| Stained Concrete vs. Other Popular Flooring Materials |
|
Decorative stained concrete offers a number of advantages that other flooring
materials can't match, particularly when it comes to its ability to be customized. See how stained concrete compares with its competition, including carpet, tile, vinyl, wood, and stone.
Stained concrete comparison chart
|
|
What to Watch: Staining Concrete Offers Design Versatility
|
|
Bob Harris of The Decorative Concrete Institute Harris explains his tools and techniques for achieving special effects with
stains and dyes and the many ways you can personalize your floor.
Watch the video.
|
Do you have questions about decorative concrete that we can help you answer? We want to hear your ideas. Please fill out this quick Concrete Network survey.
 |
Looking for a Contractor to Stain Your Concrete?
|
| |
|
Five Fab Looks
with Concrete Stain
|
Hi ,
 One of the best attributes of concrete stain is the infinite array of special effects that are possible. Even when treated with the same staining product in the same shade, no two stained concrete surfaces will look identical. Factors such as
the composition of the concrete and surface porosity contribute to this variability, but much of the credit goes to the creativity of the person applying the stain. Depending on the tools and techniques he or she uses, the looks can range from polished marble, to tanned leather, to a multicolored faux finish. Check out these five great examples of what a resourceful staining contractor can accomplish.
Jim Peterson,
The Concrete Network
|
Turquoise with a twist
|
 For this floor in a beach-themed store, Matt Hine of
Progressive Concrete Coatings skillfully spray applied one color of turquoise acid stain to create a
variety of aqua tones.
"To get the mottled look, I spray a little
heavier than normal, creating a wet layer of stain. The stain will naturally
puddle, giving the floor a richer color in certain areas," he explains. |
| Color-enhanced faux finish |
 Glen Roman of Staintec used stain in a Sierra color for the base of this
retail floor, then enhanced it with accents of stain in Spanish Clay, Buffalo Brown, and Terra
Cotta. "When you use the enhancers on a smooth floor,
it's like faux finishing," he says. His trick is to apply the accent stains in random splatters then use water to blend and fade the different colors together. |
Layer it on
|
 "I like to use a variety of color,"
says Scott Cohen of The Green Scene. On
this driveway project, he used varying shades of tan, brown, and
charcoal acid stains, layering one coat after another. His technique is to apply the stain using mist bottles. "You want to
cover the area with drops of one color, then layer the next color. It's
kind of like how they print newspapers with multiple drops of ink." |
Camouflaging cracks
|
 Rick Metzler of Pizzazz Painting used several shades of water-based stain to color this home's existing concrete driveway while disguising some ugly cracks. "I hit the cracks with a dark walnut
color and some black. This accentuates them and darkens them up," he says. He then covered the entire driveway randomly with lighter yellow and terra cotta shades that blend with the
dark colors so the cracks don't become the focal point.
"It looks very organic," he says. |
| Blending stain and dye |
 To create this elegant marble-like floor, Shane Ober of
Solid Rock Concrete Services started with a brick-red stain and enhanced it with a dye in a caramel color. He also used a black stain for parts
of the floor design. "To get the
variegated look, we use construction paper on the floor to create a vein, then come
back in with a sprayer to put down another color," he explains. | |
