Walk us through your story.
Billy has been working with epoxy coatings since the age of 18, doing both large and small residential and commercial projects in and around Boston, and ever since 2004, as a business owner. Dominique joined his 20-person crew in 2017, shortly after marrying and having their first child together. While neither of them were strangers to the values of perseverance and hard work in their personal and professional lives, they shared a new mission, which was to convey these values, among others, to their (now three) young children.
Clear communication, long hours, painstaking attention to a budget and their love for one another has helped them to model a healthy work-life balance; spending quality family-time and breaking bread together has always been a top priority, even if it meant working weekends and leaving home at 4:00am.
However, at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, their quality of life required reexamination. Despite their joint efforts to that point, they realized that their freedoms, quality of life, and success were limited. Just one year later, they uprooted their family to Saint Augustine, where freedom and opportunity abounded - and not to mention the beautiful beaches and sunshine to boot!
Has it been a smooth road?
While most people we know ask how we can survive the heat and humidity of Florida’s summer, it has yet to be a problem. In fact, Billy argues that it is much better to sweat than to cope with the seized engines and freezing limbs common to a cold winter’s day in Boston. Our family loves the heat and we love Saint Augustine, in part, for that reason.
However, our business has not been without problems and challenges! For instance, in 2021, shortly after moving to St. Augustine, concrete supplies were critically low, and the cost of materials was incredibly high. Budgeting and bidding became a challenge, and even more difficult was networking in this new environment, with three young children.
In the beginning, both of us were terribly unfamiliar with the tech-heavy nature of social networking and digital marketing. After all, Billy had successfully grown his network and client-base up north “the old-fashioned way,” and Dominique was familiar with books, chalkboards, and her podium at the university, where she taught philosophy. As such, neither of us were shy about engaging in face-to-face interactions, presentations, or talks, but “getting out there” in a digital world proved more challenging than we anticipated!
What do you like best & least about our city?
We love Saint Augustine for so many reasons. For starters, we love that it is named after Saint Augustine, as the name helps to recall the city’s rich history and European flare. We fell in love with the city after walking down the cobblestone-paved streets, beneath the mossy live oak-tree canopy, off St. George St. The quaint shops and narrow streets reminded us of Strasbourg France, where Dominique lived for some time before marrying Billy. Not to mention our love for the “Nights of Lights,” festivities which certainly rivals the Christmas displays of Strasbourg France, which is labeled the “Christmas Capital” of the world. Perhaps most of all, we love the pristine beaches and endless summer sunshine in Saint Augustine, as the weather encourages a healthier “outdoor-focused” lifestyle, which we all enjoy. That being said, we do wish there were more off-road commuter-friendly bike lanes and walking paths in the region. That we live ½ a mile to Publix, but happen to drive there by car is plain silly. Though several attempts were made to keep three kids in tow, by bicycle, along the back streets in St. Augustine, the car traffic and congestion made it unsafe…the traffic is getting worse by day, and parking spots are more difficult to find! If only we could bicycle to the store, and to school…this would be ideal !
We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
We are a small, family-run business whose primary service is concrete coating installation; our specialty is pool deck coatings, (although we do coat concrete driveways, garage floors, patios and walkways as well), and our products involve top-of-the-line, polyurea and polyaspartic materials.
While a Concrete Coatings Company in St. Augustine might apply epoxy coatings, our products have been shown to be more durable, 4x stronger and more flexible than epoxy alternatives, which are known to fail in outdoor settings. Unlike those epoxy alternatives, our materials are antimicrobial, slip-resistant and chip-proof, peel-proof and fade-proof, with UV-stable properties. They come in a variety of colors and textures, and our commitment to quality and client satisfaction means that we walk our clients through every decision and question during (free) face-face consultation, with real-time samples, honest answers and on-the-spot verbal quotations.
We believe that the service industry is failing to provide quality services and products to the people, and we are proud to separate ourselves from that trend. We understand that individuals and families are paying the penalty for poor service, inexperience, inattention to detail - in all service sectors. Yet, instead of succumbing to subpar service and cheap products, we are proud to take part in a trend of excellence. High class, up scale solutions.
We refuse to make empty promises, like “one day installations,” and “lifetime guaranteed products.” “Quick and fast” should be a thing of the past, especially when dealing with peoples’ homes and businesses. Unlike many concrete coating companies out there, we don’t rush our projects, and we stand behind our service and product, with knowledge, understanding and respect. Every pool deck, driveway, garage floor and patio we treat as our own, and with great care. We recognize the importance of pool decks and patios as intimately shared spaces for both personal enjoyment and for entertaining; after all, what other floor in your home will you be sitting on, in “barely” to literally no clothing? It’s a space that needs pristine attention, hence the name of our company, Pristine Pool Decks.
To ensure a “quality first” approach at Pristine Pool Decks, our installers have been through a rigorous vetting and training process, which is unlike other companies’ installers, whose only requirement is a driver’s license and access to a truck. In addition, Billy is a certifiable concrete wizard; beyond handling concrete in all weather conditions, for projects both large and small, he has been in business long enough to see the long-term impact and positive effect of doing things right. As such, he is able to determine when, how, and why others have done things the “fast and easy” way, and is can explain why cracks, shifts, heaving and settling occurs in concrete, drawing from his 20+ years of knowledge and experience in the field of concrete-installation as well as concrete coatings. When problems arise, honesty is key and that’s what we value. As such, we offer a maintenance package that no other coatings company has yet to offer. Beyond warranties, we extend our service to a monthly follow-up, over 5 to 10 year periods. For a small monthly fee, our clients can call upon Pristine Pool Decks for inspection, follow-up and detail work as needed.
In closing, choosing a company to do business with is not about which company has the best advertising or gimmicky sales pitches; it's about the people in the company: who they are, and what they stand for. Pristine Pool Decks is a Concrete Coatings Company in St. Augustine that won't disappoint.
Who are 3 local entrepreneurs or professionals that you know and admire?
Lindsay Morris, from Rain River Learning Center in Saint Augustine
Wallis Brooks, from Saint John’s Academy in Saint Augustine
Matt & Jill McCloghry from Colonial Church in Saint Augustine
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