The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
If you install stamped concrete, you should be maintaining stamped concrete. You already have all the equipment you need, and you have the experience and training you need as well. Offering an annual maintenance program on your work, or any stamped concrete work for that matter, is a good source of revenue that does not require much in the way of equipment or mental gymnastics.
Expectations of what a floor should look like will vary from client to client. A client’s views will be shaped by other stained floors seen in person or in photographs. Although all of these things can affect a client’s expectations, the greatest influence on their flooring decision should come from the concrete professional.
How strong (in compression or psi) does concrete have to be to take a polish without densifier? Getting an answer for this one was pretty straightforward — 5,000 psi to 6,000 psi, depending on the aggregate.
AmeriPolish went all out with their entry at the 2012 Concrete Decor Show Demo Pavilion Contest. Their entry featured a dragon from Floormap Stencil Designs. Both Jason Campbell of AmeriPolish and Chris Swanson of Colour did the polishing and coloring. At the 2012 Concrete Decor Show, three companies went head-to-head […]
Exterior decorative concrete projects lend themselves well to areas of the country with warm, dry climates where the client can enjoy their outdoor space year-round. Unfortunately warm temperatures can also impact the workability of concrete.
The cultural practices and business models from country to country are unique in every way possible: techniques, materials, tools and construction practice regulations.
Just about any coloring material or tool can potentially be useful on a restoration job. However, some manufacturers have targeted this growing niche with specially marketed materials. Here are a few of those products, with some descriptions from their suppliers.
One nice thing about a metallic coating, in contrast to acid stains or dyes, is its ability to fully cover cracks and other defects, regardless of their size. Lemon says he’s also been using metallic pigments as accents in microtoppings to get certain shading and highlighting effects.
Jimmy McGhee, who handles sales and technical support for Versatile Building Products, here offers his own unique tips and techniques for distributing mica flake on a flooring job.
Back in the ’60s, when epoxies first came along, they were often specified in food-related areas because of their ease of cleaning and resistance to germs, he says. Ramy remembers the old guys didn’t want anything to do with epoxy, so they’d paint the walls and the young guys would handle the floors.
