18 Mar What types of concrete finish are available for the floor of my property?

Concrete is an excellent choice for flooring in areas where durability is a must. There’s a reason why it is poured to make foundations – because it’s load bearing and enables a flat surface to be created almost anywhere. It is also exceptionally durable, which is why you’ll find it in garages and outdoor workshops.

Concrete floors can also be decorative and interesting, and the neutral colour lends itself well to industrial interior design. We have seen a rise in the number of concrete floors we make, with our customers often specifying these finishes:

Polished concrete

Your concrete floor can be polished to any finish you desire. The beauty of it is you can go crazy and polish it to a mirror finish or give it a gentle satin finish – and when you fancy a change, you can simply re-polish it or sand it.

Almost any concrete floor can be polished. Older floors will need deep cleaning to remove dirt, grease, and coatings. Other than that, there’s no stopping you from choosing a polished or satin finish for your concrete floor.

Stamped concrete

Stamped concrete is imprinted concrete that takes the form of the stamp. For example, a concrete floor might have a business logo stamped onto it or it may have a pattern or texture added to it. We often see the latter two options beside swimming areas, to provide grip and prevent slipping for health and safety.

Stamped concrete is a relatively easy finish to create and it can also be applied to existing concrete floors with a new concrete overlay. The stamping is performed after the concrete is poured, screed, floated and edged.

Stencilled concrete

With stencilled concrete, a stencil is used to create a pattern. The benefit of using stencils is they allow you to create a repeatable pattern. This is excellent for symmetry and opens up a whole new world of design possibilities.

Stencilled concrete is also a relatively easy finish to apply – you apply the stencil over the concrete, apply a colour hardener (this is optional to add contrast) and then pass a textured roller over the surface. The stencil is then removed.

Float and trowel finishes

Some of the finest concrete floor finishes are created by an experienced hand with nothing more than a float and trowel. These basic hand tools enable an experienced plasterer to add swirls, arcs, and patterns to concrete in a beautiful way.

For medium and smoother finishes, one would use aluminium floats and steel trowels, while for coarser textures one would use wood tools.

If you want a unique and beautifully textured floor with lots of character, we recommend looking into float and trowel finishes for your project.

Rock salt

Rock salt and concrete may not sound like a match made in heaven, but together they can create a beautiful concrete floor.

With rock salt concrete, you press coarse rock salt into the surface of fresh concrete and when it is dry you wash the salt away. The salt dissolves and leaves behind holes where it once was, creating small pits on the surface.