What is stamped flooring and what kind of effect can I create?
If what you are looking for is the possibility of choosing a type of flooring and ranging between the many effects that can be created such as coverings, surfaces or floors in rock, ceramic, porphyry, stone, wood, etc., a stamped concrete floor certainly offers multiple varieties of design, infinite shades, colors and types of color shades that can make the choice easy and make this type of surface unique and exclusive. Stamped flooring in fact represents today an aesthetically striking and innovative solution, thanks to the very high performance that the supports are able to face, the execution techniques with which the decorated surfaces reproduce the beauty of traditional coverings combined with often lower production costs and speed of execution, make it certainly a choice to take into consideration.
Stamped concrete flooring is therefore the ideal solution for creating roads, squares, sidewalks, pedestrian areas, porches, ramps, and much more because another important advantage is the great resistance of these structures, it is in fact a driveway-type floor, monolithic, without joints and durable over time that offers excellent and easy cleaning.
How is a stamped concrete floor made?
The concrete to be chosen will be of the 300 Rck type with Portland cement 425 and without additives, with a grain size not exceeding 20 mm, each M3 of concrete allows the creation of approximately 10 m2 of stamped concrete flooring with a thickness of 10 cm, during mixing polypropylene fibres can be added to the mixture for the secondary reinforcement of concrete and the control of the shrinkage of concrete mixes, the advantages in using fibres are many:
1. improve the plastic characteristics of the dough;
2. improve mechanical resistance to traction and reflection;
3. they improve the quality of the mixture by preventing the segregation of aggregates;
4. they reduce micro cracks due to plastic and mechanical shrinkage of the mixture;
5. improve resistance to frost-thaw effects and atmospheric agents
Before proceeding with the laying of the concrete it is important to ensure that the mix is well homogeneous. It is also important to use a non-woven fabric (TNT) or a polyethylene sheet before pouring the concrete which will serve to guarantee a homogeneous draft, to facilitate the workmanship but above all it will avoid the migration of salts (nitrates, sulphates, etc. present in the stabilized support) to the surface which are often the cause of absolutely unwanted saline efflorescence.
Procedure for the creation of stamped concrete floors and coverings
a) Drafting
The subsequent spreading of the resulting mixture will take place with metal rods following the design drawing and the indicated thickness, avoiding irregularities, alveoli, etc. During the spreading it is essential to insert a metal reinforcement mesh.
b) Smoothing and armoring of the surface of stamped concrete
After the mixture has been spread, the conglomerate will be smoothed with a tool, the cutter, which will be used both to push the grit downwards and to give the necessary flatness to the surfaces created. We will then move on to the phase of applying the coloured armour. DECOCRETE QUARTZ ready-to-use premixed surface hardener composed of cement, hydraulic binders and natural mineral aggregates which spheroidal quartz of high hardness, the quantity of which to be used will determine the degree of resistance, therefore it is always advisable to use at least 3kg per m2 of product for a pedestrian surface.
DECOCRETE QUARTZ in addition to serving as an armor for the surface of the stamped concrete floor, it will serve as a base color, the armoring operation of the concrete will be done manually.
c) Concrete molding
After making sure that the surface is not too soft or too hard, the colored release agent and powder will be applied evenly by dusting. DISTAX which on one hand will have a non-stick function between the rubber mould and the armoured concrete and on the other will give unique shades and effects to the surface.
Once the release agent has been dusted off, the concrete will be moulded using a beater and moulds made of rubber and selected for print the desired design and shapes.
d) Joints and washing of stamped concrete floors and finishes
On average, 1-2 days after the floor has been stamped, the joints will be created and the surface will be washed, a very important phase for the creation of stamped concrete. In fact, this simple step will also partly determine the final aesthetic effect of the floor. The washing will be done with water jets and, thanks to the skill and craftsmanship of the operator, unique aesthetic effects will be obtained, such as colour shading that will make the worked surface more lively. It will also be possible to create special decorations by applying ACID COLOR (colored acids that fix colors and shades in the flooring).
e) Protection of the stamped concrete surface
The last phase of processing normally occurs through the application of an acrylic resin in solvent to obtain on one hand an aesthetic improvement that will enhance the colours and the surface obtained through the mould and on the other (fundamental and extremely important) it will protect the surface for years and it is for this reason that If you want to create a state-of-the-art flooring that will last over time and resist everyday life, you need to carefully select the resin you rely on.
The non-yellowing acrylic resin that makes up the product ACRIFLOR (32%+-2% of active) is specifically formulated for increase wear resistance , make the surface resistant to atmospheric agents, water, freezing and thawing, non-additive oils, mould, salts, diluted acids, alkaline solutions and, very importantly, UV rays. It also has non-yellowing properties due to its composition and thanks to the high percentage of active substance will protect the treated surface for years.
What is stamped flooring and what kind of effect can I create?
