Concrete Finishes Gallery: Decorative and Everyday Concrete

Concrete Finishes Gallery: Exposed Aggregate, Coloured and Stamped Concrete

Decorative concrete changes how a driveway, path or patio looks without changing how it is built. This gallery explains each finish Peak Concreting Mildura lays, so owners can choose with a clear idea of the result before the measure.

Exposed aggregate washes the surface paste away to reveal natural stones, giving grip and a finish that hides dust and tyre marks; see exposed aggregate concrete. Coloured concrete mixes oxide pigment through the slab in charcoal, grey, sandstone or terracotta tones; see coloured concrete. Stamped concrete presses slate, cobblestone, brick or timber patterns into a coloured surface for a paved look; see stamped concrete.

Honed and Polished Concrete Finishes

Ground finishes cut into a cured slab with diamond tooling. A honed finish stops at a smooth matte surface that shows the stone in cross-section and suits alfresco areas and pool surrounds, sealed with an anti-slip additive; see honed concrete.

A polished finish carries on through finer pads to a satin or gloss sheen and suits living areas, shops and workshops; see polished concrete. Both show cream, salt-and-pepper or full stone exposure depending on how far the grinder cuts.

Finishes for Driveways, Paths and Outdoor Living Areas

Most concrete around a home is outdoor work. Each surface suits different finishes: driveways most often take exposed aggregate or a broomed finish for grip, with coloured concrete to match the house; paths suit broomed, exposed aggregate or honed finishes; and outdoor living areas such as patios and alfresco slabs suit honed, coloured or stamped finishes that feel good underfoot and frame outdoor furniture. Driveways are built on compacted bases with mesh and saw-cut joints, in plain broomed or decorative finishes; see concrete driveways. Paths carry falls away from the walls and sit below the damp course; see concrete paths.

Patios and alfresco areas extend living space toward the garden, and worn surfaces can be refreshed rather than replaced through concrete resurfacing or protected with concrete sealing.

Plain, Broomed and Everyday Concrete Finishes

Most concrete is not decorative, and the everyday finishes matter just as much. A broomed finish drags a stiff broom across the fresh surface to leave fine ridges for grip, and it is the standard for driveways, paths and shed aprons. A steel-trowelled finish is smooth and dense, which suits garage and workshop floors and slabs that will be polished later, while a wood-float finish sits between the two for a lightly textured surface.

A smooth trowelled border around the edge of a broomed slab gives a neat frame, and saw-cut joints are placed so they line up with the layout. These finishes go on house and shed slabs (see concrete slabs and footings), kerbs and mower strips (see concrete kerbs and edging) and retaining walls (see concrete retaining walls), and a sealer protects any of them from oil and stains.