Staining & Coloring Concrete

Step-by-step instructions and useful tips from people in the industry who have experimented enough to know what works.

Based in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, this father-and-son-led company takes on elaborate polished concrete surfaces as a labor of love.

Learn about the four ways to add color to slabs that are intended for polishing: Integral Color, Dry Shake Hardener, Acid Stain and Dyes

Kevin Brown is a soft-spoken, humble-yet-accomplished man who got into the business of concrete work through his family. As he describes it, he knew from a young age that he wanted to follow in the family footsteps.

Glen Roman would rather walk away from a project opportunity than put his name on a risky installation. “Sometimes the best money you ever make is from the job you didn’t do,” he says.

How is a puddle of water like a colored concrete slab?

For those of us who remember how trendy the whole zodiac thing was in the 1970s, it’s fun to see it pop up now and again. Here’s an example, a stained and engraved zodiac pattern on concrete in a Chinese-style restaurant called Temptasian in Vernon, British Columbia.

If you think clear sealers won’t affect the color of concrete, you’re right in some instances and wrong in others.

One of the most influential theories of math is called the Cartesian coordinates. The adjective, Cartesian, refers to the French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes who published this idea in 1637. Cartesian coordinates are the foundation of analytic geometry.

While dyes have experienced an increase in market share in the colored concrete industry over the past few years, it's not unreasonable to say they've enjoyed an unmitigated bull market within the polished concrete arena.

Borders can be used in many ways, not just to frame a room and make our engraving easier than cutting all the way to a wall. Usually 6-10 inches wide around the edge of a space, they can also be used as their own design element.

There is a famous paperback called “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White. Many writers treasure it as a guide to writing clearly and succinctly while avoiding common grammatical errors. The handbook itself is a model of clarity.

At the center of the kitchen space stands 650 lbs of concrete and steel. This unique element appears to be balancing on three steel posts, creating an openness while still defining the space.

Maintenance is something that torments most decorative concrete contractors, unless, that is, there is a significant maintenance profit center to their business. In the case of The Concretist, there is not.

Some say avoid this combination altogether. But others say it can be done well — as long as contractors are aware of potential pitfalls.

Concrete dyes are tailor-made for color adjustment on staining jobs, and on their own, they offer an endless array of colors. So release your inner artist and give 'em a try!

You don't have to stain in vain — restoration and maintenance can fight age and wear on just about any colored concrete slab.

As the concretist, we’ve worked both internationally and nationwide. But some of the jobs are in the smallest, quaintest towns. They might not be major population centers, but the concrete in those places are that much more sweet, The people are warm even while the weather often isn't.

Today’s contractors who love the look of acid stains but loathe the labor and time required to get the job done have more ways than ever before to bypass the troublesome application using safer-for-all water routes.

There’s a very lucky group of kids at Bluff View Private Preschool in Fresno, Calif. Thanks to contractor Chris Swanson of Colour and his team, the students now have their very own “city” to play in.

Discover why vertical staining is catching on despite some application challenges.

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

A design from the front of a jewelry case in the owner’s family was painstakingly re-created in concrete and enclosed by a circular border.