?
WANTED: The Best Cambridge Pavingstones Projects  From Professional Pavingstone Contractors
For Upcoming Multi-Media Cambridge Marketing
Cambridge is proud of our many partnerships with professional pavingstone contractors. We are currently looking for outstanding patios, pool decks, driveways and other applications of Cambridge Pavingstones by Cambridge installers. If selected, projects will be professionally photographed and featured in various marketing campaigns. At no cost, a contractor’s project may be seen on television, in magazine advertising, in our newsletter, and on our Web site. There is no limit to the number of projects a contractor can submit for consideration.
Our Powerful Marketing Material Becomes A Contractor’s Sales Aid Too!
Contractors can show potential customers that Cambridge specially selected their company because their creativity and workmanship are among the best examples of interlocking pavement systems and landscaping design. They can join the ranks of other professional installers who have already benefited from having their projects used in the latest campaigns and marketing material (see comments from contractors on this page). If their projects have been previously chosen, contractors are urged to submit new ones.
If a contractor’s project is also selected to appear in the next edition of the Design Idea Book, our Cambridge brochure, they will receive our “Best From The Best” Certificate at a special Cambridge Dinner Cruise Around Manhattan event this fall! Distributors who sold the Cambridge Pavingstones used in a selected project will also be invited!
How To Submit A Project
For Consideration
Contractors should provide a few snapshots of each project along with: 1) their name, company name, address and phone number, 2) all of the shapes and colors used, 3) their customer’s name (the homeowner) and the location of the project, and 4) the name of the Cambridge Distributor who sold the Cambridge Pavingstones. Contractors should bring entry information to the Cambridge Distributor. As submitted, distributors are asked to give entries to their Cambridge Sales Specialist. Final entries should be submitted no later than September 15, 2004.
Comments From Our Contractor Partners
“Thanks to having many of my projects featured, the Cambridge Design Idea Book has become my company’s portfolio.”
— Bill Renter, The Deck & Patio Company, Huntington Station, NY
“Customers feel more confident in us when they see our work published in literature from a leading manufacturer such as Cambridge.”
— Tony Giliberti, Spring Garden Landscape Design & Construction, Nutley, NJ
“Having photographs of our projects in the Cambridge Design Idea Book has given me tremendous credibility.”
— Denny Wiggers, Denny Wiggers Landscaping, Paramus, NJ
“The Cambridge Design Idea Book is with me on every sales call. I’ve placed a label with my company name on pages showing our projects.”
— Alex DaSilva, Italia Pavers Inc., Mount Vernon, NY
“It is a great honor to have my work featured in the Cambridge Design Idea Book. I feel that my customers have gained added confidence knowing that we only use quality pavingstones from Cambridge,”
— Harold Glissen, Glissen Landscaping LLC, Matawan, NJ (top)
| Keeping |
| In Touch |
 By Charles H. Gamarekian
Chairman/CEO
Cambridge Pavers Inc.
Many years ago when the large home centers began impacting the building materials market, many Cambridge Distributors came to me asking for ideas on how to compete. I proposed then what I propose now: the best way to compete with the mass retailers is to merchandise products in similar fashion…but add your own competitive edge. The retail giants spend mega-marketing dollars to create a perception that their prices are lower and their customer service is higher. I am quite sure that your price points are equally competitive and your service is even better because of your knowledge and personal attention to customer needs. Is that big home center willing to arrange a no-cost visit to a job site or spend extra time with a customer selecting a shape and color? A Cambridge Distributor will.
In the last edition of News & Views, I reported the results of an independent survey listing the factors that contractors consider important when choosing one supply source over another. Would you have thought that a knowledgeable sales staff and product availability actually ranked higher than competitive pricing?
Why not merchandise pavers the way you do other material such as bags of cement and decorative stone, bricks, retaining walls, etc.? Big home centers break down cubes of pavers and sell by the band… and even by the piece! They keep open pallets visible and accessible and extol value pricing with high-impact promotional signs. You can do this too.
Home centers send a message that they are willing to cater to contractors. Opened pallets of Cambridge Pavingstones shapes and colors will show your contractor-customers that you are sensitive to their needs. Availability, not just attractive price points, moves product.
By nature of their size, it is difficult for big retail chains to maintain a high level of service. Leverage the advantage of being a small business by keeping your customer service consistent. Over time, your customers will appreciate your efforts and management style.
