The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Concrete is a hard, durable substance made up of cement, aggregate and water. Together, these ingredients form concrete, the largest volume-building material used worldwide. Cement acts as the binder, the fine medium. Coarse aggregate gives concrete its compressive strength. And water initiates and promotes the reactions that allow concrete to […]
Concrete overlays’ strength comes from combining specific amounts of portland cement, sand, water and polymer. Sand type is an important component in decorative concrete and concrete overlays because overlays are typically applied thinner than standard concrete, yet still need to withstand the forces of foot and automobile traffic. Research and […]
Too often mixing decorative overlays becomes an afterthought or path of least resistance process. This is the drill and paddle I have used for years, so it must be OK. Worse yet, and I am guilty of this, those of us on the training and manufacturing side default to whatever mixer is provided when we show up for a product demonstration.
For as long as he can remember, Joshua Thiel has had a passion for creating and building while also finding innovative solutions to problems. After going to school for mechanical engineering and spending years fabricating and learning how to work with different materials, it seemed like a natural fit to dive into concrete.
We’ve been covering a majestic pool in Temecula, California, from start to finish, and now we finally get to the part everyone is always waiting for: the carve coat.
Mix designs are always a little tricky. As most Concrete Decor readers are not architects or engineers, there is a lot of risk associated with modifying a designed and engineered concrete mix.
Our friends at Buddy Rhodes shared this project on their Facebook page and we were so enamored with it and the other projects that this lady has done that we wanted to share it further.
Self-consolidating concrete is a highly technical mix. It is not an easy mix to create, since it requires an understanding of how all the ingredients work together. What’s more, specialized testing is required to characterize and optimize the mix.
Self-consolidating concrete (SCC), also known as self-compacting concrete, is an amazing and special type of concrete that is highly flowable and resists segregation. It is the perfect product to use for creating concrete countertops.
Born out of frustration with the long learning curve for mastering GFRC, Cheng Concrete’s NeoMix D-FRC is designed to not only shorten that learning curve for contractors, but also to outperform traditional GFRC in regards to flexural strength and abrasion resistance.
