If you think sidewalk or patio when you hear the word “concrete,” then have I got an eye-opener for you! Interior concrete floors are stylish, durable, eco-friendly and come in a myriad of colors, styles and finishes, often at an extremely competitive price.
The days of typical, gray concrete are long gone! There is such a range of options for concrete flooring if you’re in the market for a new floor. It really pays to get educated about what’s available. So first, let’s talk about the options that are available with concrete.
Types Of Concrete Flooring
There are two basic types of concrete floors — existing concrete and decorative overlay concrete. The surface of your existing concrete floor can be enhanced with stains and polishes. A concrete overlay can be installed over certain types of hard-surface flooring. This offers the chance to mask damage or update your look.
There are a variety of surface textures; from smooth, polished, troweled, stamped, scored or even aggregate, which incorporates crushed stone into the finish.
Concrete can be made to look like tile, slate or marble. Concrete flooring can also be enhanced with stenciled borders or custom graphics. No other flooring choice gives you the ability to create such unique looks.
Basement floor by Supremecrete
Colors
Color is a huge consideration when choosing a flooring material. Various methods can be used to color concrete.
- Integral Color is added to the concrete during the mixing process
- Stains offer a unique look through translucent finishes
- Achieve more vibrant shades using dyes, often mixed on-site
- Colored Hardeners give surface-level colors when added to fresh concrete.
- Paint
Concrete is the chameleon of the flooring world offering limitless design potential. Concrete can match any hue you desire. This is because concrete can be stained or colored to suit your needs. Recent advances in materials and finishing techniques have also resulted in some pretty trendy new looks, especially in polishing and metallic epoxies. Concrete polishing will give you a high-luster look, similar to polished stone, that will never require waxing. Metallic epoxies are a great choice for modern, upscale looks and contain the addition of metallic powders or reflective pigments that will give the look of copper, aged bronze, silver or other metallic patinas to the concrete surface.
Please come back next week for Concrete Floors Part 2, when I’ll be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of concrete flooring.