Using decorative concrete for interior applications has become quite common for businesess and homes. There are many applications that can give an interior room or space a unique look you cannot acheive with any other building material.
Concrete impressions can be created by a custom floor from either thin stamped concrete overlays that mimic the authentic look of stone, brick and slate to splatter texture finishes that create an elegant but useful non-slip finish for resurfacing concrete. Concrete stain now comes in a wide range of colours and surface treatments which not only improve the appeal of precast concrete and concrete slabs but can be art in its own right.
Interior flooring are ideal for remodeling and redesigning but the aesthetic appeal of plain, gray concrete or wood sub-flooring can be transformed into appealing surfaces. Interior flooring systems can also act as the restoration underlayment for levelling of the surface as well as providing the finished flooring surface. This level of versatility is just another benefit.
One of the hottest trends in kitchens today are highly versatile and handcrafted custom concrete countertops that can fit the design of any home. Other new trends include concrete fireplaces, tables and benches.
Acid Concrete Stain
Acid Stain is not a coating or paint agent but a coloring process involving a chemical reaction on a cementitious material. A solution made with acid water and inorganic salts reacts with minerals already contained in the concrete, the result of this reaction is color. It functions perfectly on new or old concrete. Acid Stain is very durable if properly protected with sealer or wax, also it can be used on both interiors and exteriors.
Decorative Overlays
If you're looking for an absolutely unique and natural surface that is your best bet is a troweled overlay. Unlike a stamped overlay, the troweled overaly is made with a trowel to develop a variety of effects and by getting on hands and knees. This is a more artistic kind of concrete refinishing and demands a bit of ability to accurately implement. The troweled concrete can be stamped, stained and or given an epoxy coating.
Stamped Concrete
Stamped concrete is a technique used to give new concrete the feel and look of natural stone, rocks, bricks or cracked mud. Stamped Concrete is usually installed as an alternative to plain concrete and because of the high cost of natural stone or brick. New technologies have brought together new colours that aren't only more natural looking but also keep their original appearance, together with many new texture alternatives.
Stenciled Borders
Stencils offer endless customisation for a one of a kind entrance way, pool patio or company floor. When refinishing concrete flooring, countertops or vertical surfaces try a distinguishing monogram or geometrical design, your imagination is the limit. Cover the whole surface with an epoxy coating make it shine and to protect the design and then finish it with a stenciled decorative border.
Concrete ReSurfacing
There are many concrete resurfacing alternatives for old, cracked, chipped or concrete that is faded. Improved and new repair products are being introduced daily. Most cracks are treated or repaired by opening the crack and then injecting a polymer compound thru the slab bonding it and sealing it up to keep out water. Resurfacing can repar chips and flaking and has the added advantage or levelling the concrete.
Polished Concrete
Polished concrete has long been a functional flooring surface for manufacturing plants and industrial buildings. But as the techniques to polish concrete became easier, the products became more eco-friendly and the ease of maintenance became more widely understood, home and business owners alike started turning to polished concrete floors for an alternative to the drab, gray concrete slab.