Decorative concrete flooring has allowed designers to achieve an endless variety of colors and textures. With decorative floorings color can be mixed into the concrete before the slab is placed or for already installed floors. : Along with its aesthetic appeal, decorative concrete floorings increase the strength, durability, and longevity of concrete surfaces. It’s stronger than many comparable materials and will deteriorate at a much slower rate. Decorative concrete will make your floor resistant to heavy loads, weather, and mold, and dust.
There are different types of decorative flooring available for modern flooring needs. When you choose to invest in decorative concrete flooring now, it will save you a lot of time and money further down the road on repairs, maintenance, and replacements. Some of the popular types are discussed below.
3D Flooring
3D floors have become the rage of social media. From bathrooms to living rooms, lobbies to bedrooms, swimming pools to Jacuzzis, 3D floorings have captured the imagination of the general public as well as designers. They are popular across the globe for its ‘WOW’ factor as well as its uniqueness.
Epoxy 3D floor has been used more and more in shopping malls, halls, offices, homes and apartments due to its creativity and high performance. This is the latest fad in the fancy floor world. The floor installation process involves laying down a layer of self-leveling primer followed by the desired image. This is then treated with a transparent two-component epoxy or polyurethane to give the perfect image depth. A level of protective varnish is the final step.
Metallic epoxy flooring
Another type of flooring, which is gaining traction in the commercial and residential space, is Metallic flooring. With the advent of high-quality metallic pigments along with high-performance epoxy resins, creating a fusion of colors and designs on the floor to a breath-taking effect has become possible. From retail stores to restaurants, villas to condominiums, high-end clinics to multiplexes, clients wish to give the visitors a unique experience in walking over a floor.
A metallic epoxy floor coating is quite simply a low yellowing epoxy, with a metallic pigment mixed within. In other words, tiny, almost glitter-like pigments are mixed into an epoxy resin and then poured onto the floor or substrate. When these pigments become agitated with a paintbrush or roller, they gather, separate, twist and turn to reflect light at different angles.
Seamless cementitious micro-topping flooring
Resurfacing of an existing concrete floor or tile or wood or any floor for that matter has become a work of art with the introduction of Cementitious micro-topping (a.k.a Microcement). It provides you a marvelous beauty of a floor with exceptional smoothness and strength, abrasion, and stain-resistant surface, all at a thickness of 3mm. The system consists of a primer, base coat, and a topcoat, and the application is carried out by trained applicators to provide a durable and vintage surface that is unique in appearance as well as feel.
The ability of the micro-topping system to provide light, depth, space, and harmony has attracted the attention of architects and designers alike to use this system for a variety of applications including all areas of residential surfaces including living rooms, bedrooms, patios, bathrooms, and kitchens, vertical as well as horizontal surfaces, swimming pool decks, pergolas, spas and jacuzzies, retail stores, clinics and public spaces, restaurants and hotels, salons, shops, showrooms and museums, reception areas, hotel lobbies, office spaces, server rooms and alike.
Stamped concrete flooring
Stamping is done immediately on the green concrete, which saves time and cost of subsequent flooring systems like tiles, paver blocks, etc. This needs to be planned to lay the concrete in the desired color, slopes, and patterns of stamping. Once the concrete is laid and stamped, curing is done for a few days and after the final set, it is ready for use. Concrete is colored using UV stable pigments, which gives beautiful earthy shades and two-tone effect to the final floor.
One of the stamped concrete’s advantages is its ease of installation. It is far less labor-intensive to install a stamped concrete surface than one made of pavers, for which each paver needs to be hauled and set. Installing stamped concrete is a matter of mixing, pouring, and stamping.
Permeable gravel flooring
The permeable gravel flooring is used in parking lots, sidewalks, low-traffic areas, and driveways. This type of flooring is suitable for different conditions that include hot climates, high-speed traffic areas, and less-traveled areas. The maintenance requirements of the permeable gravel floor are quite different. It is prone to clogging if the water in the reservoir isn’t drained out properly.
The sand and fine particles that can block the space between the pavers must be removed using an industrial vacuum. It can even clog when you sand for ice during the winter. If you do not cater to clogging quickly, it will cause the water and pollutants to run off the surface, defeating the purpose of installing permeable gravel floors. Permeable gravel floor is a two-component polyurethane resin that binds a range of selected decorative kiln-dried gravels or pebbles. Permeable gravel floor provides an attractive porous surface that is strong enough for foot and light vehicle traffic.
ESD flooring
ESD flooring is created from a combination of materials, including carbon fibers that transfer the electrostatic charge from a person to the flooring. Thus, reducing the chance of someone creating a static discharge through physical contact. Electrostatic discharge can cause significant injury, damage, and financial loss. Failure of components used in solid-state electronics, like integrated circuits, affects an array of industries. With damage to critical parts comes major financial loss. These floors come in several styles, including carpet, vinyl, and rubber.
ESD floorings provide the best protection by providing conductive/dissipative properties along with seamless, jointless, chemical resistant floorings. The application areas of ESD floorings include electronics, ordnance factories, solvent-handling areas, operation theatres, etc.
Terrazzo flooring
Terrazzo flooring tile is composed of a mixture of aggregate chips like stone or marble and either epoxy resin or concrete. It can be used both indoors and outdoors and can be poured as concrete or laid in tiles. Terrazzo applicators create walls, floors, patios, and panels by exposing marble chips and other fine aggregates on the surface of finished concrete or epoxy-resin. Much of the preliminary work of terrazzo workers is similar to that of cement masons. Marble-chip, cementitious terrazzo requires three layers of materials. First, cement masons or terrazzo workers build a solid, level concrete foundation.
After the forms are removed from the foundation, workers add a 1 inch (25 mm) layer of sandy concrete. Before this layer sets, terrazzo workers partially embed metal divider strips in the concrete wherever there is to be a joint or change of color in the terrazzo. For the final layer, terrazzo workers blend and place into each of the panels a fine marble chip mixture that may be color-pigmented.
Conclusion
Decorative floorings are widely used for commercial and residential purposes. Depending on the project, one can prefabricate the decorative floors. Decorative concrete will make your floor resistant to heavy loads, weather, and mold, and dust. In addition to the plethora of other benefits of decorative concrete floors, you can get them in your home or business for a low cost. It is not expensive to install and is extremely durable while being resistant to most damages.
Image source- Sika, 3d worx, Epoxy flooring tulsa, Promix resin flooring, Greenside landscape & paving, United static control, Klein & Co