Which Concrete Finish Is Best for You?
Broomed, groomed, stamped, and stained: Did you know that there are a dozen or more concrete finishes out there?
In essence, a concrete finish is the finishing touch on regular poured concrete. It can be as simple as running a broom over your concrete, or as elaborate as a faux stone finish that utilizes textures, colors, and glaze.
When it comes to choosing the right finish for your front patio or your backyard go-kart track, concrete isn’t one size fits all, especially when it comes to finishes. The perfect finish for the patio around your pool may not work as well on a kitchen countertop. But don’t panic! That’s why we’ve rounded up some of the top five finishes to help you determine which is best for your project.
1. Stamped Concrete Finish
Got a hankering for your outdoor patio to have a faux-wood finish? Hoping for a brick-like look? Then you may want to consider a stamped concrete finish. The beauty of this finish is that you can imprint concrete with a stamp. That way the concrete can mimic pretty much any texture, from stone to brick and wood everything in between. Then you can add a stain to finish the look and make it look like the real deal.
2. Stained Concrete Finish
Speaking of stains, (the good kind, friends) concrete is a perfect palette to express yourself in color. DIY fans, take notice: you can try this at home. It’s easy to color stain concrete, especially if you are doing a simple, solid color. Finishes like a marble-look may require a special skill set, but it’s always fun to try. You can also use a stain-stencil-stamp combo to really up your concrete game.
3. Polished Concrete Finish
If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “What I’d really like is a concrete floor that I can almost see my reflection in,” then you’re a prime candidate for polished concrete. Thanks to a process that mechanically grinds and hones the concrete, you get a high-shine, high-gloss finish. But don’t be swayed by its bodacious beauty--as flooring, it checks all the boxes for durability, low-maintenance, easy cleaning, slip-resistant, and sustainability.
4. Salt Finish
Want your concrete finish to be beautiful, instead of blah? Salt it, baby. Like the name implies, a salt finish (also called a rock salt finish) uses salt sprinkled over the wet concrete. But before you grab your salt shaker from your table, hold up. A different kind of coarse salt is used in this process, like the kind you find in water softeners. It’s pressed into the concrete and then rolled over the top with a roller. Then the salt is pressure-washed away, leaving funky indentations that give it character. It looks like hollow speckles sprinkled across the top. And if you really want to take it to the max, add a stain for more interest.
5. Broom Finish
A broom finish is, yup, you guessed it--concrete finished with a broom. If you’re visualizing someone dragging a broom across wet concrete, that’s pretty much it. This almost-ancient method of finishing concrete is awesome if you need a slip-resistant finish Since it’s durable, not delicate, you’ll often see this on high-traffic areas like driveways.
Concrete finishes are so much more than being just decorative. If you’re still on the fence and wondering about whether or not to finish your concrete or not, consider longevity. Sure, adding a concrete finish can make a surface more attractive, but it can also increase its lifespan if you add some color or a gloss that will give it more strength, and make your concrete serviceable.
Ready to get started on your concrete project? Mathews Readymix can help. Contact us here for more information and assistance.