Texturing concrete

Concrete can take virtually any texture that can be imagined. For paving, as long as the surface is not slippery when wet or dry, anything goes. It can be stamped, broomed, salted or accented with any kind of aggregate that will remain in place.

For counters or anywhere else it won’t be walked on and slipping isn’t an issue, it can be polished, sealed, ground, textured, revealed… Things like colored glass, decorative stone or fossils can be set into it and ground down for a smooth, artistic finish.

Exposed aggregate has gone out of style for now, although colored recycled glass seems to make an appearance from time to time. Salt finish has waned. Broom finish with integral color is a great minimalist approach for modern projects, but right now the star seems to be texturing with mats.

A texture mat that gives the concrete an interesting, attractive non-skid surface without obvious marks between the mats that would mar the natural appearance of the finish.

I’ve never been a fan of patterns that mimic stone or brick. They tend to look fake, especially if the concrete cracks across the pattern. Done well, they cost almost as much as the real thing.

For a more natural look, random stone, leaves, shells and other decorative patterns pressed into the wet mud – if not overdone – can bring subtle elegance to a concrete surface.

This is a texture mat that will give a random stone finish to a patio and pool deck.

These textures are from the above mat. Integral color done in two separate pours adds contrast. The uneven join will be cleaned up when the project is completed.

Although it’s difficult to see in the photo, this stamp features a rough, stone-like texture accented with shells and seahorses.

Here is the end result. The idea here was to keep the look subtle, so no acid stain was used. The stain would have collected in the depressed areas, making the design more prominent but risking a rise in the kitsch factor.

The stamping process is a bit noisy. The mat must be pounded into the wet concrete surface, after a generous application of a releasing agent is sprayed onto the mat. The releasing agent keeps the concrete from sticking to the mat so that it can be pulled up smoothly, leaving a clean imprint of the design.

Every part of the mat gets a solid pounding, pressing the design uniformly into the mud.

Here is the result: a clean pattern in concrete still wet with releasing agent. Over time, it will cure to a lighter color, looking more like fossils in sedimentary mud than ordinary concrete.

These photos were from a recent installation, but the sky’s the limit when it comes to transforming ordinary concrete into something more interesting. Natural materials can also be used, as long as they’ll hold up to being pressed into wet concrete. We’ve used palm leaves – still with a releasing agent – to imprint a somewhat bolder texture into a path. Sticks, stems, leaves, even castings of fish or fossils can be used.

The last step is the application of a sealer, or not. To keep walkable surfaces non-slip it’s best to avoid glossy sealers in favor of matte – and glossy sealers look unnatural on patios (they’re fine on counters, if you like the look).