QUIKRETE Builds Home for Saltwater Crocodile

Words: Dan Kamys

QUIKRETE Builds Home for Saltwater Crocodile

The Toledo Zoo recently welcomed the largest saltwater crocodile in North America to its animal family that includes hundreds of mammals, amphibians, aquatic creatures, reptiles, insects and spiders, and birds. Transported from Australia, the 17-foot crocodile required a spacious and ecologically friendly home at the Toledo Zoo, so A.A. Boos &Sons and Great Lakes Concrete Restoration turned to QUIKRETE, a manufacturer of packaged cement mixes for the construction and home improvement markets, to help renovate an existing solarium into the ideal crocodile habitat.

Great Lakes Concrete Restoration applied more than 50 3,000-pound bulk bags of QUIKRETE Shotcrete MS over a rebar frame in the 80,000-gallon solarium pool before Graphite Design sculpted the material into a landscape that reflected the crocodile’s native Australian environment. The shotcrete surface was finished with a concrete stain to maximize the authenticity of this unique and highly anticipated zoo exhibit, which opened on May 24.

The Enduring Power of Structural Masonry
July 2025

Masonry has been holding its ground for millennia — literally. And thanks to the simple brilliance of arching action, it continues to do so with strength, style, and surprising efficiency. In an era of advanced modeling and fast-moving schedules, one time

Outreach Outlook: Momentum in Motion
July 2025

As we move into the heart of summer, the masonry industry continues to thrive—fueled by innovation, partnership, and a growing commitment to excellence in education and workforce advancement. June has been a remarkable month, marked by events that not onl

Building More: Slow, Fast, or Consistent. What is Tempo?
July 2025

It was a drizzly midweek day when I rolled up to the project we were working on just outside of town. The foreman paced the scaffolding, rain hood half-zipped, barking at two laborers who were sprinting bricks like they were late for a flight. Forty feet

Marvelous Masonry: Belém Tower
July 2025

The Belém Tower in Lisbon, Portugal, stands as a testament to stone construction's enduring artistry and technical prowess. Erected between 1514 and 1519, this iconic structure served as a defensive bastion at the mouth of the Tagus River and as a ceremon