Concrete Overlays & Toppings

For contractors and clients looking to improve an existing slab, fix failing concrete or just put some extra decorative oomph onto a surface, cementitious overlays are tops.

This column has little to do with discussions of intuitive freestyle art versus disciplined mechanical graphics, or with criticism of superfluous decoration as contrasted with really spare concrete - my normal "literary" territory. It's a column about me and a museum. It's a tale of two topping slabs.

Surely you’ve heard the phrase “concrete jungle,” but what about concrete in the jungle? In this case, the jungle is the Rainforest Habitat at Discovery Place, in uptown Charlotte. The exhibit boasts wildlife ranging from birds and reptiles to vegetation such as palms and epiphytes.

Thin coatings that can be polished work wonders on new and old floors, but applying them requires knowledge and skill.

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.

It has been said that mistakes in life are what build character, and the same can be said about finishing concrete. Your finishing technique can make the difference between an almost perfect finish with clearly visible blemishes and an artistically rendered hand-troweled surface filled with character.

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.

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.

At World of Concrete 2015, CTS Cement Manufacturing introduced Rapid Set Tru PC, a new product that can quickly and easily simulate the appearance of polished concrete without the time and cost of installing a new concrete floor.

Two recent decorative concrete projects on the Strip — for two very high-profile ventures, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and the CityCenter Las Vegas development — illustrate why working in Las Vegas is a unique undertaking.

Perfect for a one-of-a-kind finish, this floor treatment gives you lots of room to get creative with your colors.

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.

This golf course was going to be on national TV, and its owners wanted it to look good. Decorative concrete helped get it ready for its closeup.

Condo owners in a gated community dreaded getting their pool up to snuff. Decorative concrete contractor Julio Hallack showed them they had nothing to worry about.

A knockdown finish on horizontal concrete is not dissimilar to the knockdown finishes common on drywall. It involves a cementitious material that is dispensed by hopper gun, applied with spatter brush, or in some cases screeded, troweled and textured with rollers or stamping tools.

In order to complete the nearly 2,000 square feet of surface area in just one week, workers from Butterfield and Miracote teamed up with local contractors to take on the massive overhaul.

Vexcon Chemicals Inc., which has manufactured epoxies under the PowerCoat brand for more than 15 years, has become the first company to introduce breathable epoxies to the market.

First Federal Savings Bank, Sheridan, Wyo., asked Doug Carlton if there was an overlay that could improve their cracked, uneven parking lot. He told them no. The crack pattern shows a problem beyond random cracking. He guessed that the concrete is too thin or not properly reinforced, or that the subgrade had failed.

When Productivity Inc. built a new showroom in Minneapolis, Minn., more than three years ago, the company chose to top the floor with Artera, a polishable polymer-modified fiber-reinforced cementitious overlayment made by LifeTime Floors.

Concrete Concepts of NJ Inc. collectively burned some major calories when installing new flooring at the Weight Watchers International corporate offices in New York City.

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.

An overlay installation starts with the product in powder form being mixed with a specific amount of cold water. Right after it’s poured or pumped onto the floor you use a gauge rake to set the thickness you want the self-leveling overlay to be.