When a customer calls for the first time, you may be asked: “How much do your pavers cost?” Knowing that home centers often sell by the piece, a good response would be: “Well, our Cambridge Holland and Cobble Pavingstones are a great value at (give your lowest per piece price).” Offer some interest in the customer’s project by adding: “Just what kind of project are you doing? Is it a patio, driveway or walkway? And by the way, are you planning to do the installation yourself or hire a contractor? I can give you a free installation CD or I can refer you to some excellent professionals who know how to properly install your Cambridge Pavingstones.”
Offer as much information and advice as you can to bolster customer confidence in you versus an inexperienced and uninterested retail associate who answers the phone at a home center. “Tell the customer about the benefits of using correct edging from Pave Tech and some of the finishing touches that you sell such as Paver Lights and Cambridge ColorSweep Pigmented Joint Sand to make their project really unique. This is a way to up sell and give more reasons to stop at your store. Don’t forget to talk about your idea-provoking outdoor displays, too.
Touting the value-added advantage of ArmorTec will also help win a customer who has been looking around at other brands.
When advertising to the homeowner, feature popular shapes by the piece and talk about in-stock availability. Two powerful co-op ads are available to you in your co-op package — ready for insertion in your local newspapers. Ad No. ADV-008 offers homeowners Cambridge Pavingstones by the sq. ft. while also introducing an affordable budget for a 100 sq. ft. patio. Ad No. ADV-009 advertises two of the most popular paver shapes — 4 x 8 Holland and Cobble — by the piece.
 
With the ArmorTec value-added advantage — “They’ll look like new forever.” — added to the proposition, your ad will have a distinct competitive edge! When was the last time that you ran these ads for your store? (top) |
| Higher Learning |
| at the Cambridge Campus |
Tricks Of The Trade When Installing Cambridge 8 in. And 12 in. Bullnose As Pool Coping
As you can see by the many pool patios in our 44-page Design Idea Book, Cambridge Pavingstones are gaining ground as a viable and creative alternative to more traditional poolside pavements. To many, pool coping also made of pavers adds the finishing touch to a pool patio design. Needless to say, proper installation is no less important than visual appeal. With this in mind, I would like to share with you some tips that I have gathered from professional pavingstone contractors whose workmanship I greatly admire.
Types Of Cambridge Pavingstones Ideal For Pool Coping
12 in. Bullnose with ArmorTec from The Crusader Collection in Salmon. |
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The most popular shape that Cambridge offers for pool coping is Bullnose. Its rounded
(bull-nosed) front edge and straight sides without built-in spacer bars make Bullnose the best choice. An indentation referred to as a frog at the bottom of one side of the paver allows the adhesive material to seep in for better adhesion.
Cambridge Bullnose is available with ArmorTec in 8” and 12” lengths. A new 8 in. Bullnose has recently been introduced in our Renaissance Collection with EuroTec to complement tumbled/distressed pavers on an abutting patio area. Cambridge Renaissance 6 x 9 Pavingstones are also a popular choice for coping (see page 13 of the Cambridge Design Idea Book). Please refer to our 2004 Product Line Specifications for color availability on shapes and other details.
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A serpentine design of Cambridge 12 in. Bullnose in Chestnut/Salmon. |
Tips On Preparation And Adhesion
Most pools are “coping-ready” once constructed or installed. Vinyl-lined pools usually have an aluminum track on a concrete beam while steel-walled pools have a 4” steel flange. The Cambridge Pavingstones are adhered to these surfaces.
 For steel-walled pools, lay a concrete footing under the steel flange around the edge of the pool for extra strength.
To prevent settling around Gunite and other in-ground pools, pour a 4” thick slab, 12”- 18” wide, over geotextile in place of a quarry process base.
As an alternative to mortar as an adhesive, use a paste made of Portland and Acryl 60 latex additive from your masonry supplier and brush onto the pavers. Place the pavers paste side down on thin set mortar mix that has been applied to a concrete slab around the pool.
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| Tightly fit Cambridge 8 in. Bullnose from the Renaissance Collection in Onyx/Natural |
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| Cambridge 8 in. Bullnose back to back with 12 in. Bullnose at corners in Salmon. |
A galvanized wire mesh is sometimes used over the bond beam and some of the quarry process base material for better fusion of the mortar to the pavers.
Also consider fast setting PAVE TECH Type 2 Adhesive from your Authorized
Cambridge Distributor.
Tips On Placing The Pavers
Select a desired finished look — a tight fit or with open joints for grouting cement.
For pool safety, overhangs are mandated by all local building codes. Check ahead.
