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Concrete Stains | Concrete Overlays - Design Ideas: Concrete Floor Info
Using Beer and Dye to Color Brewery Floor
Project by Todd Rose Decorative Concrete in Lincoln, NE
Beer may be an indulgence for some, but for Todd Rose, co-owner of Todd Rose Decorative Concrete, beer is a tool for coloring concrete floors. At Lazlo's Brewery and Grill in the Haymarket section of Lincoln, Neb., Rose was asked to stain the restaurant floor. "There were some unique requirements involved in doing the job," recalls Rose. "Lazlo's is a working restaurant and micro-brewery, so we were only given about a 30-hour window to complete the job." The other requirements Rose faced were that no hydrocarbon-based solvents could be used, "and they wanted their stained concrete floor to be unique and have a 'wow' factor," Rose says.
"To most contractors, a concrete floor is just another concrete floor," explains Rose. "To me, it is a way to increase the beauty of my client's space, showcase the decorative concrete industry and make people say 'what the hell is that guy thinking!'" Contemplating the best approach to coloring the floor, Rose reflected on the micro-brewery part of the restaurant called Empyrean Brewing Company. "After messing with water and solvent-based dyes at our shop," says Rose, "it hit me that 'Hell, what is beer, but water and alcohol'! Basically water and solvent! I drove like a madman to the grocery store, bought a "forty" of beer (40 oz), came back to the shop and started applying the dye/beer mixture to overlays and concrete.
On July fourth, the only available day that the restaurant was closed, Rose started troweling the basecoat and then sprayed a micro and finish coat, knocking it down immediately. "We waited two hours," he explains, "and then sprayed the beer and dye through an HVLP gun. After about an hour, we applied Arizona polymers fast-cure water-based epoxy and fast-cure water-based polyurethane." Rose also stenciled the Empyrean brewery logo into the concrete at the front entryway.
"10 years ago, this job couldn't have happened," says Rose. "Water-based sealers just wouldn't bring out the color of stains. All that has changed now. It is so incredible to be a part of any industry that changes so often with new ideas, processes, and technology. It is so hard to believe that in only 11 years of doing this, how much progress has been made in our sector of the concrete industry."
Just as the founders of Lazlo's Brewery & Grill like to take a creative approach to their menu, they were interested in taking their interior décor in an innovative direction as well. Jay Jarvis, co-founder of Lazlo, Inc. the parent company of Lazlo's Brewery & Grill says, "I [was] really excited to work with Todd Rose-pairing our beer with his artistic techniques."
Lazlo's Brewery & Grill is located in the Historic Haymarket at 210 N 7th St. in Lincoln, Neb.
Todd Rose Decorative Concrete
Lincoln, NE 68507-3108
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