Vol. 5 No. 6 - December 2005/January 2006

A look at sandblasting, stenciled overlays and the new gelled-acid etching techniques.

Part of the problem has to do with standards for slip resistance: Who has guidelines and which ones do you use for decorative concrete? Then there is the testing aspect: Which testing methods are appropriate and reliable, and in what testing conditions?

We all know there are times when you just can’t get around stamping in cold weather. Here are some helpful hints.

Sometimes paint is simply the best choice for a concrete floor.

How to get the look of outdoor tile on the vertical. It’s easier and faster to stamp tile on vertical walls than to prep and apply ceramic tiles.

I wish I had 10 cents a square foot for every time I've been asked this question. And other questions such as: How much more does stamping cost compared to regular concrete? Are stained floors more than tile? I've realized over the years that all the above questions are legitimate and deserve an honest answer.

Having many techniques in your arsenal can bridge the difference between your client's vision and the reality of a project. Today's clients are more sophisticated. They expect more. Plain gray concrete is no longer good enough for them.

The pressure washer is one of the most useful and versatile tools available to the decorative concrete contractor. As with most tools of the trade, a pressure washer in the hands of a pro becomes a magic wand, while in the hands of a novice it can ruin your newly created surface.

A head in the clouds is bad for business. Luckily, the Kolleck family does not have that problem. They have focused on floors for six decades, and their business, Seamless Floor Coatings Inc., is successful because of it.

Pervious concrete, increasingly in demand for its environmental benefits, takes on color.

With the addition of color and increased attention to texture and detail, pervious concrete is now being specified for public parks, fine residences, and other hardscapes where appearance is as important to the environment as drainage.

Arch-Crete's lightweight forming system gives the look and feel of real stone.

Burbank, Calif., contractor David Jack Corp. specializes in countertops. So when Los Angeles-based Reform Furniture hired the firm to cast a group of workstation tops for a client back East, it was business as usual -- with one exception.

Skinner Butte Park's 45-foot-tall basalt columns have attracted rock climbers for decades. So when the city of Eugene, Ore., decided to build Riverplay, an innovative playground in another area of the park, a replica of the columns, sized just for kids, was part of the plan.

Pebble-Flex Synthetic Rubber Surfacing System. When it comes to putting a soft, springy surface on top of a craggy concrete floor, Pebble-Flex is where the rubber hits the road.

Bella Vernici's sprayable overlay compound is the crown jewel of the company's stainable concrete veneer system.

It sounds just a little bit like a pulp science fiction story: While packing up their warehouse to move, workers at a concrete stamp company discover a long-forgotten design for a concrete stamp that is three-dimensional.

When asked how Gore Design Co.'s two (and soon to be three) integral sink molds set themselves apart in the marketplace, Gore Design principal Brandon J. Gore says it's a matter of timeliness.

Adding a metallic color treatment to interior decorative concrete floors or cementitious overlays is a simple step and adds a very distinctive look with concrete stenciling applications.

Expanding on a few technical points in a previous article about concrete densifiers that require further clarification.

No matter how good your technique is, you won’t get an attractive, consistent pattern if your brush or broom has bent bristles. Here are some ways to avoid —or fix — the “bends.”

Stenciling and coloring go hand-in-hand to create works of art in concrete. Acid- or water-based stains are the most widely used — and most versatile — materials for coloring stenciled projects. Acid stains tend to produce muted, earthy colors, while water-based stains are available in brighter, more vibrant colors.

Stenciled overlays are usually used for relatively large areas like driveways, pool decks, patios and pathways. So how do you place the stencil properly for the most natural-looking result?

At first glance, a shiny floor surface may seem to present slip-and-fall opportunity. In reality, a floor that has been ground, densified and polished can often provide a more slip-resistant floor than plain concrete.

The question of architectural concrete’s durability has finally been answered.

If you’re going to erect a long molded concrete wall, you’re going to be doing a lot of vertical pouring, and one of the most cost-effective ways to do that is with a decorative form liner.