Decorative Concrete Options

Staining and sealing concrete surfaces are long-accepted processes. Adding texture to concrete surfaces is now what the market demands.

Consumers and commercial enterprises are looking to replicate higher-cost building materials on or in concrete, and add relief, such as corporate logos, corporate or city seals, emblems reflecting individual passions or numbers and letters.

The more complex the look created, the higher the perceived value by the customer.

Options for achieving such effects can be narrowed down to three categories:

Concrete Stamping

The process of stamping texture and designs into wet material with a rubber mold.

Concrete Overlay

Adding a thin layer of cementituous/acrylic polymer coating to an existing concrete surface. Relief and designs are often achieved by applying pattern tape or stencils to the surface in advance, then removing the tape after the surface has hardened.

Concrete Engraving

Using specially designed machines to cut patterns in existing plain or colored concrete which simulate grout lines of standard building materials. Other methods use tools and templates to precisely chip away sections of the concrete, revealing designs of exacting detail replicating any pattern or graphic.

Below is a chart comparing the three options: