But there are some remarkable options for colouring and texturing concrete floors that will amaze you.
Concrete can simulate pricier materials
Whether you're installing a new driveway, walkway, patio, or floor for your sunroom or any other indoor room, decoratively finished concrete floors are sure to enhance the beauty of your home - and resale value - at a fraction of the cost of other popular options. Concrete combines durability, cost-effectiveness and low-maintenance with the versatility to be coloured and textured to simulate various pricier materials.
Interior concrete floors have typically been covered with carpet, hardwood, laminate or vinyl flooring, among many other options. But more recently it has become increasingly common to finish the concrete surface and leave it uncovered.
Many possibilities other than grey
New or existing concrete floors can be treated with stains or pigments to give it a solid or textured colour finish. Virtually any colour can be cast into concrete - from pastels and earth tone,s to deeper hues. Concrete can be coloured to match existing indoor and outdoor colour schemes for a unified look. For example, you can coordinate the colour of the patio or sunroom floor with the interiors to give continuity. The addition will appear as a seamless extension of the house, rather than an add-on.
Textures provide more variety
Concrete can be prepared in a wide variety of textures, from a smooth polish to the roughness of gravel. You can have an exposed aggregate finish, where the stone or gravel in the concrete is visible, for a more natural look. Or you can embed any stone into the concrete surface. The choice is yours - pebbles, marble, granite chips, sea shells, coloured stones, etc.
Concrete combines durability, cost-effectiveness and low-maintenance with the versatility to be coloured and textured to simulate various pricier materials.
Patterns can be stamped into semi-hardened concrete to simulate the look and feel of various popular flooring and landscaping materials. Special tools are used to score, stamp, roll or inlay patterns into concrete to resemble marble, wood, slate, granite, brick, flagstone, cobblestone, tile paving and other surfaces. Added details such as subtle colour shifts and surface texture can give concrete a more convincing resemblance to slate, granite, tile and other flooring.
Geometric shapes help scale down large expanses
Other geometric patterns can help scale down large expanses of paving by forming panels of various shapes and sizes. Rectangular, square, circular and diamond shapes are popular, but other shapes, including abstract shapes, are also possible.
And this is only the beginning. There is an endless variety of options that combines the durability, economy and practicality of concrete with the beauty of other, more expensive materials. With technological advances that allow concrete to take on virtually any colour, texture or shape, concrete is redefining the possibilities for both indoor and outdoor flooring.
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