Enhance Your Clubhouse By Installing A Finished Concrete Courtyard
If you want to install a courtyard patio near your HOA or apartment clubhouse, or give your main walkways an attractive appearance, then you might want to have a concrete slab put in and then stamp and acid stain it. These concrete finishing techniques transform a dull concrete surface into one that looks luxurious and classy. Here's how it's done.
The Concrete Is Poured First
The first step is to create the foundation for the slab and then pour concrete into a form that outlines the area of your new patio or walkway. If concrete is already present and in good shape, it might be possible to resurface the old concrete by pouring a new thin layer on top. One reason new concrete is needed is so designs can be stamped into the surface before it dries.
The Designs Are Stamped
The concrete finishing crew goes to work fast once the concrete has been poured because stamping has to be done at just the right time. Stamping involves pressing shapes like cookie cutters into the wet concrete to create the desired designs. The shapes can make the concrete look like brick, stones, or tiles. This gives the illusion of a high-end patio made of stones when it's really just concrete that is easier to maintain.
The Surface Is Acid Stained
Acid staining is an attractive way to finish a concrete surface. Instead of being a solid color like paint gives concrete, acid staining creates a marbled color combination of various hues and depths of color. You can choose any color, but earth tones have a richness that makes the concrete look even more like expensive stone, and earth colors are a great choice for the outdoors. However, you may want the concrete to be yellow, pink, or blue to match the colors of your buildings and clubhouse.
You can create just the right look for your property since you can choose from different stamp patterns and many colors to create your design. The concrete finishers may not be able to acid stain the surface right away. The patio and walkways might need to cure for a few weeks before the final touches of acid staining are applied.
Simply stamping concrete gives the concrete an improved appearance over a plain slab, but when you acid stain it as well, the concrete takes on a new level of attractiveness. If you're looking for a way to create a beautiful courtyard for your residents to gather, then finishing your concrete slab with one or both of these concrete finishing services could be the solution you're looking for.