Made-in-Sudbury products are television stars thanks to HGTV and Mike Holmes. Rosetta by Brown’s – Outcropping Retaining Wall, and Brown’s North Face Retaining Wall were featured on Holmes & Holmes Nov. 4
“The show is seen in 80 countries,” says Brown’s Concrete Products’ Nick Lang. Episodes can be viewed at hgtv.ca/shows/holmes-and-holmes/.
“Holmes and Charate Building were introduced to Brown’s products by Stone Edge Landscaping and supplier Rigney Building Supplies, which are located in Kingston.
“Holmes really liked the outcropping and they wanted me to do a presentation,” says Lang. “They wanted a three-foot wall and wanted to know if the product can do what they wanted it to do for the River House project in the Thousand Islands. And it can.
“We started the process and through the 2017 season they used two or three tractor truckloads of the outcropping…and this year they used the North Face Retaining Wall along the property line which is a wall which is three feet high by 200 feet long.
“The wall has aesthetics, it has some function purposes, and it allows the owner of the property, which is a marina/residence, to have more functional space. It upped the aesthetic appeal of the entire neighbourhood along the St. Lawrence.”
Large scale precast modular outcropping and retaining wall can be installed very quickly compared to natural stone. The largest portion of the savings comes with the installation time.
“Most of the projects we do with these products are residential, a waterfront project because people want to level out the backyard, or just accents down a driveway. We also use it for raised patios…it changes the entire look of the backyard is transformed.”
Rosetta by Brown’s Outcropping Retaining Wall combines the subtlety of natural weathered outcropping stone with the installation efficiency and engineered security of interlocking dimensional concrete blocks.
Each stone is made of architectural grade, pre-cast concrete of the finest quality, so its integrity will not be compromised by weather's unpredictable elements.
People would be surprised to learn: Brown's Concrete was originally established in Sudbury in 1907 by David L. Brown (aka "The Cement King"). He was the first manufacturer of concrete products in the area. In 1958, Johannes Herold and Taisto Eilomaa acquired the company. Three generations of the Herold family are now involved in operating Brown's Concrete.