Beyond its durability and versatility, a concrete floor offers a blank canvas for customization. Learn five ways to customize that canvas and achieve your desired flooring aesthetic.

Ways to Customize Your Concrete Flooring

Guide to Concrete Flooring Customization

Despite being impervious to the elements, strong, and low-maintenance, bare concrete floors can look cold and boring. Fortunately, this type of flooring offers nearly endless customization possibilities. You can transform garages and basements into recreation spaces, showrooms, offices, and more. If you’re wondering, “How can I make my concrete floor more attractive?” follow the tips below.

Choose a Concrete Floor Finish

The right finish can transform an ordinary concrete floor into a stunning, durable showpiece that lasts. Therefore, your floor’s finish is one of the first things to consider when upgrading your concrete floor. You can choose between coatings, staining, and polishing. Each type of concrete floor finish creates a different effect.

Concrete polishing creates a highly durable surface with varying gloss levels. It can come in semi-gloss, high-gloss, or matte finish, depending on the level of diamond grit used. On the other hand, staining enhances the surface appearance rather than covering it.

Concrete floor coatings are the best choice for adding texture to the floor.

Learning about each option for your concrete floor finish will make it easier to choose the most appropriate one for your space. Professional flooring installers can also help you understand your choices, so consider consulting them before picking a finish.

Consider Adding a Decorative Element

Adding intricate patterns or other decorative elements can make your concrete floor unique. Contractors add decorative designs to concrete floors through various means, including scoring, stenciling, and stamping.

Scoring is a technique used to add patterns, such as geometric shapes and herringbone, to the concrete floor surface. You can choose from hundreds of patterns or provide your design to the contractor for a more unique look. For more intricate designs, your contractor will likely use stencils. Stenciling is a more controlled method of adding patterns.

It’s also possible to make the concrete look like other natural flooring materials, such as stone, wood, and brick. Such designs can add warmth and character to a space through stamping, a technique for imprinting patterns and textures onto surfaces.

Add Some Color to Your Floor

Plain gray concrete is already a thing of the past. These days, you can color your concrete flooring in any shade imaginable. Earth tones are the most popular colors among homeowners. On the other hand, commercial spaces tend to match their brand colors.

If you are customizing an existing concrete floor, consider the overall color scheme of the space. What are the colors of your walls and ceilings? Choose a color that will complement the existing color scheme. Consider adding accent colors to highlight decorative elements. For example, choose a color that contrasts with the base color if you’ve incorporated a stencil pattern on your floor.

There are a few other things to remember when choosing a floor color. The first one is the utility of the space. Is it for commercial or residential use? Take the atmosphere into account as well. Do you want people to feel at ease or excited? Remember that colors can evoke emotions and moods. Finally, consider the location's light sources because they affect how colors appear.

Apply Special Sealants to Protect Your New Customized Concrete

Applying sealant is more of a necessity than an option when you’re customizing a concrete floor. Sealants will serve as the final layer of protection that prolongs the floor’s lifespan and makes maintenance easier. It can also preserve the beauty of your customized floor.

Sealers come in various types, including acrylic, polyurethane, and epoxy. Acrylic sealers form a clear coat that protects the concrete surface from stains, moisture, and mildew. They dry fast and are cost-effective. Epoxy and polyurethane sealers can make the concrete surface highly durable and stain-resistant, which is ideal for high-traffic areas.

When choosing a concrete floor sealer, consider your desired level of protection, budget, and aesthetic preferences. An experienced flooring installer can help you determine the best sealer for your needs.

Prepare the Concrete Surface

Concrete surface preparation is necessary before applying stains, coatings, or other customization materials. The surface should be clear of debris. If the floor is dirty, avoid washing it a day before the installers arrive because excess moisture prevents coatings and other products from adhering properly.

Getting the texture right is also a crucial part of surface preparation. This is necessary to ensure proper bonding of coatings and other products. This element is also referred to as the concrete surface profile or CSP. However, you need not worry about this part because getting the correct CSP right is your chosen floor installer’s job.

Still, learning about surface preparation is best, even if floor installers typically handle the task. Preparing concrete surfaces is time-consuming, and low-quality contractors tend to overlook the process or take shortcuts. Learning about proper concrete surface preparation can equip you to ensure you pick skilled contractors.

Penntek Concrete Floor Coatings: Your Customization Options

If you’re looking for the best concrete floor coating, consider Penntek concrete floor coatings. These products come from Penntek Industrial Coating, an award-winning concrete floor coating/system manufacturer that’s been designing products for commercial and residential use since 2010.

With a wide range of custom colors, textures, and finishes, Penntek floor coatings can transform your concrete floor into the floor of your dreams. Some color and finish options include quartz, terrazzo, metallic, and hybrid. You can visit Penntek's official website or reach out to the Anderson Painting team to view all your customization options.

Benefits of Penntek Floors

Aside from being highly customizable, Penntek floors are also easy to install. A certified Penntek installer can finish coating your floor in as little as one day. Quick installation is valuable for businesses that cannot afford prolonged downtime. There's no need to wait days after installation to return to your usual routine.

Penntek floors also boast superior durability. A properly applied coating can resist moisture, impact, abrasion, UV rays, and chemicals. It’s particularly useful for spaces that endure high traffic daily. You can be sure the floor stands the test of time.

Furthermore, Penntek floors are slip-resistant, so you can keep your space safe. The Penntek chip system offers a light, orange-peel-like texture, reducing the risk of slip-and-fall accidents.

Achieve Your Desired Floor Aesthetic With Anderson Painting’s Help

Are you ready to upgrade and customize your concrete floor? Anderson Painting can help. Anderson Painting floor installers bring a wealth of experience and commitment to craftsmanship that guarantees your concrete floor customization meets your expectations.

The team begins by understanding your preferences and vision. They will guide you through the plethora of options available.

Anderson Painting's skilled professionals will handle the intricacies of concrete preparation, ensuring a flawless canvas for customization. Whether you aspire to have a matte, glossy, or textured finish, the team will bring your vision to life using cutting-edge techniques and high-quality materials. With the team’s meticulous attention to detail, they will create appealing designs that elevate your space.

Get showroom-quality flooring in your home or business today. Contact our Penntek-certified flooring professionals to discuss options for your custom concrete floors.