Colored Concrete, Anyone Done-it ??

[volvo]

I am having 200' ft of concrete walkway replaced Friday and instead incurring the higher cost of a rock exposed finish I am going with a mixed in color for a little curb appeal. I always thought if I was to ever get the chance to build a shop that I would use some sort of mixed in color concrete floor. So at only an addition $100 I am giving it a try.
Anyone out there used any colored concrete other than stained or stamped ?? Anyone.....H

 

[rockwithjason]

we use red concrete for utility duct banks. we just throw the bag and all in the mixer.

 

[wilbilt]

we just throw the bag and all in the mixer.

Whatever works!

 

[Beegs]

Whatever works!

My father just did his two car with a red floor. He regrets doing it, very difficult to keep it clean. Shows everything.

 

[Special55]

Mine is colored and stamped so I can't coment on just colored. I can say that if you go with the color use a good quality sealer as the sun will bleach out the color over time.

Rich

 

[Will H]

Do you have any pictures of the colored and stamped? My new house has a nice multi-color tile patio, but the Michigan winter is destroying it quickly. Another year or so and it's toast. I'm looking for a nice replacement, rather than replacing tiles every couple years. The driveway already is a huge slab of plain, pale concrete, so I'd rather not add any more.

 

[Special55]

Do you have any pictures of the colored and stamped? My new house has a nice multi-color tile patio, but the Michigan winter is destroying it quickly. Another year or so and it's toast. I'm looking for a nice replacement, rather than replacing tiles every couple years. The driveway already is a huge slab of plain, pale concrete, so I'd rather not add any more.

I don't have any at the moment and my cars are parked on it while I'm drywalling and painting the shop. I collected 5 bids and ended up going with a company called RML. They were not the cheapest but I just felt more comfortible with them than any of the others.
I have no concerns recomending them to anyone as they did a great job. From what I hear that is not always the case as one of my freinds would not recomend the company he used as he was not very satisfied. If you contact them they will come out and show you photos of their work and different patterns etc. I didn't know it at the time but they did the stamped concrete at the Chevy dealer in Romeo Heidelbrecht (not sure on the spelling). I have a freind who is a salesman for them and he said the dealer principle has been very satisfied with their work as well.

If you have more questions feel free to ask and I will answer any I can.

Rich

 

[tubeman]

I have done 2 projects with colored concrete and recommend it highly. If it chips or breaks it is still colored all the way through. I don't think it stains any more than plain concrete does.

 

[Will H]

Thanks for the info Rich. I found their website, which has some example pictures.

http://www.rmldecorativeconcrete.com/our_work.htm

 

[bobbyd]

It sounds as though you're buying the color and adding to the truck at the site. One word of caution, the color can vary widely based on several factors. You didn't indicate the total yardage that would be required but if it's more than one truck, make sure each truck has the same amount on it. If for instance you were going to pour 10 yds, get two 5 yard trucks not one 8 yd and one 2 yd. It will make proportioning the color admixture much simpler that way. Also, don't let the finishers add water to the mix, particularly after the color is in as this will make your color vary. If water has to be added, do it before the color goes in and add the same amount to each truck.

Also, a lot of people freak out when the colored concrete first hits the ground as it can be substantially different than what the final product is.

Last, what ever color you go with, make sure you find out if the final color is based on grey or white cement. Many of the lighter colors require white cement in lieu of grey.

 

[kbs2244]

Last, what ever color you go with, make sure you find out if the final color is based on grey or white cement. Many of the lighter colors require white cement in lieu of grey.[/QUOTE]

That brings up something I asked about on another forum. Can you use "white cement" to get a finished floor that is a white color vs the gray color that is so common. I was told it was more expensive and that you ended up with a weaker slab.

I like white everywhere for the vision inprovment. I now have white walls and celing, but would like a white floor in the shop I am dreaming up, without having to resort to paint.

What do I ask for, and what kind of up charges can I expect?

 

[bobbyd]

Strength should not be affected. You're likely to pay anywhere from a 25% to 50% premium for white cement.

The surface will not be a true white as the color of the aggregate will lend some tinting.

I would not do this on a garage floor. It will only be white a very short time. The premium you would pay for the cement would nearly pay for a high quality epoxy coating that could be very white and a whole lot easier to clean.

 

[drbill]

I worked at a shop that had dyed concrete. It was a red powder that they dusted on and worked it in while finishing it.
The original floor was at least 30 years old and had held up to having antifreeze, engine oil, trans fluid, brake fluid, battery acid and being scrubbed multiple time a week.
One thing was the color wasn't deep and if you got a big chip the natural concrete color showed.

 

[volvo]

.
Thanks for all the helpful replies. We poured a day earlier due to the warm fantastic spring weather here in the PNW.
As suggested I checked with the concrete co and they only deal in the color dye in powered form delivered to them, so they can install it the batch mix at the plant, so I got two 25 lb sacks (50 lbs) for 10 yds/5.5 bag mix.This was 5 lbs color under the recommended ratio for my order (1 lb color to 1 bag cement) as I did not know that my order went in as I wanted, 5.5 bag mix. The dye comes in water soluble bags so don't get it wet. They would not allow any liquid coloring of any kind and I also was advised not to use or let anyone talk me into color added when the truck arrived due to poor mix results.
Out of the truck it was hard to tell that there was any real difference but the more it set up it became apparent that it had been dyed. There were no extra fees except the color itself $99. Finisher did say that he charged more for black due to it magnifying all the smaller imperfections.
Pictures to come after fully cured. Thanks guys...H

 

[chopper103in]

when adding color to a truck after it arrives , you must let it mix on high revs for no less than 15 min. for proper mix results