DECORATIVE CONCRETE

Through the use of specialized concrete forms, stains, stamps, dyes, colored pigments, surface-retarders, texture-patterns, decorative aggregates, or epoxy overlays, designers and contractors command an artist’s pallet of specialty-finish options for providing durable decorative concrete options for Southeastern Wisconsin developers, facility managers, and building and home owners.

Some of the special finishes available include: exposed aggregate finishes, colored concrete finishes, stamped concrete finishes, stenciled concrete finishes, stained concrete surfaces, and sawed and pattern-grooved concrete finishes.

Decorative concrete applications can be a profitable addition to an architect’s or concrete contractor’s design and construction services mix.  To master specialty-concrete finish options requires a solid understanding of the materials, methods, and equipment needed.

Schmitz Ready Mix can help designers and contractors to master the skills needed to enter this fast-growing segment of concrete construction.  Contact our Construction Supply Division Manager, Todd Schulz | Ph: 414.831.2437 | Fax: 414.462.8812 | Email: TSchulz@schmitzmix.com.

A great web site for learning more about options available and techniques used to create special finishes for concrete floors and pavements is

http://www.cement.org/decorative/floors.asp.

A spectacular showcase of the special finishes available using engineered systems for coloring and texturing concrete can be found at

http://www.scofield.com/concretegallery.html.

See also the Residential Concrete Project Galleries page in the Homeowners Portal of this web site.

Experience is the best teacher for decorative concrete applications.  But instruction is a good way to jump into the fray. The Scofield Institute offers designers and construction industry professionals workshops that provide the know-how to maximize creativity, durability, and business opportunities installing decorative concrete using Scofield Engineered Concrete Systems.

The Construction Supply Division of Schmitz Ready Mix is the lead distributor for Scofield decorative concrete products and tools in Southeastern Wisconsin.

The explosion of interest in decorative concrete finishing and architectural cast-in-place construction is creating more opportunities than ever before for Wisconsin concrete contractors.  In a February, 2002, article in Permanent Buildings and Foundations magazine, Vanessa Hoy discussed tricks of the trade for a construction professional’s first decorative concrete job.  Her advice included:

• start small
• use seamless, easy-to-configure texture mats
• begin with random stone or non-geometric patterns and work your way up to precision layouts
• start with shallow patterns (0.25-inch relief) and work your way up to the deeper relief patterns
• have enough mats on hand to go across the slab at least 1.5 times
• coordinate with your ready-mix producer to ensure well-timed concrete delivery
• keep placement volumes manageable
• have enough workers on site.

Generally, crew productivity falls when installing decorative concrete applications.  The Scofield Institute estimates experienced decorative concrete contractors can successfully handle about one-third of the volume of plain concrete they normally place, finish, joint, and cure. Until you gain experience, your crew productivity for decorative concrete applications will be even less.

Schmitz Ready Mix is experienced at providing decorative concrete mixes and works closely with decorative concrete contractors to help manage color variation, bleed water, initial set, and workability, while minimizing the chance for surface crusting or efflorescence. Recent production investments in computer-driven automation ensures batch-to-batch color consistency for integrally colored concrete production.

Work with Schmitz Ready Mix to add decorative concrete applications to your construction services offerings.

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