Decorative concrete can transform your space into a vibrant and inviting commercial area. From stamped designs to polished surfaces and stained finishes, this affordable solution can help create lasting impressions, improve your property’s curb appeal while reducing the costs of your design project.
Below, we’ll explain why decorative concrete has become popular among commercial property owners, facility managers, and businesses. Learn about its applications, branding features, costs, and available design options.
What Are the Benefits of Using Decorative Concrete in Commercial Spaces?
Decorative concrete floors can withstand heavy foot traffic, which is common in many commercial spaces. This feature makes it an excellent option for lobbies, hallways, product display areas, and outdoor patios. Here are more ways they can elevate your commercial spaces:
- Improved Aesthetics: Decorative concrete coatings breathe new life into old concrete surfaces, giving your spaces a fresh new look. Leverage them to make entryways and other high-traffic areas more inviting for customers.
- Seamless Integration: Decorative concrete pairs well with other existing design and architectural elements in your property, such as wood or glass. You can use it to accentuate contemporary features already installed on your property.
- Durability: Custom concrete is known for longevity. When properly installed, concrete floors can last for decades, despite heavy foot traffic. They’re also resistant to weather conditions and vehicular traffic, making them an outstanding choice for walkways, outdoor spaces, receiving areas, and driveways.
- Cost-Effective Solution: Architectural concrete is more cost-effective than other options. It offers the same functional and aesthetic benefits while requiring fewer replacements in the future.
- Customization: These solutions allow you to customize the texture, colors, patterns, and style of your commercial spaces. Decorative concrete contractors can use various applications, such as concrete stamping or staining, according to the customization needed for your establishment.
How Does Decorative Concrete Compare to Traditional Flooring Options for Commercial Properties?
Decorative concrete offers key advantages compared to traditional flooring options, such as hardwood, pavers, marble, brick, or stone. Consider the following:
1. Longevity
Carpeted flooring may look stunning, but it tends to wear out quickly, especially with heavy use. Wooden flooring, on the other hand, is prone to scratching and requires a lot of maintenance. Decorative floor coatings tend to be more resilient and durable, often retaining their aesthetic appeal with minimal maintenance.
2. Design Flexibility
Textured concrete outperforms traditional materials when it comes to customizable features. You can choose different colors and patterns to match your branding and marketing needs.
3. Versatility
Custom concrete finishes can be styled to mimic the look and feel of traditional flooring, such as wood, tile, or stone. Give your commercial spaces a high-end look at a fraction of the cost.
Can Decorative Concrete Be Customized to Match a Company’s Brand Colors?
As mentioned, architectural concrete can be customized to match your company’s branding elements. Decorative concrete contractors can use specialized staining techniques, colored dyes, and integral color additives during installation. Specific motifs and logos can be etched or stamped into the concrete to bring out your unique brand voice.
What Are the Most Popular Decorative Concrete Finishes for Commercial Properties?
Decorative concrete finishes create a professional, unique aesthetic that enhances the overall design of any commercial space. Here are some of the most popular finishes available:
Polished Concrete
Polishing involves grinding and honing concrete surfaces with progressively finer diamond pads to achieve a smooth, glossy finish. The surface is then sealed to create a durable reflective look, ideal for high-traffic areas like retail stores, office buildings, and showrooms.
Stamped Concrete
Fresh concrete is poured and pressed into molds to replicate the look of stone, brick, or tile. Pigments and stains can be added for added depth and color. This technique is cost-effective for adding decorative textures to walkways and patios.
Exposed Aggregate
This finish is achieved by pouring concrete mixed with decorative stones. The top layer is then removed to reveal the embedded stones. The process creates a textured, slip-resistant finish. This application is ideal for outdoor surfaces like driveways, decks, and pathways.
Stained Concrete
This technique applies acid- or water-based stains onto concrete surfaces, allowing the solution to penetrate the surface and react chemically. Surfaces can also be coated with translucent pigments. This results in a rich, variegated finish and creates unique patterns and colors. Stained concrete is widely used in interior and exterior commercial spaces to produce an elegant, textured appearance.
Epoxy Coatings
Epoxy coatings are applied by layering a two-part epoxy resin over prepared concrete surfaces, creating a clean, non-porous surface. The material cures to create a seamless, durable finish resistant to stains and chemicals. These coatings can be customized using different colors and patterns.
How Durable Is Decorative Concrete in High-Traffic Commercial Areas?
