Concrete Decor's Current Articles

Scott Cohen, owner of Green Scene Landscaping & Pools in the Los Angeles area, has been designing and building concrete countertops for more than 20 years.

One way to add color to an existing or new slab is to add a touch of glass — or more if you want to make a bolder statement.

Placing and finishing concrete to maximize the visual appeal of integral coloring starts at the bottom — with a well-draining, compacted aggregate and consistent subgrade. It’s well worth the time and effort to get it right and give decorative concrete a great start to standing up to the elements.

There’s no way around the fact that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are nasty stuff. They smell bad, they are highly flammable, they damage the atmosphere, and they can be acutely toxic to human and other living beings.

1. Handholding

2. County Permits

3. Electric Requirements for Lighting

4. Spouse POC (point of contact)

5. Submit Unique Jobs for Awards

ST115 is a new standard for the concrete polishing industry that was adopted in fall 2013 by the Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association (CSDA). The standard explains in detail how to measure the texture of a concrete surface by using a texture meter.

Densifier stops the deterioration and improves the integrity of the concrete. For new concrete, it is used as a cure. For older concrete, it can be used as a "densifying" sealer under the decorative overlayment.

Who quits a stable job with a government pension for the insecurity of self-employment in a field where you have no formal training or experience? To put it another way, who in his right mind would give up a career in electronic engineering in a weapons program at the Nevada Test Site for … concrete work?

Suppose your little decorative concrete flooring business suddenly could make deals as if it were a coast-to-coast firm? 

As new concrete hydrates, it creates calcium hydroxide. When the calcium hydroxide comes in contact with carbon dioxide in the air, it creates calcium carbonate (free salts).

Our task had been to art-direct the placement of a new natural gray topping slab, and to subsequently patina it to simulate some 20 years of hard use. In other words, we were turning it from gray to “that special gray.”

This is very similar to the story told in the old children’s tale, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” If you remember, the slow-footed tortoise won a race against the faster hare by keeping a slow, steady pace while his faster counterpart sprinted, tired and lost concentration.

For the first time in this series, I’m basing my article on a current job I just finished. In the last one, I introduced scrollwork as a design element. I was still focused on symmetry and using scrollwork as a larger medallion in a room.

Give your next faux-stone wall vertical project the look of a Spanish vineyard with this effect from Flex-C-Ment.

Tucked into the stadium that houses the Detroit Tigers, this sports bar features a lush decorative concrete floor.

One of the biggest innovations in the concrete countertop grinding and polishing industry has been planetary technology - machines that have multiple grinding heads, allowing fabricators to cover a large radius of material at a time and achieve an extra-flat result.

The processes used for polishing concrete are quite possibly the most misunderstood piece of the business. A tremendous amount of sales propaganda is available that can either provide some clarity or add serious confusion.

Over the years, wear and tear got the best of the carpet in this furniture store and the folks at Roche-Bobois decided it was time for a new look: Polished Concrete.