Category: Concrete contractor

Decorate Your Concrete : Ideas for the Do-It-Yourselfer

Decorate Your Concrete : IdeasDecorate Your Concrete: Ideas for the Do-It-Yourselfer. Decorate your home’s concrete surfaces and give your patio, porch, garage, driveway, etc. a customized and refreshing new look. Acid stains, water based stains and epoxy paints are available for do-it-yourself projects.

You can enhance your home’s existing concrete surfaces using acid stains, water based stains , epoxy paints , and scoring techniques. If you’re tired of looking at dull gray concrete, says Driveway Seattle, there are some fairly easy projects for the serious do-it-yourselfer to give your concrete a refreshing new look. Or perhaps you plan to have some new concrete installed but you don’t want plain gray concrete. Decorative concrete work costs double to triple that of regular concrete and many people simply can’t afford it. There are inexpensive ways to decorate concrete after it has cured without having to pay skilled tradesmen.

Acid based concrete stains are becoming more and more popular for coloring concrete surfaces. They chemically react with the cementitious material to produce permanent color with variegated or mottled appearance like that of marble. This results in a natural, elegant looking surface. Acid stains are available in 8-10 different colors, mainly brown, green, and reddish earth tones. The cost is normally $60-$70 per gallon which covers 300-400 square feet. A coat of clear concrete sealer when you’re finished really brings out the colors and beauty of acid stains.

Water based concrete stains are an alternative to acid stains and are much more user friendly because they’re much less toxic. These stains don’t chemically react with the concrete; they are absorbed into the surface pores and act like a dye. The big advantage of water based stains is the wide array of colors available. You can find just about any color in the spectrum and create a more vibrant and consistent appearance. They also normally cost about $60-$70 per gallon which covers 300-400 square feet.

If you want to venture beyond the basic staining of concrete, consider using some scoring techniques to create patterns on the surface. You can make your concrete look like a tile floor for example, says Code postal Lyon . It’s up to your imagination. An angle grinder with a 4 inch grinding or cutting wheel is the ideal tool for this. The important thing to remember when scoring is to draw the pattern on the concrete first and make sure you’re satisfied with the way it looks because scoring is irreversible. Most people don’t own an angle grinder but you can rent one at almost any tool rental shop.

Epoxy paints make an excellent coating for garage floors and basement floors. Many commercial floors have epoxy coatings because of their durability and resistance to chemical spills as well as their appearance. In recent years, however, it has become very popular for residential use with an increasing availability of different colors. This is not a difficult project, but the key to successful application is surface preparation. Epoxy paints have also become available in a water based form making it safe for the do-it-yourselfer and ideal for indoor applications. They cost a little more than stains. For a 400 square foot garage, you’ll spend about $200 for the materials needed for this project.

Decorate Your Concrete : Ideas

Creative Concrete Stamping

Creative Concrete StampingCreative Concrete Stamping.  Stamping concrete is a great way for you to imitate the look and fee of authentic stone, brick, or pavement without having to spend as much. There are rubber patterns that create the impression of natural stone for this purpose. There are also ready-made patterns for such materials such as brick and cobblestone, however sometimes they can look artificial. One way to avoid this is to create your own patterns to be used in stamping concrete. If you can learn this you will soon find your inventory stock filled with varied patters that can be used for your various concrete stamping projects.

1. Be Innovative

You may even use design ideas you find around your home, says Concrete Jacksonville FL . For example, you could use an Indonesian batik design block. As long as it can make an impression on wet cement, and does not stick to the finished product, it will do. In good design, there are no limits to the imagination. So look around your area, you might even find an appealing pattern somewhere in your own home! You could consider looking at your garage, your attic, or even your uncle’s vacation gifts for potential stamp impressions.

2. Stamping

Commercial stamping produces great imitations, says Code Postal Lille . Sometimes, however, stampers are just overkill. You can bring out the beauty of concrete by being discreet at times with your stamping. You could use stamps that litter around your home, a batik woodblock or even a part of an auto transmission. Anything can be used to stamp the concrete as long it doesn’t stick and ruin the finished surface. It also has to be durable. A commercial stamp is perfect for improving a plain slab on concrete. You could also use this type of stamp if you desire a professional, standard looking concrete stamping.

3. Creative Stamping

Creating your own stamp tool is can be innovative and fun. You could even use a salvaged part from an old ceiling to create decorative stamp! When stamping on concrete, make sure you understand the risks this procedure entails. Commercial concrete stamps are designed to work well, and are engineered to be as easy to use as possible. They often leave a clean impression. If you were to use your own stamps made of everyday stamp-worthy items, remember that there is a risk that the concrete could be ruined. Commercial stamps are designed to consistently pull free from the concrete; this may not be the case with home-made ones.

– Even slabs with a deep-cut pattern must be jointed so that cracking can be controlled
– Divide the stamped concrete by using sawed joints
– Order correctly slumped concrete
– Lay out stamps before the concrete arrives
– Do as little hand tooling as possible
– Order proper amounts of concrete

Concrete stamping is neither for the inexperienced nor the faint of heart. For those who would like to learn this do-it-yourself art, learning concrete stamping is possible. For the hobbyists, masons, and even for those who just wish to make their homes better, this will truly be a worthwhile undertaking.

Creative Concrete Stamping