Research shows that decorative concrete features excellent mechanical strength, higher environmental efficiency, and improved pigmentation capacity. In addition, decorative floor coating can last 10 to 20 years when installed in commercial spaces. The lifespan may be shorter, around five to 10 years, when installed in more challenging environments such as malls, high-traffic commercial areas, and factories or warehouses with vehicular and equipment traffic. Note that these surfaces can be refreshed and repolished to extend their lifespan.
Is Decorative Concrete a Cost-Effective Option for Enhancing Commercial Property Design?
Decorative concrete provides a cost-effective solution for many commercial property owners looking to enhance the look and feel of their premises. The installation costs are generally lower than hardwood, stone, and other high-end materials. This is because applications such as decorative concrete floors mainly use base materials such as water, sand, and cement, which are some of the most affordable construction materials.
In certain applications, such as decorative concrete resurfacing, a thin layer of specialized material, such as a polymer-modified concrete overlay, is applied over an existing concrete surface. You also have the option to incorporate aggregates to be added and create a patterned finish. These extras may cost you a bit more, but stay within a reasonable range.
You can work with decorative concrete contractors to control the cost to a certain extent. The amount of materials used in the project can be adjusted to fit your allocated budget. In addition, these solutions require fewer replacements over time, which helps to reduce long-term costs.
What Maintenance Is Required for Decorative Concrete Surfaces in Commercial Buildings?
Another advantage of decorative concrete is that it requires minimal upkeep. Here’s a checklist of maintenance work required to extend the lifespan of decorative concrete surfaces:
- Regular Cleaning: To ensure the longevity of your decorative concrete, routinely sweep and mop surfaces to eliminate dirt, debris, dust, and other surface contaminants. This is the minimal maintenance requirement for these surfaces.
- Periodic Sealing: To protect concrete surfaces against stains and moisture, apply a high-quality sealant every one to three years. Depending on the level of foot traffic your space experiences, you can apply sealants more frequently.
- Polishing: Maintain the luxurious sheen of polished concrete with occasional buffing. This helps restore its reflective finish and enhances the surface’s overall aesthetics.
- Spot Repairs: Address cracks, chips, and other imperfections promptly. This preventive measure helps preserve the structural integrity and visual appeal of your concrete surfaces.
Can Decorative Concrete Be Applied to Both Indoor and Outdoor Commercial Spaces?
Leverage the versatility of the materials used for indoor and outdoor applications. Decorative concrete can be used on floors and countertops for better personalization and artistic design. It’s an outstanding option for patios, parking lots, walkways, and driveways. Professional contractors apply a variety of sealants and finishes to match the specific environment where the concrete is installed.
What Are Some Creative Decorative Concrete Ideas for Enhancing the Exterior of a Commercial Property?
Various techniques can be applied to your commercial property’s outdoor spaces to make them more inviting and on-brand. Contractors use epoxy and elastomeric coatings with artistic texturing and concrete staining to match the theme of your commercial spaces.
Here are some ideas you can opt for when choosing designs for your entryways, driveways, parking areas, and other external spaces:
- Custom Color Themes: You can incorporate various colors into exterior spaces with custom-stained or dyed concrete. For instance, a restaurant could design a patio with concrete floors stained in its brand’s signature colors and place its logo strategically.
- Textured Walls: Vertical decorative concrete designs add depth and character to your building’s exterior. For example, you can incorporate textured concrete walls resembling stacked stone to create a stunning, rustic façade that can easily catch guests’ attention and set you apart from the competition.
- Stamped Concrete Walkways: Create a sophisticated and inviting entryway to your commercial space by mimicking the look of natural stone or brick. Add stamped concrete walkways featuring intricate cobblestone patterns that add elegance and character to your establishment.
How Does Decorative Concrete Contribute to the Overall Aesthetic of a Commercial Property?
Applying decorative floor coating creates a cohesive and visually appealing theme that elevates the customer experience. Choose any design, from a modern, polished look to contemporary and rustic designs — the possibilities are limitless.
Leverage the Expertise of Seasoned Contractors for Your Next Project
Raider Painting understands the demands of establishing your brand and elevating commercial spaces to attract more customers to your business. We have extensive experience working with a wide range of commercial properties, from retail stores to shopping centers. Our tailored coating solutions are designed to enhance both the functional and visual appeal of your establishment. Trust Raider Painting to transform your commercial space into a standout destination that supports your business goals.
