Concrete Overlays & Toppings

Concrete patios and pool decks have long set a standard for basic backyards. But today’s consumers want much more than the basics and the industry is complying. Due to more efficient tools and techniques, complex designs can be installed quicker, easier and at a fraction of the cost.

Building owners are asking contractors around the country to create decorative outdoor concrete features on areas not normally associated with concrete surfaces such as decks and roofs.

Introducing decorative concrete in Europe was a big challenge to a market that’s more traditionally known for materials such as natural stone, marble, wood and ceramic.

The historical structure that now houses the Nashville Dinner Theatre has always attracted attention. During Prohibition times, people slyly used a tunnel in the building to transport alcohol to area nightclubs. Today, it attracts crowds for its dinner shows and performances by local vocalists.

Polishing 52,000 square feet of floor is never an easy task, but some jobs can be more demanding than others. This was one of them. It took contractor Darryl White and a crew of five 11 weeks to prep, polish and finesse the artwork for the floors of Alabama Robotics Technology Park.

The moment you step through the doors of the Children’s Discovery Museum in central Las Vegas, you know you are in for a treat. The museum promises in its mission a “vibrant and engaging experience” for children from all walks of life.

Here’s a novel, fast and inexpensive way of saw-cutting curves on concrete overlays or toppings, using a 1⁄4" diameter PVC pipe, 4" grinder and shop-vac.

They wanted to polish the concrete floors at their new location on Weybosset Street, in Providence, R.I. One problem — the substrate in the building was gypcrete and not polishable. Typical overlay products won’t bond to gypcrete. A clear-cut job was becoming complex.

At a Justice, Just for Girls retail store under construction in Charlotte, N.C., Jason Burke and his small crew toss colored confetti as high in the air as the store’s high ceiling will allow. The confetti — 1/4-inch acrylic latex chips — lands in random patterns on the still-wet coated concrete floor.

Decorative concrete is going to the dogs. Or at least that’s the impression visitors are getting at Paws by the Lake, a pet boarding facility that opened recently in Avon Lake, Ohio.

Passion, precision, artistry and creativity were all on display at the L. M. Scofield Co. ninth annual Decorative Concrete Awards ceremony. Scofield enlists professionals from the concrete industry to judge submissions based on skill of installation, artistic expression and integration with the overall design intent.

First came the revolution. The decorative concrete wave swept the concrete construction trade not so long ago, churning up myriad visual concepts and the materials that made them happen. As the wave receded, decorative concrete concepts, methods and materials entered an evolutionary phase.

Imagine an overlay product that contains beautiful flecks of marble and at the same time can be easily matched to any color and is low-maintenance. That’s exactly what the folks at MarbleCrete Mix Inc. had in mind when they produced their signature product nearly two years ago.

John Buhler started a business in 1961 with a tiny office, a modest warehouse and terrazzo flooring as his business lifeblood. More than 40 years later, his wife and daughter are carrying out his legacy in the form of the widely-renowned decorative concrete operation known as Super Stone, Inc.

A baker knows when there’s a disaster in the kitchen, sometimes a little bit of icing can go a long way toward redemption. Concrete contractors have a similar option with overlays and an unsightly slab: The overlaid section not only looks better but the chemistry behind today’s overlay offerings often creates a much more durable surface than what was already there.

Tips for putting a polymer-modified cementitious overlay on top of a wood surface.

Four manufacturers of concrete resurfacing and repair products took on the challenge presented by the Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons International Association (OPCMIA) Local 528 last July in Seattle.

Besides being used to make thin yet durable countertops that don’t easily chip or break, a mix of PVA fibers and ductile concrete does an excellent job of fixing cracks in concrete.

As metallic coatings grow in popularity, the competition is heating up. Bear in mind that the key to a mesmerizing metallic floor is the artist behind it.

A step by step process of an overlay concrete floor with an acid etch stain process.

After painstakingly laying out a grout pattern for your acrylic overlay, meticulously masking and re-masking surrounding areas, and then spraying or troweling in just the right color and texture scheme, you stand back and admire your handiwork, and the job looks great.

Construction of the National September 11 Memorial was progressing on schedule to meet its target Sept. 11, 2011, grand opening date, when a big problem emerged concerning the twin fountains and reflecting pools built within the footprints where the North and South towers once stood.