Concrete Flooring

In the Concrete industry, there are a large number of people who play different parts; applying, using, building and designing with concrete. It typically benefits everyone to have a good understanding of the terms used within the concrete industry, whether they are a concrete flooring contractor, a manufacturer, an architect, a homeowner, a builder, a designer or a supplier. The following is a concrete flooring coating term glossary pertaining mainly with terms associated with decorative concrete coating.

Hard-Troweled Finish – This is a surface finish which is obtained by the use of a trowel, using a steel blade for a final finishing of the concrete. This finish is used specifically when the desired finish is smooth, flat and hard.

Integral Color – Integral color is a coloring agent which is premixed into concrete that is fresh, or into toppings before they are placed.

Iron Oxide – This is an inorganic pigment which is oftentimes used in order to color decorative concrete flooring and toppings.

Marbleize – Concrete flooring surfaces are given the look and loss associated with marble flooring by combining color layering and specific techniques for finishing.

Micro-Topping – This is an ultra-thin decorative topping which is polymer-based and generally less than a quarter inch in total thickness. Micro-Topping is typically applied using a squeegee or a trowel, and given a smooth finish or a texture.

Mix Design – Mix design is using specific proportions of ingredients such as aggregates, water, admixtures and cement to produce a concrete suited for a particular job or project.

Mockup – A Mockup is an architectural concrete sample which is created using the same materials and methods which are proposed for the actual project.

Opacity – Opacity describes the ability of a coating to hide the color of the surface below it.

Pigment – A pigment is a finely ground particle which is natural or synthetic and adds either color or opacity to a concrete flooring coat.

Reflection Cracking – Reflection cracking is the occurrence of cracks in the concrete flooring which coincide with existing cracks that are located within the substrate.

Salt Finish – This is a decorative finish which is textured, and is obtained by broadcasting rock salt onto freshly placed concrete flooring, and then using either a float or a roller in order to press the salt into the surface of the concrete flooring. When the concrete sets, the salt is washed away, which leaves behind a speckled pattern of shallow textured indentations.

Sandblast Stenciling – This is a technique used in order to pattern existing concrete surfaces by applying adhesive stencils and lightly sandblasting to remove concrete in the areas exposed by the stencils.

Sandblasting – This is a method of abrading or otherwise profiling a surface using a stream of sand at a high speed thanks to compressed air. Sandblasting is also known as abrasive blasting.

Stamped Concrete – Stamped Concrete is concrete flatwork which is patterned using platform tools, texturing skins and stamping mats in order to resemble materials like slate, stone, planking, brick and tile.

Stenciled Concrete – This is a concrete flooring surface treatment which uses heavy duty stencils made from paper in order to press stone, tile or brick patterns into concrete, followed by dry-shake color hardener application.

Texture Roller – This is a cylindrical roller tool which is similar in appearance to a paint roller, and is used to create a stone like texture to concrete which has been stenciled. The texture roller is used to stencil only the concrete which is exposed.

Texturing – Texturing is giving a texture to concrete flooring or an overlay surface without leaving deep lines of pattern.

Texturing Skins – These are flexible skins which are used in order to add a seamless texture to concrete flooring surfaces. Texturing skins tend to be more pliable than stamping mats.

Tint – This is a diluted color wash which is used to add hints of colors to concrete flooring for decorative purposes.

Translucent – This is a type of finish where there is some level of transparency in the coating.

Wet Polishing – This is a method for concrete flooring polishing which uses water in order to eliminate grinding dust.