Spray on solution
<p>Mike Achenbach, owner of MPA Enterprises, applies a coating of spray-on granite Monday to the Civil War memorial at Forest Cemetery in Coeur d'Alene.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Mike Achenbach believes he has the solution to the concrete problem in midtown.
First up, however, is a practice run on the Civil War statue in Forest Cemetery.
"Once they see it, I know they're going to want it," Achenbach said.
What Achenbach is pitching is spray-on granite. A product of the company Bold Stone, it's exactly what it sounds like - a granite finish from the spray of a can.
The product has been used in Asia for nearly four decades, but in America since 2007, said Achenbach, the Northwest distributor for the product.
He said he saw the problem with midtown's spray on concrete in a Press article and approached the city about offering his service. Midtown's colored concrete keeps peeling, and the city has been mulling what to do about it since the reconstruction project on Fourth Street was completed a few years ago. Achenbach said the city told him before he could get to midtown, it had to see if the product held up on a few tester projects first.
That led to spraying the worn-out Civil War statue, standing in the center of the downtown cemetery since the early 1900s. He's also on tap to spray a few steps at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.
After that?
"I can fix midtown," he said.