Pavers should be cut into pie shapes to accommodate curves in the pool’s configuration. Avoid filling joints with small slivers of cut pavers.
Consider using a dark grout mortar which may blend more suitably with the colors of the pavers and avoid the look of “candy striping” along the pool edge. (top)
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| One Tool |
| At A Time |
First in a series on the benefits of using proper tools when installing Cambridge Pavingstones.
The Probst PaverCART
After talking with many of our contractor-customers, I discovered that contractors have a love/hate relationship with the PaverCART — some grimaced at the mention of it while others offered a smile of approval. For those of you who have resisted buying a PaverCART, consider this major benefit: Efficient production techniques equate to a bigger bottom line.
With this important goal in mind, let us start by better understanding what our forefathers, paver installers in Europe, have learned through trial and error. Without compromising quality, they looked for the easiest ways to complete the installation process at every stage. It is my belief that using a PaverCART is the ideal starting point for today’s contractors. Here’s why:
 Since time is money, why not handle material as little as possible? Without a PaverCART at the job site, each paver can be handled as many as seven times (at 540 Cambridge 4 x 8 Holland Pavingstones per cube, you do the math). Using a wheelbarrow, as many as three trips may be necessary to transport every band of pavers to the laying face. Also, consider that the metal strapping must be cut, the wheelbarrow loaded by hand and wheeled over and then the pavingstones have to be re-stacked. Of course, the worker laying the pavers will handle them one more time. Are you counting?
With a PaverCART, transporting the same band can be accomplished in one fell swoop… without handling a single paver. Yes, learning to use a PaverCART takes practice but once mastered, you will realize a bigger bottom line… guaranteed! For more details, ask your Cambridge Sales Specialist or Authorized Cambridge Distributor. (top)
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| A World Of |
| Products & Tools |
Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement — A Best Management Practice (BMP)
Urbanization brings an increasing concentration of pavements, buildings and other impervious surfaces that cause additional runoff and pollutants during rainstorms. Infiltration trenches have been used for decades as a means to reduce storm water runoff and pollution, and also to recharge groundwater. Experience has demonstrated that they work successfully when runoff is filtered prior to entering the pavement. Permeable interlocking pavements made of specific Cambridge Pavingstones shapes can serve well as infiltration trenches with pavement over them to support pedestrians and vehicles. These permeable interlocking pavements are aesthetically better. They improve environmental quality and reduce micro-climactic temperatures while annunciating vehicular and pedestrian circulation and softening harsh visual transitions between building walls and the ground. The pavement actually conserves real estate because parking, storm water infiltration and retention are combined. The most recognized of these are pavements of Cambridge Turfstone.
Think Cambridge Cobble III Pavingstones
 Typically in impervious pavements, Cobble III — an aesthetically appealing 8-sided paver with ArmorTec — is used in conjunction with Cambridge 4 x 4 to form a pattern. However, by omitting the 4 x 4 paver in the laying pattern, Cobble III can provide a cost-effective solution for permeable pavements (see photo). Voids left are filled with 3/8” coarse gravel. Water will filter through the openings without compromising the integrity of the interlocking system. To create small openings, align the 3 7/8” sides together. For larger openings, align the 1 5/8” sides.
Applications include low-speed roads, parking lots/bays, driveways, overflow parking, access and emergency lanes, revetments, boat ramps, bike paths, sidewalks and pedestrian areas.(top) |
| For Our Distributors: |
| Counter Intelligence |
Time For A Product Knowledge Refresher?
 By Dick Gillmore,
Cambridge Sales Specialist
Competition is getting tougher. Merchandise categories are broadening. Product lines are getting deeper. Selling seasons seem to pass quicker and quicker. And help is turning over. Sound familiar?
Because of these circumstances, it is easy to slip into a condition called “Order Taker Syndrome”. Symptoms occur when your counter and customer service team simply focus on processing the order rather than providing the additional product information that could separate your company from  the competition… At Cambridge Center, we offer a Product Knowledge Refresher as preventative medicine for “Order Taker Syndrome”. Your Cambridge Sales Specialist will conduct an interactive Product Knowledge session at your place of business (after hours if you wish) with your essential management, counter sales and customer service personnel. The session is comprised of a comprehensive, interactive PowerPoint presentation as well as valuable information on the proper installation in various applications. Samples of various Cambridge Products will also be on hand.
To arrange your personal Rx, contact your Cambridge Sales Specialist today. (top) |
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