If what you are looking for is the possibility of choosing a type of flooring and ranging between the many effects that can be created such as coverings, surfaces or floors in rock, ceramic, porphyry, stone, wood, etc., a stamped concrete floor certainly offers multiple varieties of design, infinite shades, colors and types of color shades that can make the choice easy and make this type of surface unique and exclusive. Stamped flooring in fact represents today an aesthetically striking and innovative solution, thanks to the very high performance that the supports are able to face, the execution techniques with which the decorated surfaces reproduce the beauty of traditional coverings combined with often lower production costs and speed of execution, make it certainly a choice to take into consideration.
Stamped concrete flooring is therefore the ideal solution for creating roads, squares, sidewalks, pedestrian areas, porches, ramps, and much more because another important advantage is the great resistance of these structures, it is in fact a driveway-type floor, monolithic, without joints and durable over time that offers excellent and easy cleaning.
How is a stamped concrete floor made?
The concrete to be chosen will be of the 300 Rck type with Portland cement 425 and without additives, with a grain size not exceeding 20 mm, each M3 of concrete allows the creation of approximately 10 m2 of stamped concrete flooring with a thickness of 10 cm, during mixing polypropylene fibres can be added to the mixture for the secondary reinforcement of concrete and the control of the shrinkage of concrete mixes, the advantages in using fibres are many:
1. improve the plastic characteristics of the dough;
2. improve mechanical resistance to traction and reflection;
3. they improve the quality of the mixture by preventing the segregation of aggregates;
4. they reduce micro cracks due to plastic and mechanical shrinkage of the mixture;
5. improve resistance to frost-thaw effects and atmospheric agents
Before proceeding with the laying of the concrete it is important to ensure that the mix is well homogeneous. It is also important to use a non-woven fabric (TNT) or a polyethylene sheet before pouring the concrete which will serve to guarantee a homogeneous draft, to facilitate the workmanship but above all it will avoid the migration of salts (nitrates, sulphates, etc. present in the stabilized support) to the surface which are often the cause of absolutely unwanted saline efflorescence.
Procedure for the creation of stamped concrete floors and coverings
a) Drafting
The subsequent spreading of the resulting mixture will take place with metal rods following the design drawing and the indicated thickness, avoiding irregularities, alveoli, etc. During the spreading it is essential to insert a metal reinforcement mesh.
b) Smoothing and armoring of the surface of stamped concrete
After the mixture has been spread, the conglomerate will be smoothed with a tool, the cutter, which will be used both to push the grit downwards and to give the necessary flatness to the surfaces created. We will then move on to the phase of applying the coloured armour. DECOCRETE QUARTZ ready-to-use premixed surface hardener composed of cement, hydraulic binders and natural mineral aggregates which spheroidal quartz of high hardness, the quantity of which to be used will determine the degree of resistance, therefore it is always advisable to use at least 3kg per m2 of product for a pedestrian surface.
DECOCRETE QUARTZ in addition to serving as an armor for the surface of the stamped concrete floor, it will serve as a base color, the armoring operation of the concrete will be done manually.
c) Concrete molding
After making sure that the surface is not too soft or too hard, the colored release agent and powder will be applied evenly by dusting. DISTAX which on one hand will have a non-stick function between the rubber mould and the armoured concrete and on the other will give unique shades and effects to the surface.
Once the release agent has been dusted off, the concrete will be moulded using a beater and moulds made of rubber and selected for print the desired design and shapes.
d) Joints and washing of stamped concrete floors and finishes
On average, 1-2 days after the floor has been stamped, the joints will be created and the surface will be washed, a very important phase for the creation of stamped concrete. In fact, this simple step will also partly determine the final aesthetic effect of the floor. The washing will be done with water jets and, thanks to the skill and craftsmanship of the operator, unique aesthetic effects will be obtained, such as colour shading that will make the worked surface more lively. It will also be possible to create special decorations by applying ACID COLOR (colored acids that fix colors and shades in the flooring).
e) Protection of the stamped concrete surface
The last phase of processing normally occurs through the application of an acrylic resin in solvent to obtain on one hand an aesthetic improvement that will enhance the colours and the surface obtained through the mould and on the other (fundamental and extremely important) it will protect the surface for years and it is for this reason that If you want to create a state-of-the-art flooring that will last over time and resist everyday life, you need to carefully select the resin you rely on.
The non-yellowing acrylic resin that makes up the product ACRIFLOR (32%+-2% of active) is specifically formulated for increase wear resistance , make the surface resistant to atmospheric agents, water, freezing and thawing, non-additive oils, mould, salts, diluted acids, alkaline solutions and, very importantly, UV rays. It also has non-yellowing properties due to its composition and thanks to the high percentage of active substance will protect the treated surface for years.
Federchemicals leader in the development of products for the treatment of concrete floors