Staining & Coloring Concrete

There was plenty of flooring to do before Alfalfa’s Market, a new natural foods store, could open on Earth Day in a former Whole Foods space in Boulder, Colo.

Acrylic stains are finding new uses among decorative concrete artisans, both on their own and as companions to acids.

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.

RicoRock Inc., a leading manufacturer of residential pool waterfalls in the U.S., has hundreds of dealers, but Margaritaville’s owners wanted to work directly with RicoRock because of the scope of the project and the company’s more than 30-year history of creating waterfalls.

Complex and intricate designs can be applied to concrete surfaces very accurately using adhesive-backed vinyl stencils. They offer control, precision and, if needed, repeatability. Stenciling is a very old technique from the world of paint, but as it evolves in the concrete world, it’s becoming very modern.

At the 2012 Concrete Decor Show, three companies went head-to-head to compete for the bragging rights of being the winner in this year's Demonstration Pavillion. The contest was designed to show off the polishing products of the three competitors: WerkMaster, AmeriPolish and Xtreme Polishing.

The handsome floor of the Arts and Crafts Room was the finishing touch at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, a facility improved by a series of decorative concrete projects as part of the 2010 Concrete Decor Show & Decorative Concrete Spring Training.

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.

Cary Grant — the Las Vegas decorative-concrete impresario, not the Hollywood movie icon — has crafted dramatic masterpieces through his company, Floor Seasons, that could be considered Oscar-worthy, if there was a decorative concrete category.

Gaye Goodman discusses a collaboration with artist Roy Snowball

Freestyle Stains are a new line of concrete stains from Brickform. But they are not acid stains, and their carrier is not an acrylic or polyurethane.

It’s possible for concrete to have stone-like qualities without trying to be stone. It’s possible for concrete to be random and variegated like the knots and grain in wood without trying to be that wood. It’s possible for concrete to develop a visually active graphic patina like copper without it being, you guessed it, copper.

For artisan Brian Vicari, concrete offers boundless opportunities for color and design.

I love color. Bright, vibrant, fun colors that pop. Deep, rich tones that soothe. Soft, gentle tones with minimal contrast. Thinking about color always leads to texture, mottling, layering, variegation or marbling. I cannot think of one instance when I would want a paintlike solid color on one of my projects. To me, color and depth go hand in hand.

Does the use of admixtures change the intensity of integral color?

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.

Contractors have relied on acrylic sealers for decades to protect concrete flooring systems, and for good reason. In the right conditions, these sealers offer optimal durability, stain resistance and a desirable “wet look” finish. However, they have their limitations too and aren’t always the ideal option for high-traffic areas and environments with extreme hazards.

Wisconsin is not exactly the epicenter of the decorative concrete universe, but this determined contractor is making a splash with his beautiful work.

Traditional acid-based stains may be today’s gold standard for the decorative concrete industry, but their water-based cousins are growing in popularity due to their ease of application, quick cleanup and range of colors.

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.

Conference attendees got a once in a lifetime opportunity to participate one on one with concrete artist and build the concrete version of the Alamo they would never forget.

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.

Light reflects off surfaces, and what an object looks like depends upon the material's surface characteristics. Some of the light is reflected, some is scattered and the rest is absorbed, so we see different things depending upon how much light is reflected from the surface and how much is scattered. The color depends upon what is absorbed.