Building a great skatepark requires more than placing concrete and getting it smooth. Every transition, radius, edge and surface has to be carefully shaped and finished to create the experience riders expect.
That level of craftsmanship takes time—and conditions don’t always cooperate.
A Local Opportunity to Put Stage 1 to the Test
The relationship between Nox-Crete and Hunger Skateparks started close to home in May 2025.
Hunger Skateparks was working on a skatepark project in Omaha, Nebraska, not far from Nox-Crete’s headquarters. Around the same time, Nox-Crete had recently developed Stage 1®, a concrete finishing aid and evaporation reducer designed to help finishers maintain surface workability and control throughout the finishing process.
Seeing the detailed concrete work taking place on the project, the Nox-Crete team recognized an opportunity to put Stage 1 in the hands of skilled craftsmen who understand just how important finishing time can be. We introduced the product to the Hunger Skateparks crew and invited them to put it to the test on the fresh concrete they were placing and finishing.
Skatepark construction proved to be a natural fit for Stage 1.
Skatepark builders spend a tremendous amount of time working fresh concrete, often shaping and finishing complex transitions, curves and details by hand. It’s specialized work that requires experience, timing and a feel for the concrete. When the surface begins drying faster than the concrete underneath—or a section simply starts getting away from the crew—having additional working time can make a meaningful difference.
That’s exactly where Stage 1 comes in.
More Time and Control When Finishing Gets Difficult
Stage 1 is a non-film-forming, colloidal silica-based finishing aid and evaporation reducer. Applied throughout the floating and troweling process, it helps reduce rapid surface moisture loss while maintaining workability and lubrication.
That lubrication is particularly useful for the detailed finishing involved in skatepark construction. As concrete begins to tighten up, Stage 1 helps reduce drag between the finishing tools and the concrete surface, making it easier to continue shaping, refining and finishing transitions and other intricate areas without introducing additional water to the mix.
For a skatepark builder, that means more control when working surfaces where small imperfections can ultimately be felt by the rider.
Depending on concrete and jobsite conditions, Stage 1 can provide up to 45 additional minutes of finishing time. It can be applied as conditions require throughout the finishing process, helping crews keep working when sun, wind, heat and low humidity begin pulling moisture from the surface.
More Than Additional Finishing Time
Stage 1 isn’t simply about keeping the surface workable longer.
Its chemically reactive colloidal silica works with the concrete near the surface to help densify and strengthen the finished cap while promoting proper surface hydration for maximum strength properties. In simpler terms, Stage 1 helps the concrete surface develop the strength and durability needed to perform.
For concrete skatepark elements that will experience repeated daily use from skateboards, bikes and other wheeled sports, surface performance matters.
Stage 1 also helps reduce surface crazing and efflorescence while improving the strength and abrasion resistance of the finished concrete surface.
Another Tool for Today’s Type 1L Concrete
The transition toward Type 1L cement-containing concrete mixes has also changed the finishing conversation.
Modern mixes can behave differently than the concrete finishers have worked with for years. Reduced bleed water and changing surface characteristics can make finishing more time-sensitive, particularly when environmental conditions accelerate evaporation.
For specialized crews like Hunger Skateparks, keeping Stage 1 nearby provides another tool for responding when conditions begin working against them.
It’s there when the wind picks up.
It’s there when temperatures climb.
And it’s there when a section starts tightening faster than expected and the crew needs additional time and lubrication to get the surface where they want it.
Building Concrete for the Next Generation of Riders
Based in Indiana, Hunger Skateparks is a skateboarder-owned and operated company specializing in concrete skatepark design and construction. From their home in the Midwest, their team works with communities throughout the United States—and occasionally overseas—to create skateparks built around the people who will use them.
Behind every one of those parks are skilled craftsmen shaping and finishing concrete surfaces that have to look right, perform right and stand up to years of use. Their craftsmanship helps turn a community’s investment into a lasting space for recreation, progression and connection.
Nox-Crete is proud that Stage 1 has become another tool their crew can turn to when finishing conditions get difficult.
If your community is considering a new skatepark, rehabilitation or expansion project, visit Hunger Skateparks to learn more about their design and construction capabilities.
And when it’s time to place the concrete:
