Best Practices in Decorative Concrete

Headnote

Trowel-Finished Integrally Colored Concrete

Integrally colored, trowel-finished concrete flatwork will have natural variations in color (Fig. 1). While the decorative concrete contractor can minimize these variations through careful control of such factors as the materials used in the concrete, the mixture proportions, weather conditions, finishing methods, and curing, the contractor must also manage the expectations of the owner.

First, it's imperative that the owner understands and accepts that colored concrete will never match the uniformity of an opaque painted surface. Second, it's important to provide examples that allow the owner to see that integrally colored concrete will have some natural color marbling. For small projects, photos or site visits might be sufficient. For large projects, construction of a field mock-up can provide an on-site standard for approval...