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...concrete can be made to imitate natural surfaces like marble and wood?
Shreeja Narayanan
Did you know that concrete can be made to imitate natural surfaces like marble and wood? Let's check out
all this and more on how concrete flooring can make your interiors vibrant and lively!
What is concrete flooring made up of?
Concrete is a mixture of cement, water and aggregate. When it is dried, it becomes hard and looks like
stone. Concrete flooring is durable and can be used in homes, industries, driveway, parking area, retail
floors and any other heavy traffic area as it is tough and resistant to wear and tear.
Types of Concrete Flooring:
•Stained concrete flooring: Special stains and acids are used which chemically react with the
concrete to achieve a blotchy and speckled look. These stains etch and bond color into the
concrete surface. Using this technique, a variety of colorful textures and designs can be used to created
on the concrete floor.
•Polished concrete flooring: Concrete flooring is treated using a chemical densifier. Then it
undergoes 12 steps of grinding and polishing. Diamond and resin grits are used for this. Polished concrete
flooring has a glossy look. This is ideal for retail floors as the area looks neat and tidy, is easy to clean
and is less porous i.e. it prevents water, oil and other chemicals from penetrating the surface.
There are many more types. A combination of stained and scored concrete can be made to resemble natural
surfaces like wood and marble. Selection of appropriate floor finishing is a must if you want your home interiors
to be in harmony with furniture, walls, accessories et al.
Let me clear many wrong notions one has about concrete flooring - It is dull and gray, limited to outdoors
and industrial surfaces, and generally very cold and uninviting. But this is far from being true!
Advantages:
Concrete is strong, durable, and cost effective. It can be used for a variety of applications including
floors, walkways, patios and driveways. It is inexpensive. In fact, decorative concrete may be less costly
than installing a floor of different material like marble, wood and granite. It is easy to maintain, hygienic and
clean. Other floor types chip, fade and peel and they need to be replaced every 15 years. During replacement, the
waste that is dumped is definitely not eco-friendly. Since it lasts a life time, you can avoid the waste that comes
with replacing other floor types, every 10-15 years.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shreeja_Narayanan
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