Concrete Overlays & Toppings

A job that began with a mere 80 square feet of overlay snowballed into a decorative concrete transformation — complete with faux hollow tree — for this restaurant and bar.

When your country calls you to do a job, how much should you charge? That was the predicament Dick Krach, CEO of Sundek of Washington, came face to face with when his secretary fielded a call from someone at a “white house” concerning a pool deck that needed repair and some sprucing up.

Concrete overlays’ strength comes from combining specific amounts of portland cement, sand, water and polymer. Sand type is an important component in decorative concrete and concrete overlays because overlays are typically applied thinner than standard concrete, yet still need to withstand the forces of foot and automobile traffic.

Are you in decorative concrete and looking for more work? I bet you are, and if so, I have some good news. Let's listen to Dan’s auto repair business.

Antiquing stampable overlays is taken for granted these days. However, there are many ways to achieve this effect. This method is a quick, consistent and effective way to achieve a beautiful antiqued look with Miracote products.

When installing a metallic epoxy system, urethane can be detrimental to a project’s outcome or a welcome addition to its success.

In a recent week, I’ve had two overlay projects with cracking. The first project had lots of short random cracks, the longest about 3 inches long. We noticed them the afternoon of the same day the overlay was applied.

In two weeks' time, Julio A. Hallack and his crew of four transformed what he calls a "mail lobby" - a ho-hum, run-of-the-mill 1,500-square-foot space - into a warm and inviting receiving area that everyone who sees it can't help but admire.

After installing a stamped and colored concrete driveway in Minnesota, Concrete Science was approached by his client’s neighbor and complimented on a job well done. As luck would have it, during the conversation the man asked if Villella did epoxy work. He said yes and the talk turned to something the man had always wanted: a wall-to-wall penny floor.

What is the most important test when it comes to evaluating decorative concrete overlays? A case can be made that any test result can help better define how a product will perform, but when it comes to decorative overlays some tests are more meaningful than others.

I have an exterior raised wooden deck that has a cement-based overlay applied to the top. The area that is under roof is fine, but the area that is outside is failing.

Creating a flagstone pattern on concrete has long been a tedious job even for the most skilled technicians. But thanks to a product by Westcoat called Stone Strips, making custom flagstone patterns on a decorative concrete overlay just got a whole lot easier.

It's fun to say but hard to do. Here's when and how to accomplish this feat with the least risk to you or your customer.

An review of Elephant Armor as told by concrete contractors in the field.

Along the Willamette River's eastern shore, where it cuts through the heart of Portland, Ore., there stretches a long walkway, a favorite spot for locals to run or ride along the riverfront.

San Diego County is known far and wide for its beautiful weather, interesting people and endless summer atmosphere. So it was with great anticipation when San Diego was picked as the site for the 2016 Concrete Decor Show Sept. 25-29 that it was destined to be one showstopper of a show. And all indications point to that premonition coming true.

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

Ideas for what to do — or not to do — with cracks in overlays.

Self-leveling products vary widely in their makeup, so which one you choose may largely depend on what you plan to do with it.

People who know Ted Swaldo weren’t surprised last year when the Gervasi Vineyard & Italian Bistro began expanding.

Built in Missouri in 1927, the First Presbyterian Church of St. Louis’ sanctuary was recently renovated to modernize its look and feel, while preserving its historic Gothic style. Improvements to the sanctuary’s floor, specifically two rectangular sections under the pews, were vital to this upgrade.

After being in the decorative concrete business for a more than a decade, Paul Huneck, owner of Hudson Concrete,is in a spot that many other decorative concrete professionals would envy. High-profile clients come to him with interesting projects. He makes his entire living in a territory 13 miles long and 2 miles wide — the island of Manhattan.

Tempt the eye with a whole new batch of concrete color makers’ favorite designs and effects.