Concrete overlays are a way of giving a concrete floor a little makeover and changing the look of the floor. They are thin-colored concrete products that are applied over a hunk of existing concrete. Their main use is for decoration and age repair. According to personal discretion or customer recommendation, they can be applied thinly or otherwise. In California and other developed countries. A concrete overlay design can be used on walls to help protect the wall surface without having to compromise its look.
The surface will need additional products that are needed for moisture intrusion, adhesion, and strength, and the choice of the additional products to use depends on the surface type. It is important to note that concrete overlays will be as good and strong as the surface it is applied. If the original concrete is heavily damaged, has a crack, or surfacing up, the overlay will experience the same as well and this will make it not last long. A dependent factor on how strong and good a concrete will be is the product content too. To achieve a concrete overlay design in California, it is advisable to get these products from manufacturers that use a high-quality, advanced, and environmentally friendly material. If these conditions can be met, the overlay will look better and last longer.
They possess various bags mixed and what it needs only is water for it to work. Since there are different manufacturers, there are also different overlay products with each possessing its unique blend and mixture. They all possess different mixtures of cement, varieties of aggregates, and polymer resins that have polymer-modified additives in every mixture and blend. This polymer is a major constituent of the overlay and it is what makes the products, blend, and mixture stay and stick together. This makes them very strong to create the necessary powerful bond to the concrete that was formerly existing. Some popularly used types of concrete overlays include:
Micro-topping concrete overlay
The micro-topping type helps to fill little damaged places on the floor. This helps to give it a nice canvas look. It possesses a one-eighth-inch deep spread or a feather edge. This type of overlay has a broadcast dey pigment accent alongside some stain dye. This micro-topping gives out two types of finishing; smooth finishing or textured finishing.
Stamped concrete overlay
The Stamped type can be used both indoor and outdoor to achieve a concrete slab. It gives off a textured finish with the appearance of wood, brick, slate, tile, or stone. It has three quarter or a quarter-inch deep spread with broadcast pigment and colored liquid as the finishing color options. Other color options include powdered releases, tinted sealers, dyes, and stains.
Spray down concrete overlay
This concrete overlay type has a one-eighth-inch depth of spread and also offers different finishing options that allow you to push your creativity an inch further. These finishing options include a splatter coat or knockdown look. During the mixing process, one can add colors or pre-colored blends.
Self-leveling concrete overlap
This overlay possesses a one-fifth of an inch or an inch depth spread, and among all types of overlay, it is the most unpredictable type of overlay. One has to be fast and also super careful dicing the process because they have a short working window. The finishing is a saw cut type or any type of engraved design. Integral pigment mixing, tints, dyes, and stains are the available color options.
To check if concrete overlays are worth one’s time and money, let’s run over their Benefits and setbacks. One of their benefits is that Concrete overlays can be easily maintained. They are also long-lasting and resistant to damages that are in form of moisture. They are very eco-friendly, economical, pocket friendly, and are of different various types. Some setbacks it has been that it amplifies sound and also difficult to correct mistakes after working on it. Concrete overlays can be environmentally unfriendly when one is not using them with an existing slab. They spruce up one’s floor and walls and because of their heat conductivity; they are cold to touch.
Conclusion
Despite their setbacks, concrete overlays are truly worth the price, because they will help to liven up the floors and walls. This will make them better than they were. It is advisable to leave the work to a professional, instead of some DIY random guesses, as experience will make these professionals do it better. Make you thorough research, get a professional to help and decide on which color and materials to use, and give your floor the best makeover it needs with the concrete overlays.
