Concrete Overlays & Toppings

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

In 2005, race-car driver Dan Wheldon received the first-place title at the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race (also known as the Indy 500) and, along with it, the 2005 Indy 500 Pace Car, a new Corvette convertible.

In terms of decorative options, existing concrete slabs are limited to topical color systems. In many cases these coloration processes are subject to fading and wear and are sensitive in high-moisture environments. You’ll find more versatility in 3/8-inch concrete overlays. Not only do you have a choice of UV-stable integral colors, but you can also choose from several types of aggregates.

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.

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.

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.

Hurricane proof concrete planks made to look like the original wood floor of the museum were the perfect touch. Durable, easy to clean and homey, the North Caroline Maritime Museum couldn't have asked for a better fit.

A primer on primers! Here's some information on pretreatments that will stick with you. So the use of bonding primers can serve two purposes when applied to concrete before topcoating, sealing the concrete surface and developing a bond line for a coating or topping to bond to the substrate.

Chris Sullivan offers quick and informative answers to your 'not-so-technical' concrete questions.

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.

Vertical overlay finishes are being installed everywhere. They are the fastest growing segment of the overlay market, and that segment is growing faster than any other type of decorative overlayment.

Nailing the gold in the O that is the official logo of University of Oregon sports couldn’t have been easy. But here it is, on a dyed and polished cement overlay floor at The Duck Store in the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall, near Portland, Ore.

In the decorative concrete world, that can’t happen as easily. You get one shot at doing everything right. The interior and exterior must match, have the right scale and the right detail. While the daily work gets done, a part of you dreams to find that one client who changes your portfolio forever.

Compressive strength — the ability of a material to withstand being compressed or pushed together — is often used to determine mortar and concrete’s quality. This makes sense for floors and overlayments as the primary forces applied to them are downward, compressive loads from traffic, equipment or anything affected by the force of gravity.

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.

This former Intel employee traded semiconductors for stains and stencils — and now he's making his mark at churches, Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Cafes, and everywhere in between.

When it comes to decorative concrete on floors, sometimes you have to take it off before you lay it down. Take a closer look at your two basic options when clearing the way for new work.

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.

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.

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.

What caused the crack? And what are the options for dealing with it, since we are going to apply a decorative overlay on the concrete? We talked to multiple contractors about our options, and there are a lot of opinions out there. Chris Sullivan gives several options on how to solve this common problem.

Last fall, Architectural Concrete and Design Inc. was tasked with retrofitting the concourse of nearby Valley Fair Mall with a stampable overlay system. The specifications dictated that the selected concrete system was to be installed over existing ceramic tile without any demolition.

At The Stain Store's new location in north Austin, Texas, 600 square feet of flooring in the showroom and tool room was overlaid with Miracote MPC, scored with curved joints, then stained with Mirastain II alcohol-based stain, Butterfield Elements. Stain Store's own metallics were used in the tool room.